[Verse]
In the finest harbour in the world
In a cove they're callin' Sydney
The captain Governor Phillip trimmed his sails
With shelter from the winds
And the big Pacific Ocean
We landed in New South Wales
And you should see the parrots
All coloured in like rainbows
Wallabies and screechin' cockatoos
And a bird that won't stop laughin'
When he see's me gettin' a floggin'
He wouldn't be laughin' if he was in my shoes

[Chorus]
You beat your drum
You drink your rum
You threaten me with hangin'
It's difficult with a chain around me ankle
But given half a chance I'd break
And disappear in the grеy gums
And learn to live like a nativе in this land

[Verse]
And the native Blacks are friendly
Even though a bit suspicious
Of anyone with a Redcoat or a gun
If I could learn their lingo
And listen to the Dreamtime
The bush and me and the animals would be one
And my convict mates all hate the place
They long for Mother England
But what in the hell has she got? I declare
The chimneys are a-smokin'
They're smelly and they're chokin'
And the Dukes own every bunny rabbit there
[Bridge]
And the Irish girl I laid with
In the middle of the ocean
She said she's willin' and keen to marry me
But workin' like a dog
And treated like a donkey
Given ten years or so I might be free

[Chorus]
You beat your drum
You drink your rum
You threaten me with hangin'
It's difficult with a chain around me ankle
But given half a chance I'd break
And disappear in the grey gums
And learn to live like a native in this land
You beat your drum
You drink your rum
You threaten me with hangin'
It's difficult with a chain around me ankle
But given half a chance I'd break
And disappear in the grey gums
And learn to live like a native in this land