JAIL AWAY FREMANTLE
(W.Evans/A.Ferguson)

Chorus:
Let the rope, soap and calico take me
I’ll grin and I’ll hold me head high
And the devil take he who can make me
Bow low ‘cos I’d far rather die

The landlord that fenced in our farmland
Was a thief and he left us to die
The judge gave 5 years transportation
So I downed him and blackened his eye

On the boat we fared far worse than cattle
I was detailed to clean up the ship
The devil take ye, says I, what a battle
But I laughed when they gave me the whip

Chorus

At Fremantle a rat cell awaited
Some others had died in that place
The guard who released me weeks later
Gave a curse as I spat in his face

I was sentenced to work on the chain gang
Lashed backs as the rocks we did crush
But I struck a great blow at a weak link
And made a quick dash to the bush

Chorus

Near starving I met up with Dugan
And rode with his wild Irish band
And plundered the rich idle squatters
When we levelled our guns and cried stand

We were caught in an ambush near Collie
And most of them died in that fight
I was locked up in jail for a dawn dance
But I broke through the roof in the night

Chorus

I have rode with the rustlers at Moora
And many the cattle I’ve duffed
I’ve ridden the wild trails through the outback
And with me swag many miles I have roughed

With a new name I joined in the gold rush
And was lucky and struck a rich vein
For the landowner’s hirelings claim-jumped me
So I swore that I’d blacken his name

Chorus

Now killing don’t make a man suffer
It’s others that get to despair
But he’s brought his young wife to the diggings
So I gave the old bastard an heir

And he sent out his hirelings to kill me
And I laughed as the bullets did fly
And I’ll laugh when I hang in the morning
‘Cos I don’t give a damn if I die

Chorus

Alan Ferguson put a tune to this ripper Wendy Evans poem. The Settlers, a West Australian band, recorded it on 'Bound for Western Australia' Tempo DBCD 114.

Thanks to Phil Beck for checking my above transcription.

Info on Wendy Evans may be found here:

Wendy Evans

--Stewie.