Back Home In Derry

Am                           C
In eighteen-o-three we sailed out to sea
G            D             Am
Out from the sweet town of Derry
Am                         C
For Australia bound, if we didn't all drown
G                D          Am
The marks of our fetters we carried

D                               C
In our rusty iron chains we cried for our weans
D                      Em
Our good women we left in sorrow
Am                              C
As the main sails unfurled, our curses we hurled
       G           D           Am
On the English and thoughts of tomorrow


[Verse 2]

Am                              C
At the mouth of the Foyle, bade farewell to the soil
   G          D             Am
As down below decks we were lying
Am                        C
O'Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream
     G         D           Am
By a vision of bold Robert dying

D                             C
The sun burnt cruel as we dished out the gruel
D                            Em
Dan O'Conner was down with a fever
Am                            C
Sixty rebels today, bound for Botany Bay
    G         D           Am
How many will reach their receiver


[Chorus]

C        G       Am         G            Am
Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry
C        G       Am         G            Am
Oh oh oh oh oh I wish I was back home in Derry


[Verse 3]
(same as verse 1)

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


[Chorus]

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


[Verse 4]
(same as verse 1)

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