Home Again Poem by Andrew Wright

There's a boat in the harbour at Hamburg,
Waiting to take you back home,
Back to a land of freedom,
Back to your home sweet home.

When you arrive in Blighty,
You will give three hearty cheers,
And spend the first night celebrating,
Drinking your favourite beers.

For once in a while you will let yourself go,
You will do all the things you've said,
Drown all your cares and sorrows,
And literally paint the town red.

You will eat all the food you've missed so much,
You will call for a sausage and mash,
Eggs and chips, or a nice beef steak,
No doubt you will do it too rash.

Still I know you will risk it,
Your stomachs will give you some pain,
You will get the food to build you up,
When you get back home again.

Yes, when you get your civvies on,
You will catch the first train home,
Back to the folks who love you so much,
Never more to roam.


There will be mothers, sisters and sweethearts,
Sonny Jim and little Mary too,
Waiting with their arms outstretched,
To welcome you.

When you see those smiling faces,
And their tears of joy appear,
You will thank the God above you,
As you also shed a tear.

Your first meal at home, all neatly set out,
Everything perfect and clean,
You will turn to your folks and tell them,
It's the finest sight you have seen.

There will be roast beef and potatoes,
Green peas and Yorkshire pud,
Plenty of nice thick gravy,
The thought of it does you good.

Again you will smoke the Woodbine,
Or Player's Medium,
You will forget about the Junaks,
And also the men who gave them.

You will tell your folks of the Knackebrot,
That famous sawdust biscuit,
How you made a Knackebrot duff,
To live or die you risked it.

You will mention the Red Cross parcels,
Which you received every week,
You will learn the truth where those parcels went,
When in 'John Bull's' columns you seek.

You will settle down to home life again,
In a country fit for heroes to live in,
Yes, that's what they said in the last war,
But heroes in the streets went begging.

Now it's up to you and you alone,
This must not happen again,
You gave up all for your country,
You suffered the hardship and pain.

So see to it that you get your dues,
Being British you are allowed your say,
Say it without fear or favour,
And make your government pay.