Anderson's Coast by John Warner Old Bass Strait roars like a great mill race And where are you, my Annie? And the same moon shines on this distant place As shone that night on my Annie's face. Chorus (after each verse): And Annie dear, don't wait for me, I fear I'll never return to thee. There's naught to do but endure my fate And watch the moon, the lonely moon, Light the breakers of wild Bass Strait. We stole a vessel and all her gear And where are you, my Annie? And from Van Diemen's north did steer Till Bass Strait's wild waves, they wrecked us here. A mile inland as our path was laid And where are you, my Annie? We found a government stockade, Long, long deserted, but stoutly made. And somewhere's west port Melbourne lies And where are you, my Annie? Through swamps infested with snakes and flies And the fool who walks there, the fool he dies. We hail no ships, though time it drags, And where are you, my Annie? For our chain gang roll and government rags, They mark us out as Van Diemen's lags. We fled the lash and the chafing chain, And where are you, my Annie? We fled starvation and brutal pain, But here we are, and here remain. John Roberts and Debra Cowan sing Anderson's Coast. Words from Mainly Norfolk. Recording by Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, It's also in the DT: Here
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