First Published In Three Street Ballads In 1957This Version Was Collected By Russel Ward From Victor Courtney A JournalistOn 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 FremantleSinging This Song. It Is Said That The Song Became So Popular That It Was Banned By TheAuthority Of The Day And Jail Was Threatened To Anyone Caught Singing It.It Was Suggested, Too, That The Escape Was Made Easy Because There WasPlenty 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 AustraliaAnd 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 1A Noble Whale Ship And CommanderCalled The Catalpa, They SayCame Out To Western AustraliaAnd Took Six Poor Fenians AwayChorusSo Come All You Screw Warders And JailersRemember Perth Regatta DayTake Care Of The Rest Of Your FeniansOr The Yankees Will Steal Them AwayVerse 2Seven Long Years Had They Served HereAnd Seven Long More Had To StayFor Defending Their Country Old IrelandFor That They Were Banished AwayVerse 3You Kept Them In Western AustraliaTill Their Hair Began To Turn GreyWhen A Yank From The States Of AmericayCame Out Here And Stole Them AwayChorusSo Come All You Screw Warders And JailersRemember Perth Regatta DayTake Care Of The Rest Of Your FeniansOr The Yankees Will Steal Them AwayVerse 4Now All The Perth Boats Were A-RacingAnd Making Short Tacks For The SpotBut The Yankee She Tacked Into FremantleAnd Took The Best Prize Of The LotVerse 5The Georgette Armed With Bold WarriorsWent Out The Poor Yanks To ArrestBut She Hoisted Her Star-Spangled BannerSaying You'll Not Board Me I GuessChorusSo Come All You Screw Warders And JailersRemember Perth Regatta DayTake Care Of The Rest Of Your FeniansOr The Yankees Will Steal Them AwayVerse 6So Remember Six Fenians ColonialAnd Sing O'er These Few Verses With SkillAnd Remember The Yankee That Stole ThemAnd The Home That They Left On The HillVerse 7Now They've Landed Safe In AmericayAnd They Will Be Able To CryHoist Up The Green Flag And ShamrockHurrah For Old Ireland We'll DieChorusSo Come All You Screw Warders And JailersRemember Perth Regatta DayTake Care Of The Rest Of Your FeniansOr The Yankees Will Steal Them AwayOutroSo Come All You Screw Warders And JailersRemember Perth Regatta DayTake Care Of The Rest Of Your FeniansOr The Yankees Will Steal Them Away
