It wasn't the sound of the bar being trashed By a hundred-and-one debauchees That finally persuaded the Lance Bombardier To get up and get off of his knees. But they did play a part; those folks he remembered The Sergeant would categorise "A bunch of ill-disciplined cretinous sh**es With their uppers and downers and highs!" That's what he remembered... That's what he recalled... He'd signed up when he was a nervous nineteen; The service was something secure. Like most of the guys, he had made it on through For a second and then a third tour. His luck had held out 'til the day that it failed – They'd put that in his dossier. The Snatch took a hit, and then everything spiralled Tits-up in a very big way. That's what he remembered... That's what he recalled... They'd put him together the best way they could, And found him a way to survive. When he and his mates were all medevac'd out, Just one of them made it alive. They finally found he had PTSD And crushed some significant nerve So, six years on, they determined that he Was medically unfit to serve. That's what he remembered... That's what he recalled... Trouble was, nothing or nobody ever Prepared him for what was to come, And that's how he came to be down on the beach; A drifter, a dosser, a bum. Somehow, the Military Covenant's promise Had simply gone out through the door; And all that remained was a shirt on his back And the ribbons he steadfastly wore. That's what he remembered... That's what he recalled... The Nighthawk, who desperately needed the fame, Had pushed himself onto TV. He'd posted the video, tastefully called 'Some nutter walks into the sea...' The thing had gone viral for twenty-four hours, And nobody would disagree He was, or at least he believed he became, The legend he wanted to be. That's what he remembered... That's what he recalled... Then an inquest was called on a dearly departed The life boatmen pulled from the waves. The Coroner criticised reckless pursuits, And of course how the media behaves. The witnesses told how these accidents happen, And that's what the court record showed For the guy who had once been the Lance Bombardier – Unemployed, no fixed abode. That's what was remembered... That's what was recalled...