In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry.
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
And the marks of our fetters were heavy
In the rusty iron chains we sighed for our weans
Our good women we left there in sorrow
As the mainsails unfurled, our curses were hurled
At the English and the thoughts of tomorrow
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil
As down below decks we were lying.
O'Docherty's scream woke him out of a dream
By a vision of bold Robert dying.
The sun burned cruel and they dished out the gruel
Dan O'Connor was down with the fever
Sixty rebels that day bound for Botany Bay
How many would reach there this evening?
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
I cursed them to hell, as her bow fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth on the firelight
Wild horses rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls into Hades by twilight light
Five weeks out to sea we were now 43
We buried our comrades each morning
And in our own slime we were lost in a time,
Endless days without dawning
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Van Diemen's Land is a hell for a man
To live out his life in slavery
Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind nor rain care of bravery
Twenty years have gone by and I've ended my bond
My comrades' ghosts walk beside me
Well a rebel I came and sure I'll die the same
On a cold winter's night you will find me.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Out from the sweet town of Derry.
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
And the marks of our fetters were heavy
In the rusty iron chains we sighed for our weans
Our good women we left there in sorrow
As the mainsails unfurled, our curses were hurled
At the English and the thoughts of tomorrow
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil
As down below decks we were lying.
O'Docherty's scream woke him out of a dream
By a vision of bold Robert dying.
The sun burned cruel and they dished out the gruel
Dan O'Connor was down with the fever
Sixty rebels that day bound for Botany Bay
How many would reach there this evening?
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
I cursed them to hell, as her bow fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth on the firelight
Wild horses rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls into Hades by twilight light
Five weeks out to sea we were now 43
We buried our comrades each morning
And in our own slime we were lost in a time,
Endless days without dawning
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Van Diemen's Land is a hell for a man
To live out his life in slavery
Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind nor rain care of bravery
Twenty years have gone by and I've ended my bond
My comrades' ghosts walk beside me
Well a rebel I came and sure I'll die the same
On a cold winter's night you will find me.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
×
![]()
