Lyrics In a neat little town they call Belfast Apprenticed in trade I was bound And many an hour of sweet happiness I spent in that neat little town Then bad misfortune came o'er me That caused me to stray from the land Far away from my friends and relations To follow the black velvet band WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...
As I was out strolling one evening Not intending to stay very long I met a handsome young damsel As she came tripping along A gold watch she took from a pocket And slipped it right into my hand On the very first night that I met her Bad luck to the black velvet band.
(chorus) Her eyes, they shone like the diamond You'd think she was queen of the land And her hair hung over her shoulder Tied up in a black velvet band
Before judge and jury next morning The both of us had to appear A gentleman said 'twas his jewellery And the case against us was clear For seven long years transportation I was sent off to Van Diemen's Land Far away from my friends and relations To follow this black velvet band Van Diemens Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. ...
So come all you jolly young fellows I'll have you take warning by me Whenever you're out on the liquor me lads Beware of the pretty Colleen She'll fill you with whiskey and porter Until you're not able to stand And the very next thing you'd know, me lads You've landed in Van Diemen's Land.
"The Black Velvet Band" is a traditional Irishfolk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment in 19th century Britain & Ireland. The song tells the story of a tradesman who meets a young woman who has stolen an item and passed it on to him (the lyrics of the song vary from place to place). The man then appears in court the next day, charged with stealing the item and is sent to Australia for doing so. Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ...
Australia quickly found a new population with the English courts' vicious sentences which ripped families and communities apart in all parts of the empire, usually for crimes as trivial as poaching or the theft of a bread.
Tasmanian whalers are known to have had a version of this song, The Hat With the VelvetBand, which served them as a working, drinking and fighting song.
There was a competition to see who could drink the most BlackVelvet [Guinness and champagne].' As some guests drank themselves into oblivion, the popular group The Dubliners sang 'BlackVelvetBand'.
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