THE ISLE OF FRANCE
The Isle of France
1. The sun was fair and the clouds advanced,
When a convict came to the Isle of France;
Around his leg he wore a ring and chain,
And his country was of the Shamrock Green
2. I am of the Shamrock’ the convict cried,
That has been tossed on the ocean wide;
For being unruly, I do declare,
I was doomed a transport for seven long years –
3. When six of them they were past and gone,
I was coming home for to make up one,
When the stormy winds they did blow and roar,
Which cast me here on this foreign shore.
4. Then the coastguard played a noble part,
And with some brandy cheered the convict’s heart.
Although the night is so far advanced,
You shall find a friend in the Isle of France.
5. Then a speedy letter went to the Queen,
About the dreadful shipwreck of the Shamrock Green
His freedom came by a speedy post
To the absent convict they thought was lost.
6. God bless the coastguard, the convict cried,
You have saved my life from the ocean wide;
I’ll drink your health in a flowing glass,
So here’s success to the Isle of France.