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 NDoble Whale Ship And CommandGer
CDalled The Catalpa, They SBmay
Came DOut To Western AustraliGa
And TDook Six Poor FA7enians AwDay

Chorus
So Come DAll You Screw Warders And JGailers
RemDember Perth Regatta DBmay
Take CDare Of The Rest Of Your FeniGans
Or The YDankees Will StA7eal Them AwDay

Verse 2
SDeven Long Years Had They Served HGere
And SDeven Long More Had To StBmay
For DefDending Their Country Old IrelGand
For TDhat They Were BA7anished AwDay

Verse 3
You KDept Them In Western AustraliGa
Till ThDeir Hair Began To Turn GrBmey
When A YDank From The States Of AmericGay
Came DOut Here And StA7ole Them DAway

Chorus
So Come DAll You Screw Warders And JGailers
RemDember Perth Regatta DBmay
Take CDare Of The Rest Of Your FeniGans
Or The YDankees Will StA7eal Them AwDay

Verse 4
Now DAll The Perth Boats Were A-RacGing
And MDaking Short Tacks For The SpBmot
But The YDankee She Tacked Into FremantlGe
And TDook The Best PrA7ize Of The LDot

Verse 5
The GDeorgette Armed With Bold WarriGors
Went DOut The Poor Yanks To BmArrest
But She HDoisted Her Star-Spangled BGanner
Saying YoDu'll Not BA7oard Me I GDuess

Chorus
So Come DAll You Screw Warders And JGailers
RemDember Perth Regatta DBmay
Take CDare Of The Rest Of Your FeniGans
Or The YDankees Will StA7eal Them AwDay

Verse 6
So RemDember Six Fenians ColoniGal
And SDing O'er These Few Verses With SkBmill
And RDemember The Yankee That Stole ThGem
And The HDome That They LA7eft On The HDill

Verse 7
Now They've LDanded Safe In AmericGay
And ThDey Will Be Able To CrBmy
Hoist DUp The Green Flag And ShamrGock
HurrDah For Old A7Ireland We'll DDie

Chorus
So Come DAll You Screw Warders And JGailers
RemDember Perth Regatta DBmay
Take CDare Of The Rest Of Your FeniGans
Or The YDankees Will StA7eal Them AwDay

Outro
So Come DAll You Screw Warders And JGailers
RemDember Perth Regatta DBmay
Take CDare Of The Rest Of Your FeniGans
Or The YDankees Will StA7eal Them AwDay