BOTANY BAY

Come all you young mariners lately at ease
Did you hear the great news from the Southerly seas?
The landmass of legend was recently found
And for that great terrain we are presently bound

(Chorus)
Sail away, sail away
Show your hands for the passage to Botany Bay
So let's unfurl the topmast and anchors aweigh
For the Kingdom of Sweden and Carl von Linne

Around the Canaries, Brazil and Cape Horn
Entertaining yourselves on the tropical shores
The o'er the Pacific, with fair skies above
To be greeted with flowers on the Islands of Love

(Chorus)

From there to the Southland is but a few days
Neither monsters nor mermaids inhabit those straits
Such fancies encourage the bravehearted few
That a paradise beckons the boldest of crews

(Chorus)

So quit these grim taverns and pox-ridden whores
Leave your debts and your wives and perpetual wars
Replenish your purses and sharpen your eyes
For where Terra Australis Incognita lies

(Chorus)

Now if your young lass should implore you to stay
Do not harbour regrets for her pitiful ways
Such sweet-scented flowers whom we leave behind
Cannot ever compare to the ones we will find

(Last chorus)
Sail away, sail away
All aboard for the passage to Botany Bay
So let's unfurl the topmast and anchors aweigh
For the glory of nature and Carl von Linne

(In memory of the gallant crew of botanists on board The Endeavour under Captain Cook who landed at Botany Bay on 29th April, 1770)

© Chris Hoban 1998

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Can anyone suggest a better title, so as not to confuse it with its considerably more famous namesake?!

Cheers

Chris