[Verse]
In 1803, we sailed out to sea,
Out from that sweet town of Derry,
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown,
The marks of our fetters we carried,
Rusty iron chains, we cried for our weans,
Good women we left in sorrow,
As the mainsails unfurled, our curses we hurled,
At the English and thoughts of tomorrow.

[Chorus]
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry."

[Verse]
The mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil,
As down below decks we were lying,
O'Doherty screamed, woken out from a dream,
By a vision of brave Robert dying,
The sun it burned as cruel as we dished out the gruel,
Dan O'Connor went down with a fever,
Sixty rebels today bound for Botany Bay,
How many will reach their receiver?

[Chorus]
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry."

[Verse]
I cursed them to hell, our bow fought the swell,
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight,
White horses rode high as the devils 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 without time,
Endless night without dawning.

[Chorus]
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry."

[Verse]
Van Diemen's land, a hell for a man,
To end out his whole life in slavery,
Where the climate is raw, the gun makes the law,
Neither wind nor rain cares for bravery,
Twenty years have gone by, I've ended me bond,
My comrades' ghosts are beside me,
A rebel I came and I'll die the same,
On the cold winters night you will find me.

[Chorus]
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,"
I said, "Oh... oh, I wish I was back in Free Derry.".