Apocalypta Songtext
von The Herd

The command came "hold your fire"

And if I ever meet that man I′ll ask him why
We're put on standby while the scenario got dire
Peacekeeper with no teeth
Can enforce no peace and just becomes an eyewitness to grief
Number of times I wished to leave

Couldn′t believe that we were here
For nothing more than the lip service
Nothing more than the empire's servants
Trigger finger oh so nervous
Number of times I almost let the bullets go
The footage shows that they approached the checkpoint
With hands raised in civilian clothes
Vince did shoot him, he went home
Awaiting an inquest, who's to know
If the punishment could be worse


Than his own thoughts when he′s all alone
And I wish he could have been here
When we really needed a shooter
We stood by and watched as the town we protected
Was pillaged, raped and looted
We were hamstrung, the commands come from HQ

And blood on the hands is the last thing they want to report
The politicians that they answer to
So what am I supposed to do?
Why am I here, dying of fear
That the face that′s staring up at me will continue to appear
In the dreams that wake me up in fits and sweats
And all the counsellor has said
Won't let me forget about Shreber and it′s a yeah

Overnight trucks in convoy
Big red cross on the side and the back

Escorted by two junior officers
On the off chance they'd be attacked
On a private contract road to gauntlet
Trouble none yet reported

Guards get a little commission
As we bribe the soldier and reach the border
Now he′s got medical supplies for a refugee camp
Humanitarian mission


Held up a week at customs
Took over a month to ship from Switzerland
He knows nobody will listen
Even as the burials start increasing
So he keeps the frustration under wraps
He's seen that it′s self-defeating
And though we joined up to make a difference
Good intentions can turn out vicious
As they helplessly provide aid for camps of disbanded militias

They got caches of illegal arms
Hidden away in the countryside
Former colonial rulers ensure they get yet more clandestine supply
Seen aid workers broken down to a shell of their former selves

Till they're not so afraid of death 'cause they′ve already seen hell
The danger pay is good but every cent that he gets he′s earned
And he's alive but burning out
Driving through scorched earth
And all in all it′s worth it
It's there even just for the little victories
Standing by as a witness to the dark rumblings of history

We left home as heroes
With photo ops and press releases
A handshake from the minister
And a speech on freedom
Shiny beacons of democracy
The monitors of first free and fair elections

Midwives to assist the birth of a distant fledgling nation

As we taxied out of town
You could smell the nerves of the Hercules
Excitement and uncertainty
Prestige is posting overseas

We deployed through the provinces
Our project education
To dispel fears of retribution
With two local staff and a Thai policeman
Campaign worked and ten months later
The ballot was held and turnout greater than expected
The result unknown then the call came through on the satellite phone
Projectiles thrown in some locations
Mobs attacking polling stations
HQ called evacuation and ordered our withdrawal

We sheltered in the compound while militias crossed the town
The glow of burning buildings as night fell
Had tensions running high
The flow of refugees broke razor wire
For the protection of our presence

Automatic gunfire rang out, premeditated menace

And calls for backup to Canberra met with silence and indecision
Domestic intervention′s outside the mandate of this mission
And at dawn the order came
For all essential personnel
At 0900 the choppers would come to fly us out of hell
Now how can I meet the eye of this man that I've worked beside
And tell him that I′m free to leave today while he is sure to die
I want to hide, don't understand how these people can be abandoned
And I wonder if the minister will be there to meet us when we land