Dm                               Dm
We left Macquarie Harbour it was in the pouring rain
Dm                                C
None of us quite sure if we would see England again
Bb                 C             Dm
Some fool muttered death or liberty
Dm                           Dm
There was six of us together a jolly hungry crew
Dm                                   C
And as the days went by you know our hunger quickly grew
Bb                 C              Dm
Some fool muttered death or liberty


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C           Dm
So that night we made a fire out of twigs and out of bark
C                                        Dm
And our stomachs they were grumbling all through the night so dark
C
We were only trying to keep ourselves alive
C                                              A7
But when the sun came up next morning well the six had turned to five, and I said, 



[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb        C
Right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 2]
Dm                                   Dm
All five of us were nervous and I'll tell you that's a fact
        Dm                                   C
But you should have seen the bastard who was carrying the axe
         Bb              C             Dm
He was a sick man he had murder in his heart
Dm                                             Dm
And then we reached the Franklin River, and it took two days to cross
        Dm                              C
We were wet and almost starvin' and for food were at a loss
        Bb              C             Dm
We were hungry men with murder on our minds

[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C           Dm
So that night we made a fire out of twigs and out of bark
        C                               Dm
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
    C                           Dm
And they were making noises the dead could not ignore
             C
And when the sun came up next morning
    A7
The five had turned to four! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb        C
Right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 3]
         Dm                            Dm
Well the four of us kept marching to a place called Western Tiers
  Dm                                 C
A country full of tasty game but for us it held no cheer
          Bb           C                 Dm
We had no guns we were traveling without hope
        Dm                           Dm
But the axe it loomed so ominous and God's hand was at play
       Dm                          C
A sick man is a type of game which can not run away
        Bb            C                   Dm
So stay easy, my poor man, your time's at hand

[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C           Dm
So that night we made a fire out of twigs and out of bark
        C                               Dm
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
  C                              Dm
I can't say I feel guilty, after all it wasn't me
             C                            A7
But when the sun came up next morning the four had turned to three! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb        C
Right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 4]
         Dm                          Dm
Well the three of us kept moving but one was fading fast
            Dm                              C
He had been bitten by a snake and you could see he would not last
     Bb             C                Dm
Stay easy my good man your time's at hand
         Dm                          Dm
And when he could last no longer his days were fading fast
        Dm                       C
We were far to weak to carry him subsistency comes first
     Bb           C                  Dm
Stay easy my good man your time's at hand


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C           Dm
So that night we made a fire out of twigs and out of bark
        C                               Dm
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
   C                          Dm
It was a messy job but it was one we had to do
             C                                    A7
But when the sun came up next day(guess what, the three had turned to two! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb        C
Right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 5]
              Dm                           Dm
Now he'd been looking at me funny, sort of eyeing me for days
        Dm                                 C
And you would not need to be too bright to know that bastard's ways:
       Bb                 C             Dm
He was a sick man, he had murder in his heart
         Dm                              Dm
But even bastards have to rest, and even bastards have to sleep
         Dm                                 C
And when he was in the land of Nod straight over I did creep
        Bb              C               Dm
And the axe that he had wielded now was mine


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb                C            Dm
So that night, I made the fire, out of twigs and out of bark
       C                            Dm
And my stomach it kept rumbling all through the night so dark
        C                             Dm
I can't say that I enjoyed it, and it wasn't exactly fun
             C                             A7
But when the sun came up next morning, the two had turned to one! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb        C
Right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Instrumental]
Dm Dm C Bb C   x4
Dm C Bb C      x4


[Verse 6]
         Dm                            Dm
Well now history is a pack of lies, as any fool can tell
        Dm                          C
So when I got down to Hobart town I told my story well
           Bb                 C                Dm
But do you think they would believe one word I said?
Dm                                   Dm
they thought that I was covering for my mates still at large
               Dm                              C
Said they'd be roaming in the bush so wild and free
            Bb            C                 Dm
And back to old Macquarie Harbour they sent me


[Pre-Chorus]
      Bb           C                 Dm
But I remember the fires made out of twigs and made of bark
       C                                        Dm
And my stomach it was grumbling all through the night so dark
         C                                  Dm
And this young fool he just said to me it's liberty or death
       C                          A7
And he looked a rather tasty one, I just could not help it singing


[Chorus]
Dm            C            Bb        C
right there's another one, don't you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
     C                 C
When I get down, when I get down,
     C                    Dm   C  Bb C Dm
When I get down to Hobart town!