The cruisers and destroyers have borne our men away
Perhaps ten thousand miles divide our men from us today
They may be in the North Sea, they may be close at hand
We only know for certain that we wish them safe on land
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
Oh we’re not afraid of hardship and we’re not the sort to shirk
And if the pay is not enough we’ll simply get more work
And some have gone to service to earn an extra pound
To put towards a cottage or perhaps a piece of ground
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
So it’s not the fear of struggling with hunger at the door
And it isn’t that we’re lonely, we’ve been through that before
But it breaks a woman’s spirit when there’s trouble with her mate
And for her the helpless knowledge she can only work and wait
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
Perhaps ten thousand miles divide our men from us today
They may be in the North Sea, they may be close at hand
We only know for certain that we wish them safe on land
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
Oh we’re not afraid of hardship and we’re not the sort to shirk
And if the pay is not enough we’ll simply get more work
And some have gone to service to earn an extra pound
To put towards a cottage or perhaps a piece of ground
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
So it’s not the fear of struggling with hunger at the door
And it isn’t that we’re lonely, we’ve been through that before
But it breaks a woman’s spirit when there’s trouble with her mate
And for her the helpless knowledge she can only work and wait
It’s red for The Australian, the Little Penguin’s blue
It’s white for the Encounter and The Sydney’s purple hue
But it’s black, plain black, if your husband or your son
Sailed out of Sydney on the A E 1.
×
![]()
