Roaring Forties

Well I met a fervent lady in the splendour of the night
And a harlot is a curse and so began my plight
I am a poor unhappy soul within these walls I lay
And transportation sentenced, I’m going far away
I spent ever sovereign to maintain the lofty dame
And when it all ran out she treated me with disdain
So upon her orders I began a life to plunder
But now she is long gone and I am left to wonder
So here I ride on the roaring forties
She d tear for seven years in a foreign land
Here I ride on the roaring forties
She d tear for seven years a forsaken man
Well I was a young man proud, but I turned a common thief
A man will do most anything for a woman s spell beneath
My aged parents proud, they bitterly did cry
They bid farewell their son, and his soul, goodbye
So come all you native boys, come and gather round
I’ll tell you all the story of why I’m ironbound
I stood before the judge and was sentenced for my ways
He said my lad you are transported — To Botany Bay
So here I ride on the roaring forties
She’d tear for seven years in a foreign land
Here I ride on the roaring forties
She d tear for seven years a forsaken man