Van Diemens Land

        G   C              G   C  G 
Hold me now, oh hold me now 
          Em  C               D 
Till this hour has gone around 
        Bm                 Em  C 
And I‘m gone on the rising tide 
       G   D             G    C G 
For to face Van Diemen‘s land 
 
It‘s a bitter pill I swallow here 
To be rent from one so dear 
We fought for justice and not for gain 
But the magistrate sent me away 
 
Now kings will rule and the poor will toil 
And tear their hands as they tear the soil 
But a day will come in the dawning age 
When an honest man sees an honest wage 
 
Hold me now, hold me now 
Till this hour has gone around 
And I‘m gone on the rising tide 
For to face Van Diemen‘s land 
 
Still the gunman rules and widows pay 
A scarlet coat now a black beret 
They thought that blood and sacrifice 
Could out of death bring forth a life