Verse 1
D G A D
I am a member of the council of the naval mutiny
D G D A D
And no traitor to my conscience having done my sworn duty
Verse 2
D G A D
These are my last words before the scaffold and I charge you all to hear
D G D A D
How a wretched British sailor Became a citizen mutineer
Verse 3
D G A D
Pressed into service to carry powder I was loyal to the crack of the whip
D G D A D
If I starved on the streets of Bristol, I starved worse on a British ship
Chorus
D G
Red is the colour of the new republic, blue is the colour of the sea
D A D D G D
White is the colour of my innocence, not surrender to your mercy
Verse 4
D G A D
I was awoken from my misery by the words of Thomas Paine
D G D A D
On my barren soil they fell like The sweetest drops of rain
Chorus
D G
Red is the colour of the new republic, blue is the colour of the sea
D A D D G D
White is the colour of my innocence, not surrender to your mercy
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BRIDGE
D D
So in the spring of the year we took the fleet every sail and cannon and compass sheet
G A
And we flew a Jacobean flag to give us heart
D Bm G A D
While Pitt stood helpless we were waiting for Bonaparte
Chorus
D G
Red is the colour of the new republic, blue is the colour of the sea
D A D D G D
White is the colour of my innocence, not surrender to your mercy
Verse 5
D G A D
All you soldiers, all you sailors, all you labourers of the land
D G D A D
All you beggars, all you builders, you've come here to watch me hang
Verse 6
D G A D
And to the masters we are the rabble, we are the swinish multitude
D G D A D
But we can re-arrange the colours of the red and the white and the blue
Chorus
D G
Red is the colour of the new republic, blue is the colour of the sea
D A D D G D
White is the colour of my innocence, not surrender to your mercy
Chorus
D G
Red is the colour of the new republic, blue is the colour of the sea
D A D D G D
White is the colour of my innocence, not surrender to your mercy
