Stirling O
No lark in transport rides the sky
Nor leaves with early plaintive
cry
But I must bid my last goodbye
My last fairwell to Stirling O
Though far away my heart's with you
Those happy hours from us they flew
And I must bid a sad adieu
A last fairwell to Stirling O
My comrades
all now grieve for me
And one request I'll ask of ye
My faithful dog ye'll
keep for me
When I am far from Stirling O
No more I'll wander through
the glen
Or rob the roost of the pheasant hen
Nor chase the rabbit to
its den
When I am far from Stirling O
Now fare you well my Jeannie
dear
I hope you'll find another dear
And shed ye no a bitter tear
When I am far from Stirling O
So fare you well for I am bound
For
twenty years to Van Diemen's Land
Think of me and what I've done
When
I am far from Stirling O
Notes
Stirling O, Collected by Stan Arthur from Bob Gallagher, Brisbane 1958. Edgar Waters in his notes to the song in Tradition (April 1967) writes: "The number of convicts transported from Scotland to Australia was relatively small, but there are a good many Scottish songs about transportation. The present song seems to be still fairly common in oral tradition in Scotland. In recent years it has been recorded several times from oral tradition in Australia, but so far as I know always from Scottish migrants".