Posted by Stewie 20 years ago!

My good mate, Sean Roche, in Perth, Western Australia, recorded this on his excellent CD 'A Celtic Heart'. Here's my transcription:^^

FREMANTLE BAY (Bonner)

video - Fremantle Bay sung by Andrew Clarke

Oh my name hasn't mattered for many a day
I was born on the west coast of Clare
By the time I was married and had my own land
There was many who envied me there

Our home was contented, the years quickly passed
We had four lads to carry our name
Then one year the crops failed and the hunger set in
I was certain that I was to blame

And oft times I think about Doolin
And my cottage a lifetime away
Though I'm chained here and bound, my heart can't be found
In this prison on Fremantle Bay

It was oft of an evening I stood by the door
I looked out where my crops used to be
But the pain deep inside as I looked in the eyes
Of our children, it drove me to steal

It was raining the night when the sheriff's men came
And the judge gave his verdict next day
For the lamb that you've stolen you'll have to be sentenced
To a colony where you will stay

And oft times I think about Doolin
And my cottage a lifetime away
Though I'm chained here and bound, my heart can't be found
In this prison on Fremantle Bay

Oh the sun it beats down from a merciless sky
And the rocks they eat into our feet
Oh the work's very hard but there's never a break
For unfortunate men such as me

My crime costs a shilling and sixpence to mend
But it sends me away o'er the sea
And now I must spend out the rest of my days
In this land that means nothing to me

And oft times I think about Doolin
And my cottage a lifetime away
Though I'm chained here and bound, my heart can't be found
In this prison on Fremantle Bay

Source: transcription from Sean Roche 'A Celtic Heart' Tempo DFCD 240

--Stewie.