The Catalpa

Trad

Come all you screw warders and jailers
Remember Perth regatta day
Take care of the rest of your Fenians
Or the Yankees will steal them away

A noble whale ship, the Catalpa
Set out from New Bedford one day
She sailed off to Western Australia
And took six poor Fenians away

Seven long years they had served here
And seven long more had to stay
For defending their country Old Ireland
They were chained and transported away

So come all you screw warders and jailers
Remember Perth regatta day
Take care of the rest of your Fenians
Or the Yankees will steal them away

You kept them in Western Australia
Till their hair had begun to turn grey
When a brave whaling ship and commander
Came out here and stole them away

Now all the Perth boats were a-racing
And making short tacks for the spot
But the Yankee tacked into Fremantle
And took the best prize of the lot

So come all you screw warders and jailers
Remember Perth regatta day
Take care of the rest of your Fenians
Or the Yankees will steal them away

The Georgette she sailed out with guns ready
Intending the Yankee to take
But they hoisted their star-spangled banner
And left the Georgette in their wake

So remember those six Fenian heroes
Who escaped o’er to America
And join in a toast to the bravery
Of the Yankees who stole them away

So come all you screw warders and jailers
Remember Perth regatta day
Take care of the rest of your Fenians
Or the Yankees will steal them away

Now they’ve landed safe in New York harbour
And the crowd there to greet them did cry
So we’ll hoist up the green flag and shamrock
For Old Ireland we’ll fight or we’ll die

So come all you screw warders and jailers
Remember Perth regatta day
Take care of the rest of your Fenians
Or the Yankees will steal them away

Lyrics as sung by Mick Moloney of The Green Fields Of America. There is another song called Catalpa here.