The Catalpa

First Published In Three Street Ballads In 1957
This Version Was Collected By Russel Ward From Victor Courtney A Journalist
On The Sunday Times, Perth, Western Australia, Who Commented,
"I Remember In My Early Days As A Cadet Hearing A Band Of Old Boys In A Pub In Fremantle
Singing This Song. It Is Said That The Song Became So Popular That It Was Banned By The
Authority Of The Day And Jail Was Threatened To Anyone Caught Singing It.
It Was Suggested, Too, That The Escape Was Made Easy Because There Was
Plenty Of American Gold And Some Of It Was Placed In The Hands Of Unscrupulous Warders.
The Incident Took Place In April 1876."

The Escape Of The Six Fenians From Fremantle Jail Was Funded By Collections In Australia
And The United States. Over Three Thousand Pounds Was Collected In Australia.

Several Tunes Are Associated With This Song, Including Tunes Used For 'Botany Bay' And 'The Dying Stockman'.
The Tune Given Here Is A Variant Of 'Rosin The Bow'.

Verse 1
A NAoble Whale Ship And CommandDer
CAalled The Catalpa, They SF#may
Came AOut To Western AustraliDa
And TAook Six Poor FE7enians AwAay

Chorus
So Come AAll You Screw Warders And JDailers
RemAember Perth Regatta DF#may
Take CAare Of The Rest Of Your FeniDans
Or The YAankees Will StE7eal Them AwAay

Verse 2
SAeven Long Years Had They Served HDere
And SAeven Long More Had To StF#may
For DefAending Their Country Old IrelDand
For TAhat They Were BE7anished AwAay

Verse 3
You KAept Them In Western AustraliDa
Till ThAeir Hair Began To Turn GrF#mey
When A YAank From The States Of AmericDay
Came AOut Here And StE7ole Them AAway

Chorus
So Come AAll You Screw Warders And JDailers
RemAember Perth Regatta DF#may
Take CAare Of The Rest Of Your FeniDans
Or The YAankees Will StE7eal Them AwAay

Verse 4
Now AAll The Perth Boats Were A-RacDing
And MAaking Short Tacks For The SpF#mot
But The YAankee She Tacked Into FremantlDe
And TAook The Best PrE7ize Of The LAot

Verse 5
The GAeorgette Armed With Bold WarriDors
Went AOut The Poor Yanks To F#mArrest
But She HAoisted Her Star-Spangled BDanner
Saying YoAu'll Not BE7oard Me I GAuess

Chorus
So Come AAll You Screw Warders And JDailers
RemAember Perth Regatta DF#may
Take CAare Of The Rest Of Your FeniDans
Or The YAankees Will StE7eal Them AwAay

Verse 6
So RemAember Six Fenians ColoniDal
And SAing O'er These Few Verses With SkF#mill
And RAemember The Yankee That Stole ThDem
And The HAome That They LE7eft On The HAill

Verse 7
Now They've LAanded Safe In AmericDay
And ThAey Will Be Able To CrF#my
Hoist AUp The Green Flag And ShamrDock
HurrAah For Old E7Ireland We'll DAie

Chorus
So Come AAll You Screw Warders And JDailers
RemAember Perth Regatta DF#may
Take CAare Of The Rest Of Your FeniDans
Or The YAankees Will StE7eal Them AwAay

Outro
So Come AAll You Screw Warders And JDailers
RemAember Perth Regatta DF#may
Take CAare Of The Rest Of Your FeniDans
Or The YAankees Will StE7eal Them AwAay