In eighteen-o-three we sailed out to sea Out from the sweet town of Derry For Australia bound, if we didn't all drown The marks of our fetters we carried
In our rusty iron chains we cried for our weans Our good women we left in sorrow As the main sails unfurled, our curses we hurled On the English and thoughts of tomorrow
At the mouth of the Foyle, bade farewell to the soil As down below decks we were lying O'Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream By a vision of bold Robert dying
The sun burnt cruel as we dished out the gruel Dan O'Conner was down with a fever Sixty rebels today, bound for Botany Bay How many will reach their receiver
Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry
I cursed them to hell as our bow fought the swell Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight White horses rode high as the devil passed by Taking souls to Hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea, we were now forty-three We buried our comrades each morning In our own slime we were lost in the time Endless night without dawning
Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry
Van Diemen's Land is a hell for a man To end out his whole life in slavery Where the climate is raw and a gun makes the law Neither wind nor rain care for bravery
Twenty years have gone by, I have ended my bond
My comrades' ghosts walk beside me A rebel I came, I'm still the same On the cold winds of night you will find me
Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry