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

Still the gunman rules and the widows pay
A scarlet coat and a black beret
They thought that blood and sacrifice
Could out of death bring forth a life

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