The Wild Colonial Boy

The Wild Colonial Boy Australian Traditional folk Song

Transcribed by K Woodgate

Easy melody Version

The song can be found on records by the Bushwackers, Cobbers, William Clauson

and many other Australian Folk records.

 

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There was a Wild co-lon-ial boy, Jack Doo-lan was his name, Of poor

 

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But hon-est pa-rents He was born in Cas-tle-maine He was his fa-ther's

on-ly hope

 

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His mo-ther's pride and joy And dear-ly did his pa- rents love the wild

 

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co-lon-ial boy

So come away me hearties

We'll roam the mountains high,

Together we will plunder

And together we will die.

We'll scour along the valleys

And we'll gallop o'er the plains,

And scorn to live in slavery,

Bound down by iron chains.

At the age of sixteen years

He left his native home

And to Australia's sunny shores,

A bushranger did roam.

They put him in the iron gang

In the government employ,

But never an iron on earth could hold

The Wild Colonial Boy.

In sixty-one this daring youth

Commenced his wild career,

With a heart that knew no danger

And no foeman did he fear.

He stuck up the Beechworth mail coach

And robbed Judge MacEvoy

Who, trembling cold, gave up his gold

To the Wild Colonial Boy.

He bade the Judge good morning

And he told him to beware,

That he'd never rob a needy man

Or one who acted square,

But a Judge who'd rob a mother

Of her one and only joy

Sure, he must be a worse outlaw than

The Wild Colonial Boy.

One day as Jack was riding

The mountainside along,

A-listening to the little birds,

Their happy laughing song

Three mounted troopers came along,

Kelly, Davis and Fitzroy

With a warrant for the capture of

The Wild Colonial Boy.

'Surrender now! Jack Doolan,

For you see it's three to one;

Surrender in the Queen's own name,

You are a highwayman.'

Jack drew a pistol from his belt

And waved it like a toy,

'I'll fight, but not surrender,' cried

The Wild Colonial Boy.

He fired at trooper Kelly

And brought him to the ground,

And in return from Davis

Received a mortal wound,

All shattered through the jaws he lay

Still firing at Fitzroy.

And that's the way they captured him,

The Wild Colonial Boy.