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
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