Misc Traditional - The Wild Colonial Boy Tabs

The Wild Colonial Boy            Australian Traditional folk Song

Transcribed by K Woodgate

Easy melody Version 

The song can be found on records by the Bushwackers, Cobbers, William Clauson 
and many other Australian Folk records.


A7   D             G       Em        A7              D
e|---------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------
B|---------------|----0----------|-----------------|----------------------
G|-2----------2--|-2------0------|-----------------|-------------2--------
D|------0---4----|------------2--|-0------------4--|-2--0-----4-----------
A|---------------|---------------|------4---0------|----------------------
E|---------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------
  There was a Wild co-lon-ial boy, Jack Doo-lan was his name, Of poor  

             Em            A7         D   A7      D               Em 
e|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|----------------
B|-3--3------2-|-0------------|----2--0------|--------3--3-|------2--0------
G|--------2----|-----------0--|-2---------2--|----2--------|-2--------------
D|-------------|-----2--4-----|--------------|-4-----------|------------2---
A|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|----------------
E|-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|----------------
  But hon-est pa-rents He was born in Cas-tle-maine He was his fa-ther's
on-ly hope

      A7                  D   A7  D               G        Em        A7 
e|------------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------------
B|--------------2---|-0---------------|-----------0--|---------------------
G|----0--2----------|-----2-----------|---2---2------|-0-------------------
D|-4----------------|---------4---0---|-4------------|------2----0---------
A|------------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------4-----
E|------------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------------
  His mo-ther's pride and joy And dear-ly did his pa- rents love the wild

              D
e|----------------||
B|----------------||
G|----------------||
D|----4----2--0---||
A|-0--------------||
E|----------------||
   co-lon-ial boy


                                            
Chorus: 
So come away me hearties 
We'll roam the mountains high, 
Together we will plunder 
And together we will die. 
We'll scour along the valleys 
And we'll gallop o'er the plains, 
And scorn to live in slavery, 
Bound down by iron chains.

At the age of sixteen years 
He left his native home 
And to Australia's sunny shores, 
A bushranger did roam. 
They put him in the iron gang 
In the government employ, 
But never an iron on earth could hold 
The Wild Colonial Boy.

In sixty-one this daring youth 
Commenced his wild career, 
With a heart that knew no danger 
And no foeman did he fear. 
He stuck up the Beechworth mail coach 
And robbed Judge MacEvoy 
Who, trembling cold, gave up his gold 
To the Wild Colonial Boy.

He bade the Judge good morning 
And he told him to beware, 
That he'd never rob a needy man 
Or one who acted square, 
But a Judge who'd rob a mother 
Of her one and only joy 
Sure, he must be a worse outlaw than 
The Wild Colonial Boy.

One day as Jack was riding 
The mountainside along, 
A-listening to the little birds, 
Their happy laughing song 
Three mounted troopers came along, 
Kelly, Davis and Fitzroy 
With a warrant for the capture of 
The Wild Colonial Boy.

'Surrender now! Jack Doolan, 
For you see it's three to one; 
Surrender in the Queen's own name, 
You are a highwayman.' 
Jack drew a pistol from his belt 
And waved it like a toy, 
'I'll fight, but not surrender,' cried 
The Wild Colonial Boy.

He fired at trooper Kelly 
And brought him to the ground, 
And in return from Davis 
Received a mortal wound, 
All shattered through the jaws he lay 
Still firing at Fitzroy. 
And that's the way they captured him, 
The Wild Colonial Boy.