Well, I'm on my way down to the quay Where the good ship Nell doth lay To command a gang of navvies I was ordered to engage I thought I would stop in for a while Before I sailed away For to take a trip on an immigrant ship To the shores of Botany Bay
{Refrain} Farewell to your bricks and mortar Farewell to your dirty lime Farewell to your gangway and gang planks And to Hell with your overtime For the good ship Ragamuffin She's lying at the quay For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back To the shores of Botany Bay
Well, the boss comes up this morning And he says, "Why, Pat, hello If you do not mix the mortar quick To be sure you'll have to go" Well, of course he did insult me I demanded all me pay And I told him straight I was going to emigrate To the shores of Botany Bay
{Refrain}
The best years of our life we spend at Working on the docks Building mighty wharves and quays Of earth and ballast rocks Though pensions keep our jobs secure I shan't rue the day When I take a trip on an immigrant ship To the shores of Botany Bay
{Refrain}
When I reach Australia I'll go and search for gold There's plenty there for digging up Or so I have been told Or maybe I'll go back to me trade Eight hundred bricks I'll lay For an eight hour shift and an eight bob pay On the shores of Botany Bay