I was born and
bred in Bo ston,
a place you all know well.
Brought up by honest parents,
and the truth to you I'll tell.
Brought up by honest parent s
and reared most tenderly
Till I became a sport in play
at the age of twenty -three
My character was broken
and I was sent to jail
My friends and parents did their best
to get me out on bail
The jury found me guilty
and the judge, he wrote it down
For the breaking of the Union Bank,
you were sent to Charlestown
I can see my dear old father ,
a -standing at the bar
Also my dear old mother,
she's a -tearing her grey hair
She's a -tearing all their old grey locks
And the tears come trickling down
Son, oh son, what have you done
To be sent to Charlestown?
I
set my foot on an eastbound train,
One course and a day.
And every station I pass by
I could hear the people say
There goes that Boston burglar
In iron chains he is bound
For the breaking of the Union Bank
He is sent to Charlottestown
There's a girl in Boston City,
boys, a girl I know quite well.
If I get my liberty, it's with her I will dwell.
If ever I get my liberty,
rough company I will shun.
Likewise the walking of the streets,
And the drinking of the rum.
Now you that have your liberty,
Pray keep it if you can,
And don't go midnight rambling,
Or you'll break the laws of man.
And if you do, you're sure to rue
And you'll find yourself like me
A sentence down to twenty -one years
Of penal sabbatee
A sentence down to 21 years
of penal servitude
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