Van Diemen's Land (song)

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“Van Diemen's Land”
Song by U2
Album	Rattle and Hum
Released	10 October 1988
Genre	Rock
Length	3:05
Label	Island
Writer	The Edge
Composer	The Edge
Producer	Jimmy Iovine
Rattle and Hum track listing
"Helter Skelter" (Live) (1) “Van Diemen's Land” (2) "Desire" (3)

"Van Diemen's Land" is the second track from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. A quiet song, in a folk style, it is one of only four songs with lead vocals by The Edge (the other three being "Seconds", "Numb", and "Miracle Drug").

The music is based on the traditional Scottish folk song "O Waly, Waly," also known as "The Water is Wide".^{[citation needed]}

There is one additional verse of the song that appears only in the notes with the album:

Still the gunman rules and the widows pay
A scarlet coat now a black beret
They thought that blood and sacrifice
Could out of death bring forth a life

Van Diemen's Land is the former name for the island of Tasmania when the British used the Australian continent as a penal colony. Many Irishmen were amongst those sent to Australia. The song is dedicated to Irish poet John Boyle O'Reilly.