[Verse]
Oh, 1803, we sailed out to sea,
Out from the sweet town of Derry,
Australia bound if we didn't all drown,
The marks of our fetters we carried,
In our rusty iron chains, we sighed for our weans,
Our good women we left in sorrow,
As the mainsails unfurled, many curses we hurled,
On the English and thoughts of tomorrow.

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

[Verse]
At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil,
Down below deck we were lying,
O'Doherty screamed, woken out from a dream,
By a vision of bold Robert dying,
The sun burned 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 the receiver?

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

[Verse]
I cursed them to hell, as our bow fought the swell,
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 thirty three,
Sure we buried our comrades each morning,
In our own slime we were lost a the time,
Endless night without dawning.

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

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

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

[Outro]
Oh... oh, I wish I was back home in Derry,
Oh... oh.