A Tale They Won't Believe

Well we left Macquarie Harbour
It was in the pouring rain
None of us quite sure if we would see England again
Some fool muttered death or liberty
There was six of us together
A jolly, hungry crew
And as the days went by you know our hunger quickly grew
Some fool muttered death or liberty

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs, they were rumbling all through the night so dark
We were only trying to keep ourselves alive
But when the sun, it rose next morning
Well the six had turned to five

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town

Well the five of us were nervous
And I'll tell you that's a fact
But you should have seen the bastard who was carrying the axe
He was a sick man, he had murder in his heart

And then we reached the Franklin River, and it took two days to cross
We were wet and almost starvin' and for food were at a loss
We were hungry men with murder on our minds

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs, they were rumbling all through the night so dark
And they were making noises the death could not ignore
And when the sun came up next morning
The five had turned to four

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town

Well the four of us kept marching
To a place called Western Teirs
A country full of tasty game
For us it lent no cheer
We had no guns
We were traveling without hope
But the axe it loomed so ominous
God's hand was at play
For a sick man is a type of game which can not run away
So stay easy, my good man, your time's at hand

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs, they were rumbling all through the night so dark
I can't say I feel guilty
'cause after all it wasn't me
But when the sun came up next morning
The four had turned to three

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town

Well the three of us kept moving
But one was sinking fast
He had been bitten by a snake
And you could see he would not last
So stay easy my poor man your time's at hand
And when he could march no longer
His time was ere at last
We were far too weak to carry him
Subsistency comes first
Stay easy my good man your time is at hand

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs, they were rumbling all through the night so dark
It was a messy job
But it was one we had to do
But when the sun came up next day
Guess what
The three had turned to two

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town

Now he had been looking at me funny
Sort of eyeing me for days
And you would not need to be too bright to know that bastard's ways
He was a sick man, he had murder in his heart
But even bastards have to rest
And even bastards have to sleep
And when he was in the land of Nod straight over I did creep
And the axe that he had wielded now was mine

So that night, I made the fire
Out of twigs and out of bark
And my stomach, it kept rumbling all through the night so dark
I can't say that I enjoyed it
And it wasn't exactly fun
But when the sun came up next morning
The two had turned to one

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town
Down to Hobart town

Well now history is a pack of lies, as any fool can tell
So when I got down to Hobart town, I told my story well
But do you think they would believe one word I said?
For they thought that I was covering
For my mates still at large
Said they'd be roaming in the bush so wild and free
Back to old Macquarie Harbour they sent me

But I remember
The fires made of twigs and made of bark
And my stomach, it kept rumbling through the night so dark
And this young fool he just said to me it's liberty or death
And he looks a rather tasty one, I just could not help it singing

And I said, right there's another one
Don't you frown
Chew the meat and hold it down
It's a tale they won't believe
When I get down to Hobart town