Ten Thousand Miles Away
Sing ho! for a brave an' a gallant ship,
An' a fast an' fav'rin' breeze,
Wi' a bully crew an' a cap'n to
To carry me over the seas;
To carry me over the seas, me boys,
To me true love far away,
For I'm takin' a trip on a Government ship
Ten thousand miles away.
Chorus:
Then blow, ye winds and blow!
An' a-rovin' I will go.
I'll stay no more on England's shore
To hear sweet music play [*]
For I'm on the move to me own true love
Ten thousand miles away
My true love wuz beautiful,
An' my true love wuz gay,
But she's taken a trip on a Government ship
Bound out to Botany Bay,
Bound out to Botany Bay, m'boys,
An' though she's far away,
I'll never forget me own true love,
Ten thousand miles away!
Oh, it wuz a summer's mornin',
When last I saw my Meg
She'd a Government band around each hand
An' another one round her leg
Oh, another one round her leg, m'boys
As the big ship left the bay,
"Adieu," she sez, "remember me,
Ten thousand miles away!" [**]
I wish I wuz a bosun bold
Or a sailor widout fear[***]
I'd man a boat and away I'd float
An' straight for me true love steer;
An' straight for me true love steer, m'boys
Where the whales an' dolphins play,
Where the whales an' sharks are havin' their larks
Ten thousand miles away.
Oh, the sun may shine through the London fog
Or the river run quite clear,
Or the ocean brine turn into wine
Or I forget my beer
Or I forget my beer, m'boys
Or the landlord's quarter-pay
But I'll never forget me own true love
Ten thousand miles away.
- Other versions
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
- published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
- anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
- government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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This work was published before January 1, 1929 and is anonymous or pseudonymous due to unknown authorship. It is in the public domain in the United States as well as countries and areas where the copyright terms of anonymous or pseudonymous works are 95 years or less since publication.
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