Account Rendered
A poem by Richard Mills ©Richard Mills 1997
My name is Johnny Citizen
I think you know it well
For I've never failed to answer to the call
And I mobbed recruiting stations
When our backs were to the wall
And I died upon that hot Kokoda Trail
My name is Johnny Citizen
And ANZAC was the cry
In another futile struggle I recall
But I landed at Gallipoli
And watched with haggard eyes
As my innocence was murdered by Whitehall
And I've always fought for freedom
And I've always walked alone
I was standing tall behind Eureka's wall
I've been too busy humping bluey
Trying to keep myself alive
To bother with the politics and all
But I coined the phrase 'Fair dinkum'
And I forged the battler's heart
And I never asked for more than just a chance
To make my own way upward
In a manner all my own -
For I know the soul of freedom lives in choice
And you bought me and you sold me
And you taxed me up and down
And you feathered up your nests with all the things I didn't need
You double-talked and rationalised
Through bush and coast and town
And you sacrificed the honour of this nation to your greed
My name is Johnny Citizen
I came here with the sun
My dreaming brought its life to this fine land
Now tattered in the teachings
Of a hundred mission schools
My legacy's a bottle in my hand
My name is Johnny Citizen
I came here from afar
To build a nation, working like a dog
You used me up and wore me out
And trod me to the ground
And you paid me off by naming me a Wog
But still I built a nation
Where I dreamed all could stand free
No matter their beginnings or their creed
And the nation's name was liberty
A place for you, and me,
And for everyone according to their need
And I fought your bloody battles
From the Somme to Alamein
Fought the Hun, the Turk, the Jap and Charlie, too,
And I sweltered in the jungle
Of that Godalmighty bungle
Where you said we had a policing job to do
And I thought I fought for freedom
Every time I went to war
I believed I died to keep our nation free
You said the Reds would get us
And enslave our simple minds -
But now I know you coldly lied to me
And you bought me and you sold me
And you taxed me up and down
And you feathered up your nests with all the things I didn't need
You double-talked and rationalised
Through bush and coast and town
And you sacrificed the honour of this nation to your greed
You lied to me in Viet Nam
And you poisoned me as well
You took away my choice of when to fight
And when I came home twisted
You refused the butcher's bill -
As I lay and cursed the choppers in the night
Still I fought outside this country
Ever vigilant and strong
So the boundaries of our freedom would endure
Never knowing as I battled
That my eyes were focussed wrong:
It was inside that was rotten at the core
For my freedoms day by day
Were being whittled all away
With legislation simple and complete
You disarmed me, wooed the presses
So the rich man had his say
While the poor were falling legion at his feet
For it takes a power of money
Just to net a pile of votes
And to keep a politician in his place
Where's a feller on the dole
Going to find him a bankroll
To try and field an honest runner in the race?
And the salaries have multiplied
The wages slipped away
And the giant of this country, BHP
Has let half a thousand workers
Sink to misery and shame
Now it's work to get the dole, you're telling me!
And you buy me and you sell me
And you tax me up and down
And you feather up your nests with all the things that I don't need
You double-talk and rationalise
Through bush and coast and town
And you sacrifice the honour of this nation to your greed
Yet in those heady times of nationhood
When Peace was here to stay
We planned to lay the future down secure
There were those who could keep working
There were those who lacked a job -
We decided that by rights all had a share
So the taxes from the workers
And the fortunate and rich
Would be shared to even up the load for all
And the pauper humping Bluey
Had his rights the same as all
With a little bite of cherry at his call
And the youngsters fresh from schooling
Coming up and looking on
With a vision of the future clear and bright
Would enjoy the very freedom
That we fought for for so long
To study, and to grow, and follow their own guiding light
For it's choice that's at the heart of freedom
Choice to go or stay
Choice to face up to the truth, however grave
And whoever steals those choices
And manipulates the pay
Has turned an honest worker to a slave
And now, you scabheart bastard,
Now you've taken what we built
And you've whistled all its substance down the wind
And you've killed the name of freedom
And you've shamed the name of man
And you stand revealed - the enemy within
With your working for the dole
And 'You shall go back to school'
And no payments for the kids whose future calls
And your tax on bread and butter
And your subsidies for cream
You've surely kicked this country in the balls
And you're out to make us work for
Just the payments that we fought for
You've a way of grabbing all our money twice
While the pollies and the ratbags
And the flunkies and the gasbags
And the rich and famous nibble holes like mice
And you bought me and you sold me
And you taxed me up and down
And you feathered up your nests with all the things I didn't need
You double-talked and rationalised
Through bush and coast and town
And you sacrificed the honour of this nation to your greed
My name is Johnny Citizen
I think you know it well
For I fought to build the world you rule today
But you've lied to me, and robbed me
And you've turned me to a slave -
And STILL, you say, it's me who has to pay.
Still your legacy will come
With the beating of the drum
And Eureka's flag to show us all the way
Never forget what happened
Back in 1891 -
It can happen just as easily today!
My name is Johnny Citizen
I'm stuck here on the dole
I could have been a surgeon, or a vet
But I couldn't find the money
'Cos you stole the bread and honey
That you promised when you begged me for my vote
Notes
Thanks to Richard Mills for permission to add this poem to the Union Songs web site.
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