Hold me now, hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land
It's a bitter pill
I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice
not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away
Now kings will rule
and the poor will toil
And tear their hands
as they tear the soil
But a day will come
in the dawning age
When an honest man
sees an honest wage
Hold me now, hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land