The lyrics to Waltzing Matilda were written by Banjo Paterson. The music for the song was composed by Christina Macpherson. The version of the song sung today was arranged by Maria Cowan. "Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad, a country folk song, and has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia.
The original lyrics were written in 1887 by poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson.Waltzing Matilda tells the story of swagman who steals a sheep, makes a meal of it, and is caught red-handed by a wealthy landowner. Fearing for his life, the swagman jumps into the waterhole and drowns.
Waltzing Matilda is composed of 32 lines in 8 verses. It uses an ABCB rhyming scheme, 'to and fro' dialogue, and a refrain to generate a lively free-flowing melody that helps to remember the words of the song easily. The song contains many Australian slang terms and idioms. The most obvious of these is the phrase 'Waltzing Matilda', which means travelling from place to place with all ones belonging on one's back.
Waltzing Matilda - Lyrics
Words to the Waltzing Matilda Song
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?
There are no definitive lyrics to Waltzing Matilda. A number of variations from the original written by Banjo Patterson now exist. The three that are the most credible versions of the song are discussed below.
Queensland/ Banjo Patterson
Banjo Patterson wrote the original lyrics for Waltzing Matilda in 1895. This version of the song is often referred to as the Queensland Version and may actually contain the original words and music to the song and contain a more bush ballad tone to it than any other version. This assertion is supported by the fact that correspondence by Christina Macpherson discovered in 1991 contains these words and music score. This version is rarely sung today.
Harry Nathan
Harry Nathan, a well-known Sydney composer "rewrote" the music for Waltzing Matilda in about 1900. He copyrighted his version in 1903, attributing the words to A. B. Patterson and the music to himself. There is some credence in this because Christiana Macpherson mentions in one of her letters that Banjo had written to her and asked her for the words and music because he wanted to give it to a composer friend of his. Banjo and Harry would probably have known each other are they were both in the 'literati' society of Sydney at the turn of the century. Nathan died of alcoholism in 1906. This version is now lost.
Marie Cowan
Marie Cowan altered some of the lyrics and created a version that was used by Billy Tea Company as an advertising gimmick. They either purchased the rights or licensed it from Allans Music Company which had acquired the work from Angus and Robertson. This version of the song drops some of the bush ballad vernacular of the Queensland version and became very popular. It is the version most likely to be heard today.
| Original Banjo Paterson Version | Mary Cowan Version |
|---|---|
| |
Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabong Under the shade of a Coolibah tree And he sang as he looked at the 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 leading a water bag Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me | Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a Coolibah tree And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited til his billy boiled You'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 said as he put him away in the tucker bag You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me You'll come a Waltzing Matilda my darling You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda leading a water bag You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me | Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tuckerbag You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited til his billy boiled You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me |
Down came the squatter a riding on his thoroughbred Down came policemen one two three Where is the jumbuck you've got in the tuckerbag You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me You'll come a Waltzing Matilda my darling You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda leading a tucker bag You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me | Up rode the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred Down came troopers one two three Whose that jumbuck you've got in the tuckerbag? You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited til his billy boiled You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me |
But the swagman he up and he jumped in the waterhole Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree And his ghost can be heard as it sings in the billabong Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
| Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong You'll never catch me alive said he And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me. |
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