Waltzing Mathilda

Officially the Australian National Anthem is Advance Australia Fair.

Officially.

But all Australians know for a fact that the REAL Anthem is a much older, more traditional ballad that was written by my beloved Banjo Paterson.

original notated version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’

In 1895 Banjo wrote Walting Mathilda at Dagworth Station.

Troopers at Dagworth Station during the Shearer’s Strike in 1894

It is thought that the lyrics were inspired by the shearer’s strike of 1894.

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Rolf Harris is going to sing Waltzing Matilda for you.

Now he’s an Australian institution.

Singer – artist – entertainer – general Aussie icon.

So just sit back and get a glimpse of some of the cute and crazy critters that inhabit Australia while he warbles.

I’m not talking about the two-legged, upright mammals either…

Waltzing Mathilda – by Banjo Paterson

OH! there once was a swagman camped in the Billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolabah tree;
And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling,
“Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.”
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, my darling,
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag—
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Down came a jumbuck to drink at the water-hole,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee;
And he sang as he put him away in his tucker-bag,
“You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!”
Down came the Squatter a-riding his thorough-bred;
Down came Policemen—one, two, and three.
”Whose is the jumbuck you’ve got in the tucker-bag?
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.”
But the swagman, he up and he jumped in the water-hole,
Drowning himself by the Coolabah tree;
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong,
“Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

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Definitions of Australian Slang

Waltzing

Walking along a bush track.

Matilda

A bedroll, part of the ‘swag’ usually a chaff bag, containing his ‘billy’  provisions and blankets.

Waltzing Matilda

The act of carrying the ‘swag’ sometimes known as ‘humping the bluey’.

Swagman

An unemployed Australian drifter or tramp. The term originated from the ‘swag’ they carried.

Billabong

Aboriginal word for a waterhole or blind channel leading out from a river.

Coolibah

Aboriginal word for a type of gum or eucalyptus tree.

Billy

An open topped tin with a wire handle used for boiling water to make tea, or to heat food over a fireplace.

Jumbuck

Australian slang word for sheep, corrupted from ‘jump up’. Sheep jump up after being shorn.

Tucker Bag

A bag for tucker (food); part of the swag.

Squatter

A landowner, usually a sheep station owner or grazier. At one time, squatters illegally claimed land for themselves in addition to land that they had been granted.

Troopers

Policemen. In the early days there was no Police Force and the colony was protected by soldiers or troopers.

For more Banjo Paterson see The Man From Snowy River and Mulga Bill’s Bicycle.