Farewell to Old England forever
Farewell to my rum skulls as well
Farewell to the well known Old Bailee
Where I once used to be such a swell.
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ay,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty
Oh we are bound for Botany Bay.
There's the captain as is our Commander,
There's bo'sun and all the ship's crew
There's first and the second class passengers,
Knows what we poor convicts goes through.
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ay,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty
Oh we are bound for Botany Bay.
'Taint leaving Old England we cares about,
'Taint 'cos we mispells wot we knows
But becos all we light finger'd gentry
Hops around with a log on our toes.
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ay,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty
Oh we are bound for Botany Bay.
For seven long years I'll be staying here
For seven long years and a day
Just for meeting a a cove in an alley
And stealing his ticker away
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ay,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty
Oh we are bound for Botany Bay.
Oh had I the wings of a turtle-dove,
I'd soar on my pinions so high,
Slap bang to the arms of my Polly love,
And in her sweet presence I'd die.
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ay,
Singing too-rall, li-oo-rall, li-ad-di-ty
Oh we are bound for Botany Bay.
Now all my young Dookies and Duchesses,
Take warning from what I've to say,
Mind all is your own that you touch-es-es,
Or you'll find us in Botany Bay.
25 Aug 2010
Bound for Botany Bay
Our new folksong - a fun one to dance to. You should hear us singing the chorus...oh my!
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Oh, I thought the clip would be you girls dancing!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can see Jemimah dancing to it in 'When it rains' at the bottom of the page. I was taking the photos, but looked much the same only bigger and older and greyer and slower and all.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean on the links within? Can't see any "When it rains" at bottom of page?????
ReplyDeleteI grew up near Botany Bay. It used to be quite lovely ...but that was a long time ago now. I used to know all the words to the song too but...lol
ReplyDeleteHello Jeanne! Love this song too! But I need to ask you a serious question "O)I am about to embark (OK maybe about) on a new book of poetry and I was wondering what you would recommend.... I have the book by Dennis that I would LOVE to read and then AO suggests Term 3Year 1 A Childs Book of Poems (which I don't have but did read ALLLLLLLL of the Childs Garden of Verse). That is a long explanation "O) for a question. What would you do?
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!!!!!
Ah, Pauline! C J Dennis' book is a sublime poetry book. Don't miss it! We did in in AO0 and The Oxford Book of Children's Verse in AO1, but A Book for Kids is much much better!!!!!! IMHO, that is :)
ReplyDelete"bigger and older and greyer and slower and all" ... you've made yourself sound like an elephant. How about, "taller, wiser, with incredibly controlled movements, all while looking amazingly chic."
ReplyDeleteGood thing I'd swallowed my coffee before reading your comments! Mr. B would not be happy if he had to purchase a new keyboard...
Thank you so much, Jeanne!!! I so appreciate your wisdom "O) And I am looking forward to doing Dennis now... I don't know that I want to do Stevenson again ALREADY "O)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
PS Now I am off to see if I have covered all of the additional Australian readings for AO1.... I am about to finish, the MUCH enjoyred, Blinky Bill! Just checking to see if there was any other suggestions before I start Pocohontas "O)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fantastic Australian version of AO again!!! In case you didn't think any appreciated all your amazing work! "O)