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Transportation to America

 

William Henry was caught
Stealing bread from a cart
Seven years, he got
Transportation to America

For the crime of being poor,
He was shackled to the floor
Of an British Man-O-War,
Transportation to America.

 

Long before the fateful day,
That English convicts were sent
To repay and repent
To the shores of Botany Bay,
The sentence most feared
Handed down by a judge
That a prisoner could expect
Short of hanging by the neck:
Transportation to America.

 

Many a shirtback was ripped,
For the cat-o-nine whip,
To the Colonies they were shipped,
Transportation to America.

There, engendered as slaves,
Many met an early grave,
For the prison space they'd save,
Transportation to America.

 

Long before the fateful day,
That English convicts were sent
To repay and repent
To the shores of Botany Bay,
The sentence most feared
Handed down by a judge
That a prisoner could expect
Short of hanging by the neck:
Transportation to America.

 

In the Colonial War,
Mr John Hancock swore
They'd be taking no more
Transportation to America.

Where to put their convict waste?
Then Lord Sydney made his case:
New South Wales could replace
Transportation to America.

 

Long before the fateful day,
That English convicts were sent
To repay and repent
To the shores of Botany Bay,
The sentence most feared
Handed down by a judge
That a prisoner could expect
Short of hanging by the neck:
Transportation to America.

 

(click below for:)

Transportation Statute 1717

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