In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry.
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
And the marks of our feckles we carried
In the rusty iron chains we cried for our wanes
Our good women we left there in sorrow
As the main sails unfurled, our curses we hurled
At the English and the thoughts of tomorrow

At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farwell to the soil
As down below decks we were lying.
O'Docherty's scream woke him out of a dream
By a vision of bold Robert dying.
The sun burned cruel and we dished out the gruel
Dan O'Connor was down with the fever
Sixty rebels today bound for botany bay
How many would reach there this evening?

Refrain: Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.

I cursed them to hell, as our bow fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
Wild horses rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls into Hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea we were now 43
We buried our comrades each morning
And in our own slime, we were lost in the time
Endless night without dawning

1x Refrain

Van diemens land is a hell for a man
To end out his whole life in slavery
Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind nor rain care for bravery
Twenty years have gone by and I've ended my bond
My comrades' ghosts walk behind me
A rebel I came and I'm still the same
On a cold winters night you will find me.

2x refrain

Overall Meaning

The song "Back Home in Derry" by Christy Moore tells the story of Irish rebels who were exiled to Australia in the early 19th century. The song begins with the singer and his group setting sail from Derry to Australia. The journey was difficult, and many of the Irish rebels were sick and dying. The journey was also emotionally difficult as they left behind their families and loved ones. The singer curses the English as they set sail and dreams of returning home.

As the journey gets underway, the sailors and rebels face many challenges. One of their comrades dies, and they have to bury him at sea. The singer describes the journey as an "endless night without dawning." The rebels are sent to Van Diemen's Land, which is described as a "hell for a man to end out his whole life in slavery."

Despite the difficult circumstances, the singer remains defiant and proud of his Irish roots. He ends the song by saying that he is still a rebel and will always be the same. He dreams of the day he will return home to Derry.

Line by Line Meaning

In 1803 we sailed out to sea
In the year of 1803, we departed to the sea

Out from the sweet town of Derry.
We left the pleasant town of Derry

For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
We were heading towards Australia, hoping to avoid drowning

And the marks of our feckles we carried
We carried the signs of our wrongdoing

In the rusty iron chains we cried for our wanes
We sobbed for our children while being chained in rusted iron

Our good women we left there in sorrow
We left our good wives behind in grief

As the main sails unfurled, our curses we hurled
We cursed the English as the mainsails were unfurled

At the English and the thoughts of tomorrow
We directed our hatred at the English and worries about tomorrow

At the mouth of the Foyle, bid farewell to the soil
We bade farewell to the land at the mouth of the River Foyle

As down below decks we were lying.
As we were lying below the decks

O'Docherty's scream woke him out of a dream
O'Docherty's scream disturbed him from a dream

By a vision of bold Robert dying.
Due to a vision of the brave Robert's death

The sun burned cruel and we dished out the gruel
The scorching sun made us serve the unappetizing porridge

Dan O'Connor was down with the fever
Dan O'Connor was down with a fever

Sixty rebels today bound for botany bay
Sixty rebels were bound for Botany Bay today

How many would reach there this evening?
We wondered how many would reach there this evening

Oh....oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
I wish to be back home in Derry

I cursed them to hell, as our bow fought the swell
As the ship's bow navigated through the rough sea, I cursed them to hell

Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
The ship swayed like a moth under firelight

Wild horses rode high as the devil passed by
The wild horses ran freely as the devil passed by

Taking souls into Hades by twilight
Taking away souls to Hades in twilight

Five weeks out to sea we were now 43
We were out at sea for five weeks and now 43 of us remained

We buried our comrades each morning
We buried our companions every morning

And in our own slime, we were lost in the time
We were lost in time, lying in our own excrement

Endless night without dawning
A never-ending night without dawn

Van diemens land is a hell for a man
Van Diemen's Land is a terrible place for a human

To end out his whole life in slavery
To spend his entire life as a slave there

Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Where the weather is harsh and a gun dictates everything

Neither wind nor rain care for bravery
Neither the wind nor rain acknowledge bravery

Twenty years have gone by and I've ended my bond
Twenty years have passed, and I have served my sentence

My comrades' ghosts walk behind me
The ghosts of my fellow prisoners follow me

A rebel I came and I'm still the same
I was a rebel when I arrived, and I am still one

On a cold winter's night you will find me.
You will find me on a cold winter's night

Contributed by Nora P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Oisin feehilly

on By Barna

Hellow Lady, Can I borrow your teddy

Samuel Joseph Donnelly

on Whacker Humphries

Ask "whacker" about the Provo they marched on and set up for votes in council elections- set up by a brasser from the Barn named Lilly Healy- 18 fucking years in blocks/cages/ torture centres and back stabbed by wannabes from Dublin! Between Active service ( killing etc whacker in case you didn't know!!