The Shores of Botany Bay

[Verse 1]
I'm on me way down to the quay
Where the ship at anchor lays
To command a gang of navvies there
They told me to engage
I thought I'd drop in for a drink
Before I sailed away
For to take a trip on an immigrant ship
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Refrain]
Farewell to your bricks and mortar
Farewell to your dirty lime
Farewell to your gangway and your gangplank
And to Hell with your overtime
For the good ship Ragamuffin
She's lying at the quay
For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Verse 2]
The best years of our lives we spent
Working on the docks
Building mighty wharves and piers
From earth and ballast rocks
Our pensions keep our jobs secure
But I won't rue the day
When I'll take a trip on an immigrant ship
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Refrain]
Farewell to your bricks and mortar
Farewell to your dirty lime
Farewell to your gangway and your gangplank
And to Hell with your overtime
For the good ship Ragamuffin
She's lying at the quay
For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]
The boss comes up this morning
And he says, "Well, Pat, you know
That if you don't mix that mortar quick
I'm afraid you'll have to go"
Well, of course he did insult me
So I demanded all me pay
And I told him straight I was going to emigrate
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Refrain]
Farewell to your bricks and mortar
Farewell to your dirty lime
Farewell to your gangway and your gangplank
And to Hell with your overtime
For the good ship Ragamuffin
She's lying at the quay
For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Verse 4]
And when I reach Australia
I'll go and search for gold
There's plenty there for digging up
Or so I have been told
And when I've made me fortune
There'll be no more bricks to lay
I'll take me ease doing what I please
On the shores of Botany Bay

[Refrain]
Farewell to your bricks and mortar
Farewell to your dirty lime
Farewell to your gangway and your gangplank
And to Hell with your overtime
For the good ship Ragamuffin
She's lying at the quay
For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back
To the shores of Botany Bay

[Refrain]
Farewell to your bricks and mortar
Farewell to your dirty lime
Farewell to your gangway and your gangplank
And to Hell with your overtime
For the good ship Ragamuffin
She's lying at the quay
For to take old Pat with a shovel on his back
To the shores of Botany Bay