the Ballad of Jim Jones

by Toni Piper

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €1 EUR  or more

     

about

an old American folk ballad inspired by the Bob Dylan version and spiked with some Irish Tine Whistle

lyrics

Come and listen for a moment, lads
And hear me tell my tale
How across the sea from England
I was condemned to sail
Now the jury found me guilty
Then says the judge, says he
"Oh, for life, Jim Jones, I'm sending you
Across the stormy sea
But take a trip before you ship
To join the iron gang
Don't get too gay in Botany Bay
Or else you'll surely hang
Or else you'll surely hang", says he
"And after that Jim Jones
It's high above on the gallows tree
The crows will pick your bones"
And our ship was high upon the sea
When pirates came along
But the soldiers on our convict ship
Were full five hundred strong
For they opened fire and somehow drove
That pirate ship away
But I'd rather have joined that pirate ship
Than gone to Botany Bay
With the storms ragin' round us
And the winds a-blowin' gale
I'd rather have drowned in misery
Than gone to New South Wales
There's no time for mischief there they say
Remember that, says they
Or they'll flog the poaching out of you
Down there in Botany Bay
Now it's day and night and the irons clang
And like poor galley slaves
We toil and toil, and when we die
Must fill dishonored graves
And it's by and by I'll slip my chains
Well, into the bush I'll go
And I'll join the bravest rankers there
Jack Donohue and co
And some dark night, when everything
Is silent in the town
I'll shoot those tyrants one and all
I'll gun the floggers down
Oh, I'll give the land a little shock
Remember what I say
And they'll yet regret they've sent Jim Jones
In chains to Botany Bay

credits

released August 5, 2015
vocals, tin whistle, guitar by Toni Piper

license

tags

about

Toni Piper image

Toni Piper Vienna, Austria

I play Uilleann Pipes, Tin Whistle, Guitar, Cello, Fiddle, I sing and I am now learning to play the Concertina. Based in Vienna, Austria but spent a long time in Ireland. I love music, dogs, friends, cooking & eating, nature, ducks, chickens, and I also love to make teddy bears and wood turning bowls and nice little things. ... more

contact / help

Contact Toni Piper

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Toni Piper, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now