John Wesley Harding – The Isle Of France

Oh the sky was dark and the night advanced

When a convict came to the Isle of France

And round his leg was a ringing chain

And his country was of the Shamrock Green

I’m from the Shamrock this convict cried

That has been tossed on the ocean wide

For being unruly I do declare

I was doomed to transport these seven long years

When six of them they were up and past

I was coming home to make up the last

When the winds did blow and the seas did roar

They cast me here on this foreign shore

So then the coastguard he played a part

And with some brandy, he cheered the convict’s heart

Although the night is far advanced

You shall find a friend on the Isle of France

So he sent a letter all to the queen

Concerning the wreck of the Shamrock Green

And his freedom came by a speedy post

For the absent convict they thought was lost

God bless the coastguard this convict cried

For he’s saved my life from the ocean wide

And I’ll drink his health in a flowing glass

And here’s success to the Isle Of France