Easy melody Version
The song can be found on records by the Bushwackers, Cobbers, William Clauson
and many other Australian Folk records.
A7 D G Em A7 De|---------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------B|---------------|----0----------|-----------------|----------------------G|-2----------2--|-2------0------|-----------------|-------------2--------D|------0---4----|------------2--|-0------------4--|-2--0-----4-----------A|---------------|---------------|------4---0------|----------------------E|---------------|---------------|-----------------|---------------------- There was a Wild co-lon-ial boy, Jack Doo-lan was his name, Of poor
Em A7 D A7 D Em e|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|----------------B|-3--3------2-|-0------------|----2--0------|--------3--3-|------2--0------G|--------2----|-----------0--|-2---------2--|----2--------|-2--------------D|-------------|-----2--4-----|--------------|-4-----------|------------2---A|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|----------------E|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|---------------- But hon-est pa-rents He was born in Cas-tle-maine He was his fa-ther'son-ly hope
A7 D A7 D G Em A7 e|------------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------------B|--------------2---|-0---------------|-----------0--|---------------------G|----0--2----------|-----2-----------|---2---2------|-0-------------------D|-4----------------|---------4---0---|-4------------|------2----0---------A|------------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------4-----E|------------------|-----------------|--------------|--------------------- His mo-ther's pride and joy And dear-ly did his pa- rents love the wild
De|----------------||B|----------------||G|----------------||D|----4----2--0---||A|-0--------------||E|----------------|| co-lon-ial boy
Chorus:
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.
