You were born
outside of Liverpool in England
The bank propelled your
father left and right
You told me about your boarding
school adventures
That magic world that lived
in black and white
You turned eighteen and
enlisted in the Air Force
To fly horser gliders over enemy lines
You never lost your wide
-eyed joy of flying
And Hitler took that bullet just in time
The expectations placed you at the ledger
But your banker's life
was nev er meant to be
You weathered Grandad's
English aspirations
And he set you sail across the Irish Sea
You always had your chin up to the sky
Stood up straight with self
-respect and pride
You looked every single
challenge in the eye
But the hardest thing you ever
did was die
To Marnie, Chris,
you were more than just a nephew
Treasured like the sun
she never bore
You stepped into the
paper mill at Swiftbrook
In your coat and tie you walked
the factory floor
And when you went to Dr.
Duckdale's with a toothache
You left there with a filling and a pride
I love that photo on
the steps of Christchurch
GKV with Joan Margaret by his side
You always had your chin up to the sky
Stood up straight with self
-respect and pride
You looked every single
challenge in the eye
But the hardest thing you ever
did was die
Cranham Road was your
Irish family castle
Until the millbar sent you on your way
You bravely sailed the
six of us to safety
From Southampton down
into Port Phillip Bay
You were forty when
you set foot in Australia
Resourceful and relentless
and near broke
We faced hardship like that
acre of lantana
Packed it out by hand and
sent it up in smoke
You wore his head,
your chin up to the sky
Stood up straight with self
-respect and pride
Looked every single challenge in the eye
The hardest thing you ever did
was die
Don't grow old,
you'd always tell your grandkids
An ugly early whiff of Waterloo
Your life began the spiral into helpless
And this time there
was nothing you could do
All the finest stories have a champion
To step in when the darkest hour has come
But the Saviour came
and bore you safely over
The hardest thing
you both had ever done
You always had your chin up to the sky
Stood up straight with self
-respect and pride
You looked every single
challenge in the eye
But the hardest thing you ever did was die
You looked every single
challenge in the eye
But the hardest thing you ever did was die