Old School Song (2) Ian Anderson

From playing fields to killing fields: just one small step of madness
Officer training, uniform, boys together shower together
Rank and file can be just fine but that's not what we're here for
So, sign upon the dotted line, be commissioned, Hell for leather
How we sang that old school song, from Pirates of Penzance
Foemen bearing steel, we slapped our chests and raised our voices
No mad poets we, or painters twee but young men with a yearning
To flex our might for all that's right when face with moral choices
Wrapped in the old school song, we fly our colours high
Bravo! The old school song! Harsh reality, by and by
Dad delivered us from the Hun and we reflect his selfless deed
On this desert plain of conflict where special forces, choppers need
Fly-boy coming to collect you, lift you up and then protect you
Be this gung or be this ho, may glorious battle resurrect you
Wrapped in the old school song, we fly our colours high
Bravo! The old school song! Harsh reality, by and by