John ships out next week
His mother says the young boy’s heart and arms are far too weak
To hold a rifle by his cheek
And he says he’s not afraid
Says God’s by his side and wears those lucky socks his sweetheart made
And when he’s back he’ll have a wife and a trade
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
Pete's not well at all
The sirens played in his mind when he heard the first made call
Now he stands with a strike by the back pub way wall
He’s said I’ve never fought before
I wouldn’t hurt a fly and then he falls down to the floor
I don’t want to leave out that door
She prays don’t sign yourself
It’s not your king and country and you don’t need the wealth
I say I’m a young boy at heart and that hearts full of health
She said we’ll be just fine
Money never made us laugh
And money never made you mine
Don’t you leave us next week and put our lives on the line
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
I got a letter today
It says I’m leaving and I’ll be out there by the end of May
And I’ll be fighting against boys dressed in grey
So we stand there at the bar
Sure grab yourself another jar
Be back by Christmas
And France is not so far and when I’m back I’ll hold you in my arms
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
His mother says the young boy’s heart and arms are far too weak
To hold a rifle by his cheek
And he says he’s not afraid
Says God’s by his side and wears those lucky socks his sweetheart made
And when he’s back he’ll have a wife and a trade
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
Pete's not well at all
The sirens played in his mind when he heard the first made call
Now he stands with a strike by the back pub way wall
He’s said I’ve never fought before
I wouldn’t hurt a fly and then he falls down to the floor
I don’t want to leave out that door
She prays don’t sign yourself
It’s not your king and country and you don’t need the wealth
I say I’m a young boy at heart and that hearts full of health
She said we’ll be just fine
Money never made us laugh
And money never made you mine
Don’t you leave us next week and put our lives on the line
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
I got a letter today
It says I’m leaving and I’ll be out there by the end of May
And I’ll be fighting against boys dressed in grey
So we stand there at the bar
Sure grab yourself another jar
Be back by Christmas
And France is not so far and when I’m back I’ll hold you in my arms
But I don’t want to let you go
I’m in places I don’t know
Before I know for sure
I wanna see those eyes up close once more
And when I’m back I’ll go
From Peterborough to Grantham Town,
Newark Place, Doncaster, York, Durham, Tyne and Tweed
As soon as I get off this land
I’m on that track to find you hand
Cus you are all I need
You’re all I need
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Myself and @tomlaxton_ had a hard task to convey the song with the right meaning. We wanted to show the restless and manic state inside the mind of someone who has seen horrors. A huge part of the challenge was making this work with such short notice and lack of budget or time. So the two of us armed with a camera and a suitcase filled with clothes went into a forest and began creating as many different states of emotion as we could.
With various different pieces of uniform collected from different countries and conflicts we wanted to show a lack of specificity to where the soldier is from.
"I wrote this song when I was eighteen. The song is a love song mixed with what I wanted to be an anti-war song. It was definitely inspired at the time by a song that was definitely my favourite, which is 'Willie McBride.' I remember wanting to write something along those lines about the injustice of war. "
Niall's next steps are all he needs