[Verse 1]
By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling:
"Michael, they have taken you away,
For you stole Trevelyn's corn,
So the young might see the morn,
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay."
[Chorus]
Low lie the fields of Athenrye,
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing,
We had dreams and songs to sing,
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenrye.
[Verse 2]
By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young man calling:
"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free,
Against the famine and the crown,
I rebelled, they cut me down,
Now you must raise our child with dignity."
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
By a lonely harbour wall,
She watched the last star falling.
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky.
For she lives in hope and prays,
For her love in Botany Bay,
It's so lonely, 'round the fields of Athenrye.
[Chorus]