The Black Velvet Band
Traditional
Her eyes they shone like diamonds,
I thought her the queen of the land (And She Was).
And her hair hung over her shoulder,
tied up with a black velvet band.
In a neat little town they call Belfast,
apprenticed to trade I was bound.
And many the hours of sweet happiness,
have I spent in that neat little town.
'Til a sad misfortune came over me,
which caused me to stray from the land.
Far away from me friends and relations,
betrayed by a black velvet band.
As I was walking down Broadway,
meaning not long for to stay.
Well who should I meet but this
pretty fair maid,
come a-trapsen along the highway.
She was both fair and handsome,
her neck it was just like a swan’s.
And her hair hung over her shoulder,
tie up with a black velvet band
I took a stroll with this pretty fair maid
and a gentleman passing us by.
Well I knew she meant the doing of him,
by the look in her roguish black eye.
A gold watch she took from his pocket,
and placed it right into me hand.
And the very next thing that I knew was,
I’d landed in Van Dieman's Land.
Before the judge and the jury
next morning I had to appear
and the judge he says to me, "Young man,
your case is proven quite clear.
We'll give you seven years penal servitude
to be spent far away from the land.
Far away from your friends and relations,
access to a black velvet band."
