Transportation ballads

Examples

The following extracts exemplify such themes:

Songs classified as transportation ballads

• "Australia" (Roud 1488) – alternatively titled "Virginny", "The Lads of Virginia", "The Transports of Virginia"; broadside versions from the 19th century seem to be exclusively of the Virginia version
• "Botany Bay" (Roud 261, Laws L16) – alternatively titled "Whitby Lad", "Bound for Botany Boy", "Adieu to Old England", "The Transport's Farewell"; in the United States it was altered to become "The Boston Burglar" (alternatively "Boston City", "Charlestown", and "The Louisville Burglar")
• "The Convict" (Roud 1501) – alternatively "London Prentice Boy"; tells of a young man who is persuaded by a girl to murder his master for his money but at the last minute decides against the murder because of his master's kindness; he takes the money, is betrayed by the girl, and is tried and transported.
• "Jamie Raeburn's Farewell" (Roud 600) – particularly popular in Scotland
• "Van Diemen's Land" (Roud 221 and 519, Laws L18) – recognized in two distinct versions, possibly due to popularity due to the sympathetic narrator, who is convicted of poaching, which was often seen as a crime only by the wealthy

Other folk songs referencing penal transportation

• "Maggie May" (Roud 1757) – an anti-heroine ends up in Botany Bay
• "The Black Velvet Band" (Roud 2146)
• "Flash Company" (Roud 954) – alternatively "The Yellow Handkerchief"; some versions omit transportation references
• "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" (Roud 5478)
• "Mitchell's Address" (Roud 5163)
• "The Isle of France" (Roud 1575)
• "The Boys of Mullaghbawn" (Roud 2362),
• "The Maids Lamentation" (Roud V16510)
• "Frost, Williams, and Jones's farewell to England" (Roud V15587) – John Frost and others transported during the Chartist struggle for adult male franchise
• "The Cotton Spinners Farewell" (Roud V15587) – concerns Scottish cotton spinners sentenced to seven years for trades union activities
• "Proper Objects for Botany Bay" (Roud V27861) – praises penal transportation lists classes of people the author feels should be transported