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