Off Kilter Back Home In Derry
In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry
Australia bound
if we didn't all drown
The marks of out fetters we carried
On our rusty iron chains we sighed for out weans
Our good women we left in sorrow
As the main sails unfurled, wild curses we hurled
On the English and thought of tomorrow
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
I cursed them to hell as our bough fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
White horses rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls to the Hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea, we were now 43
We buried our comrades each morning
In our own slime we were lost in a time
Endless night without dawning
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Van Diemen's Land is the hell for a man
To live out his whole life in slavery
Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind nor rain care for bravery
Twenty years have gone by and I've ended my bond
My comrades ghosts lay behind me
A rebel I came and I'll die the same
On the cold winds of night you will find me
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry
Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry