[Chorus]
              G  C             G   C G
     Hold me now,   oh hold me now
               Em C            D
     Til this hour   has gone around.
              Bm                 Em C
     And I'm gone on the rising tide
             G D                G  C G
     For to face  Van Diemen's Land.
               G  C             G   C G
It's a bitter pill   I swallow here
       Em C               D
To be rent   from one so dear.
                Bm                 Em C
We fought for justice and not for gain
               G D            G  C G
But the magistrate  sent me away.
                G   C                     G   C G
Now kings will rule   and the poor will toil
                 Em  C                    D
And tear their hands   as they tear the soil.
                Bm                   Em C
But a day will come in this dawning age
                 G D                  G  C G
When an honest man   sees an honest wage.
[Chorus]
              G  C             G   C G
     Hold me now,   oh hold me now
               Em C            D
     Til this hour   has gone around.
              Bm                 Em C
     And I'm gone on the rising tide
             G D                G  C G
     For to face  Van Diemen's Land.
                   G  C             G   C G
Still the gunman rules   and widows pay
           Em C              D
A scarlet coat  now a black beret.
                    Bm                 Em C
They thought that blood and sacrifice
               G D                  G  C G
Could out of death   bring forth a life.
[Chorus]
              G  C             G   C G
     Hold me now,   oh hold me now
               Em C            D
     Til this hour   has gone around.
              Bm                 Em C
     And I'm gone on the rising tide
             G D                G  C G