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Title
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Isle of France
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Singer
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Hawkins, Arthur
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Song Lyrics
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Verse 1
The sun was fair and the clouds advanced,
And the convict came to the Isle of France;
All around his legs were a ring and chain,
And his country was of the shamrock green.
Verse 2
The coastguard waited all on the beach,
While the convict's boat was about to reach;
The convict's chains did so shine and spark,
That it shook the veins of the coastguard's heart.
Verse 3
The convict launched his little boat,
Upon the ocean with him to float;
The birds at night took their silent rest,
But the convict here has a wounded breast.
Verse 4
Then the coastguard came to the Isle of France,
And towards the convict did advance;
The tears from his eyes did fall like rain -
'I hear young man, you're of the shamrock green.'
Verse 5
'I am a shamrock,' the convict cried,
'That has been tossed on the ocean wide;
For being unruly I do declare,
I'm condemned a transport for seven long years.'
Verse 6
When six of them were past and gone,
We were coming home to make up one;
When the stormy winds did so blow and roar,
That cast we were on a foreign shore.
Verse 7
Then the coastguard played a noble part,
And with some brandy cheered the convict's heart;
Although this night being far advanced,
To find a friend in the Isle of France.
'God bless the coastguard,' the convict cried,
'He has saved my life from the ocean wide;
I'll drink his health in a flowing glass -
So here's success to the Isle of France.'
