This song is usually known as Van Dieman’s Land, one of a number of songs in which the poacher is the hero as opposed to the dastardly gamekeeper.  It harks back to a time of poverty in England when poaching was rife to feed one’s family, despite the risks of gamekeepers with shotguns or of eventual deportation.  The song, which was printed on a broadside, has been collected often in England and twice in the USA, but nowhere else.

For a Gloucestershire version with a tune, see http://glostrad.com/poaching-song-2/.