Legendary Australian singer-songwriter John Schumann has penned a new anthem, this time dedicated to our nation’s police.

Schumann is most famous for his song written for Vietnam veterans, I Was Only 19.

This week he released a new track, Graduation Day, a look into the lives of the men and women who hold ‘the thin blue line’.

The song took more than a year to write as Schumann tried to get into the shoes and minds of our first responders.

Graduation Day comes off the back of a landmark Beyond Blue report that showed extremely disturbing levels of mental illness among emergency services personnel.

Proceeds from the song are being directed to the National Police Foundation to assist police officers and their families who are in need.

Download ‘Graduation Day’ HERE

John Schumann joins Alan Jones in the studio to discuss the song and how he came to write it.

He tells Alan it’s absolutely crucial to get the details right, just like he did with I Was Only 19, for the story to be believable

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Find out more about the release of the song from the Police Federation of Australia