The song was inspired by Voices of Gallipoli by Maurice Shadbolt; specifically, this account by Vic Nicholson, a veteran of the ill-fated campaign:

I lost my dearest friend, Teddy Charles, that day. We joined up together and saw the campaign through together until Chunuk Bair. There were no officers left, no NCOs. Just soldiers. Teddy led thirty men forward to try and hold the ridge. He called, “Come on Vic,” but I was impeded by Turkish fire. We never saw those thirty men again. Later, in the dark, I thought I heard Teddy’s voice calling for his mother, then for me. By then the place was crawling with Turks and I couldn’t get to him. He’s still on Chunuk Bair, a pile of bones… If I was asked to give a description of the colour of the earth on Chunuk Bair on the eighth or ninth of August, I would say it was a dull or browny red. And that was blood. Just blood.