Audio: Waltzing Matilda - Roger McGuinn
(Composed by Christina Macpherson)
(Lyrics by Andrew Barton "Banjo" Patterson)
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?"
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?"
Along came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?"
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?"
Up jumped the swagman, leapt into the billabong.
"You'll never catch me alive," said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong.
"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?"
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?"
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Billabong--A waterhole near a river.
Billy--A tin can with a wire handle used to boil water.
Coolibah--A eucalyptus tree.
Jumbuck--A sheep.
Squatter--A wealthy land owner.
Swagman--A drifter, or hobo, an itinerant shearer who carried
all his belongings wrapped up in a blanket or cloth called
a "swag."
Trooper--A policeman, a mounted militia-man.
Tucker Bag--A bag for keeping food.
Waltzing Matilda--To travel from place to place in search of
work with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a blanket
or cloth.