"Botany Bay" is a song that can be traced back to the
musical burlesque, ''
Little Jack Sheppard'', staged at the
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...
, England, in 1885 and in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia, in 1886. The show was written by
Henry Pottinger Stephens and
William Yardley, with music composed and arranged by
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. The show's programme credits "Botany Bay" as "Old Air arr. Lutz". Sheet music from
Allan & Co. in Australia credits Florian Pascal, the pseudonym of Joseph Williams Jr. (1847–1923), a music publisher and composer who published the show's music. Pascal composed other numbers in the score but received no credit for "Botany Bay" in the programme.
Earlier history
The song's earlier history is less clear. A song "Botany Bay", catalogued by the British Library as from the 1780s and described as "sung by the
Anacreontic Society", has no obvious connection, being concerned with
Cook
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* C ...
's landing rather than the subsequent deportation of convicts. However, the song's verses have lines in common with ''Farewell to Judges and Juries'' which had been performed in 1820. As for the melody, ''The Era'' (London) of 25 October 1890 describes it as "written over a hundred years ago", and it appears to have been adapted from the folk song "Mush, Mush", with its refrain "Mush, mush, mush, turaliaddy! Sing, mush, mush, mush, turalia!".
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...
was the designated settlement for the first fleet when it arrived in Australia in the eighteenth century. It was a settlement intended for the transport of
convicts to Australia. The song describes the period in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when British convicts were deported to the various
Australian penal colonies
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
by the British government for seven-year terms as an alternative to incarceration in Britain. The second verse is about life on the convict ships, and the last verse is directed to English girls and boys as warning not to steal.
After the production of ''Little Jack Sheppard'', the song became a popular folk song and has been sung and recorded by
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
and many others. It is played as a children's song on compilations, particularly in Australia.
The song is referenced in various documentaries researching the transport of convicts to Australia, although that practice in New South Wales had ended in 1840, 45 years before the song was written.
Lyrics
There are no "official" lyrics to "Botany Bay" and slight variations can be found in different sources and by different performers.
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Farewell to old England for ever,
Farewell to my rum coes[also "rum skulls"] as well,
Farewell to the well-known Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
Where I used for[sometimes "Where I once used to…"] to cut such a swell.
''Chorus:''
Singing too-ral-li, oo-ral-li, addity,
Singing too-ral-li, oo-ral-li, ay,
Singing too-ral-li, oo-ral-li, addity,
And we're bound for Botany Bay.
There's the captain as is our commander,
There's the bo'sun and all the ship's crew,
There's the first- and the second-class passengers,
Knows what we poor convicts go through.
'Taint leaving old England we cares about,
'Taint cos we mis-spells what we knows,
But because all we light-fingered gentry
Hops around with a log on our toes.
These seven long years I've been serving now[sometimes "For seven long years I'll be staying here…"]
And seven long more have to stay[sometimes "For seven long years and a day…"]
All for bashing a bloke down our alley[sometimes "Just for meeting a bloke…"]
And taking his ticker away.
Oh, had I the wings of a turtle-dove,
I'd soar on my pinions so high,
Straight back[also "Slap bang…"] to the arms of my Polly love,
And in her sweet presence I'd die.
Now all my young Dookies and Duchesses,
Take warning from what I've to say:
Mind all is your own as you toucheses
Or you'll find us in Botany Bay.
Covers
The song "Toorali" on the 2008 album ''
Summerland'' from Australian band
The Herd uses an adapted excerpt from the song "Botany Bay" for its chorus and main verse.
Another song titled "Toorali" by Australian post-hardcore band
Eleventh He Reaches London uses parts of the song's chorus, appearing on their 2009 album ''
Hollow Be My Name''.
A verse and chorus of the song can also be heard sung by
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...
,
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...
,
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...
, and
Glynis Johns in the 1960 film ''
The Sundowners''.
Kate Rusby
Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...
covered the song for her 1999 album ''
Sleepless''.
Australian singer
Mirusia with Dutch violinist
André Rieu performed the song on their album ''
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...
'' in 2008.
The song can also be heard being sung by itinerant Australian shearers in the US TV miniseries ''
The Thorn Birds'' (1983).
[, in ''The Thorn Birds'']
American band "
Primus", on their album
Brown album recorded a song called Fisticuffs, talking about the Botany Bay
References
External links
*
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1885 songs
Australian folk songs
Australian poems
Botany Bay
Songs about boats
Songs about Australia
Songs about crime
Songs about criminals