A5 E5 In eighteen-o-three we sailed out to sea G5 D5 A5 Out from the sweet town of Derry A5 E5 For Australia bound, if we didn't all drown G5 D5 A5 The marks of our fetters we carried A5 E5 In our rusty iron chains we cried for our weans A5 E5 Our good women we left in sorrow A5 E5 As the main sails unfurled, our curses we hurled G5 D5 A5 On the English and thoughts of tomorrow A5 E5 At the mouth of the Foyle, bade farewell to the soil G5 D5 A5 As down below decks we were lying A5 E5 O'Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream G5 D5 A5 By a vision of bold Robert dying A5 E5 The sun burnt cruel as we dished out the gruel A5 E5 Dan O'Conner was down with a fever A5 E5 Sixty rebels today, bound for Botany Bay G5 D5 A5 How many will reach their receiver C5 G5 A5 G5 A5 Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry C5 G5 A5 G5 A5 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
