| G | C | G | C | G | |
| Hold me | now, oh | hold me | now |
| Em | C | D | |
| Till this | hour | has gone | around |
| Bm | Em | C | |
| And I'm | gone on the rising | tide |
| G | D | G | C | G | |
| For to | face | van Diemen's | land |
| It's a bitter pill I swallow here |
| To be rent from one so dear |
| We fought for justice and not for gain |
| But the magistrate sent me away |
| Now kings will rule and the poor will toil |
| And tear their hands as they tear the soil |
| But a day will come in the dawning age |
| When an honest man sees an honest wage |
| Hold me now, hold me now |
| Till this hour has gone around |
| And I'm gone on the rising tide |
| For to face Van Diemen's land |
| Still the gunman rules and widows pay |
| A scarlet coat now a black beret |
| They thought that blood and sacrifice |
| Could out of death bring forth a life |
| All chords are played in arpeggio |
| (first from low frequency to high frequency and then back). |