The Isle Of France Oh the sky was dark and the night advanced When a convict came to the Isle of France And round his leg was a ringing chain And his country was of the Shamrock Green I'm from the Shamrock this convict cried That has been tossed on the ocean wide For being unruly I do declare I was doomed to transport these seven long years When six of them they were up and past I was coming home to make up the last When the winds did blow and the seas did roar They cast me here on this foreign shore So then the coastguard he played a part And with some brandy, he cheered the convict's heart Although the night is far advanced You shall find a friend on the Isle of France |
 So he sent a letter all to the queen Concerning the wreck of the Shamrock Green And his freedom came by a speedy post For the absent convict they thought was lost God bless the coastguard this convict cried For he's saved my life from the ocean wide And I'll drink his health in a flowing glass And here's success to the Isle Of France |
| I have no idea where this song is from and my inquiries have drawn a blank - however, it is one of the songs on the great side two of The Noah's Ark Trap, which for me rivals side two of Abbey Road (by famous Liverpool folk-traditionalists The Beatles) for artistic wholeness. Transportation is a familiar theme in Victorian era folk songs and in this song, the convict is washed up on the Isle Of France, presumed dead or possibly escaped, where a Coast Guard comes to his aid. (I could have almost guaranteed you that "His country was of the shamrock green" was a line I would never sing, but it's funny how these things happen....) I tried to add to the effect of the original with a creaky pump organ and a double-tracked vocal, echoing Nic's use of this on The Indian Lass - another song on the same side of that record. |
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