Forty-two years after the release of Vietnam veterans’ anthem, I was only 19, singer-songwriter John Schumann has released a new song about a new generation of Australian veterans.
Schumann wrote the new song: Fishing net in the rain, with his manager and friend Ivan Tanner. Released on Anzac Day 2025, it’s about Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer, David Finney, who took his life in 2019.
Finney was one of the young sailors sent out by the Australian Government to “stop the boats”.
His mother Julie-Ann testified to the Royal Commission about her son.
‘Julie-Ann was going through David’s Spotify playlist and I was only 19 was at the top of the list apparently,’ said Schumann who wrote that song in 1982.
Singer-songwriter John Schumann has made advocating for veterans his life’s work. PHOTO: supplied
Julie-Ann shared David’s diaries, notes, Facebook posts and blogs with Schumann and one phrase stood out to him.
‘At one point, David was writing about his endless engagement with doctors and psychologists. He wrote in a Facebook post: “Sometimes I feel like I’m catching all the answers, sometimes it’s like holding a fishing net in the rain”.’
Cover art for the new song remembering Australian veterans whose suffering did not end with their military service
While the new song was inspired by Finney’s story, Schumann says it’s also for thousands of current and former members of the ADF who have taken their lives after serving Australia.
‘And, perhaps more importantly, it’s for their families.’
A long-time advocate for veterans and their families, Schumann put words to Ivan Tanner’s music to ‘bolt a human face’ on the recommendations of the Royal Commission.
‘It’s about the human cost of war and military service.’
‘David’s story is just one of thousands. All Australians need to confront these stories and demand our political leaders continue to move forward on implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations.
‘Otherwise, the tragedy of veterans taking their own lives will go on.’
Fishing net in the rain with lyrics by John Schumann, music by Ivan Tanner and played by the band: The Vagabond Crew, is streaming here.
John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew tour Australia from August to November: details here
PHOTO at top of story is Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer, David Finney.
