"Far Away in Australia" is a popular song written by Irish songwriters and singers Derek Warfield and Tom Byrne of the Irish balled group "The Wolfe Tones". The song in a lamentation, of sorts, which tells the story of a young Irish couple who are forced apart when the male "youth" has to leave for Australia to work, presumably because of the poor economic conditions in Ireland at the time. The song goes on to tell how the young girl is devestated by the loss of her love when she says "Must we be parted?... I cannot let you go".The youth assures her that they will see each other again and that he will be "building a home" for her in Australia while he works there. The song concludes by telling how the young girl waits daily "at the old cottege gate" for word from her love to come over to join him.
Ths has been recorded by numerous artists since it was written including "The Wolfe Tones", Dolores Keane and "The Rebel Hearts" amongst others. The song was written in refernce to the heartache suffered by my Irish families during economic deprression that were separated because members had to emmigrate abroad to find work. This type of lamenting, "caoineadh"-type song is typical of traditional Irish songs and portray emmense pain and suffering mixed with lyrical, beautiful music. The song has been sung in Ireland at times when a someone may be leaving for a long period of time.
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