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(intro) Em G D A Em G D Em Bm
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In 1803 we sailed out to sea,
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out from the sweet town of Derry.
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For Australia bound, if we didn't all drown,
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and the marks of our fetters we carried.
A G
In our rusty iron chains we cried for our weans,
A Bm
our good women we left in sorrow.
Em G
As the mainsails unfurled, our curses we hurled
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on the English, and thoughts of tomorrow.
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At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil,
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as down below decks we were lying.
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O'Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream
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by a vision of bold Robert dying.
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The sun burned cruel as we dished out the gruel,
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Dan O'Connor was down with a fever.
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Sixty rebels today bound for Botany Bay,
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how many will reach their receiver.
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O........h, I wish I was back home in Derry. (2x)
Em G
I cursed them to hell as her bow fought the swell,
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our ship danced like a moth in the firelight.
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White horses rode high as the devil passed by,
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taking souls to Hades by twilight.
A G
Five weeks out to sea, we were now forty-three,
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we buried our comrades each morning.
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In our own slime we were lost in a time
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of endless night without dawning.
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O........h, I wish I was back home in Derry. (2x)
Em G
Van Diemen's land is a hell for a man,
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to vent out his whole life in slavery.
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Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law,
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neither wind nor rain care for bravery.
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Twenty years have gone by, I've ended my bond,
A Bm
my comrades ghosts walk behind me.
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A rebel I came, I'm still the same,
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on the cold winters night you will find me.
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O........h, I wish I was back home in Derry. (4x)