Now come all you young fellers where'er you may be
Come listen a while and I'll tell you
It's many's the young man myself I have seen
More fitting to serve than to die on a string
But how odd were the judges, how cruel they have been
For to send us poor lads to Virginny
Now when we come to Virginny, that cold shameful place,
Which now I recall in my story
Our captain did stand with his whip and his cane
To bargain for us poor souls out of hand
Like horses they yoked us that had ploughed the salt main
How hard was my fate in Virginny
O England, sweet England, I fear I'll never see you more
And if I do, it's ten thousand to twenty
For me fingers they are rotting and me bones they are sore
I wonder about I'm right down to death's door
But if I can just live to see seven years' more
I will soon bid farewell to Virginny
Come listen a while and I'll tell you
It's many's the young man myself I have seen
More fitting to serve than to die on a string
But how odd were the judges, how cruel they have been
For to send us poor lads to Virginny
Now when we come to Virginny, that cold shameful place,
Which now I recall in my story
Our captain did stand with his whip and his cane
To bargain for us poor souls out of hand
Like horses they yoked us that had ploughed the salt main
How hard was my fate in Virginny
O England, sweet England, I fear I'll never see you more
And if I do, it's ten thousand to twenty
For me fingers they are rotting and me bones they are sore
I wonder about I'm right down to death's door
But if I can just live to see seven years' more
I will soon bid farewell to Virginny
inviata da Bartleby - 18/11/2010 - 08:20
Lingua: Inglese
Versione di Bob Hart, folksinger del Suffolk attivo nella prima metà del 900.
AUSTRALIA
Come all you young fellows wheresome'er you may be,
Come listen awhile to my story.
For when I was a young man, my age seventeen,
I ought to be serving Victoria, our Queen.
But those hard-hearted judges, oh, how cruel they be
To send us poor young lads to Australia.
I fell in with a damsel, she was handsome and gay,
I neglected my work more and more every day,
And to keep her like a lady, I went on the highway,
And for that I was sent to Australia.
Where the judges, they stand with their whips in their hands,
They drive us like horses to plough up the land.
You should see us poor young fellows, working in the gaol-yard,
Oh, how hard is the life in Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see thee more,
I'm worn out with fever, cast down to Death's door,
But if I live to see, say, seven years more,
I would then bid adieu to Australia,
I would then bid adieu to Australia.
Come all you young fellows wheresome'er you may be,
Come listen awhile to my story.
For when I was a young man, my age seventeen,
I ought to be serving Victoria, our Queen.
But those hard-hearted judges, oh, how cruel they be
To send us poor young lads to Australia.
I fell in with a damsel, she was handsome and gay,
I neglected my work more and more every day,
And to keep her like a lady, I went on the highway,
And for that I was sent to Australia.
Where the judges, they stand with their whips in their hands,
They drive us like horses to plough up the land.
You should see us poor young fellows, working in the gaol-yard,
Oh, how hard is the life in Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see thee more,
I'm worn out with fever, cast down to Death's door,
But if I live to see, say, seven years more,
I would then bid adieu to Australia,
I would then bid adieu to Australia.
inviata da Bartleby - 18/11/2010 - 08:21
Lingua: Inglese
Versione degli Steeleye Span dall’album “Horkstow Grange” del 1998.
AUSTRALIA
I fell in with a damsel, she was handsome and gay,
I neglected my work more and more every day,
And to keep her like a lady, I went on the highway,
And for that I was sent to Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see no more
Worn out with the fever, cast down to Death's door,
And if I ever live, say, seven years more,
I would soon bid adieu to Australia.
Now the judges, they stand with their whips in their hands
And they drive us like horses to plough up the land.
You should see us poor young fellows, a-working in the gaol-yard,
How cruel is our fate in Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see no more
Worn out with the fever, cast down to Death's door,
And if I ever live, say, seven years more,
I would soon bid adieu to Australia.
I fell in with a damsel, she was handsome and gay,
I neglected my work more and more every day,
And to keep her like a lady, I went on the highway,
And for that I was sent to Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see no more
Worn out with the fever, cast down to Death's door,
And if I ever live, say, seven years more,
I would soon bid adieu to Australia.
Now the judges, they stand with their whips in their hands
And they drive us like horses to plough up the land.
You should see us poor young fellows, a-working in the gaol-yard,
How cruel is our fate in Australia.
Australia, Australia, I would ne'er see no more
Worn out with the fever, cast down to Death's door,
And if I ever live, say, seven years more,
I would soon bid adieu to Australia.
inviata da Bartleby - 18/11/2010 - 08:21
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Album “Crown of Horn”, 1976.
Testo trovato su English Folk Music
Canzone risalente a prima delle guerra d’indipendenza americana, raccolta nell’Hampshire inglese nella seconda metà dell’800 da George Barnet Gardiner, celebre “cacciatore” di folksongs.
Racconta di un detenuto spedito come tanti a scontare la sua pena nelle colonie oltre oceano, in Virginia. Inutile dire che per i prigionieri, trattati come schiavi, la detenzione si concludeva spesso con la morte.
Di questo brano esistono pure versioni molto simili– quella di Bob Hart e quella degli Steeleye Span – ma di epoca successiva in cui la “location” è spostata dalle Americhe all’Australia, dove il processo di colonizzazione, attuato pure lì attraverso la deportazione di criminali comuni e prigionieri politici, si intensificò proprio quando gli inglesi persero le proprie colonie americane.