Waltzing Matilda)

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Biography

"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad . A country music|country Folk music|folk song , the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia".. Retrieved 14 March 2008.

The title is Australian slang for travelling by foot with one's goods in a "Matilda" (bag) slung over one's back.Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Revision March 2001. "Matilda, n." The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or " swagman ", making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker for the theft, the worker commits suicide by drowning himself in the nearby watering hole, after which his ghost haunts the site.

The original lyrics were written in 1895 by poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson . It was first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that the song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland . In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance.

The song was first recorded in 1926 as performed by John Collinson and Russell Callow. In 2008, this recording of "Waltzing Matilda" was added to the "Sounds of Australia Registry" in the National Film and Sound Archive which says that there are more recordings of Waltzing Matilda than any other Australian song.

History

Writing of the song

The words to the song were written in 1895 by Banjo Paterson , a famous Australian poet. The music was written (based on a folk tune) by Christina Macpherson , who wrote that she "was no musician, but she would do her best." Paterson wrote the piece while staying at the Dagworth Station|Dagworth Homestead , a bush station in Queensland. While he was there his hosts played him a traditional Celtic music|Celtic folk tune called "The Craigeelee" and Paterson decided that it would be a good piece to set lyrics to, producing them during the rest of his stay.

The tune is probably based on the Scottish song "Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigielea", which Macpherson heard played by a band at the Warrnambool, Victoria|Warrnambool Steeplechase (horse racing)|steeplechase . Robert Tannahill wrote the words in 1805 and James Barr (composer)|James Barr composed the music in 1818. In 1893 it was arranged for brass band by Thomas Bulch . The tune again was possibly based on the old melody of "Go to Euphemism#Religious euphemisms|the Devil and Euphemism#Sexual euphemisms|Shake Yourself", composed by John Field (composer)|John Field (1782–1837) sometime before 1812. It is sometimes also called "When Sick Is It Tea You Want? " (London 1798) or "The Penniless Traveller" (O'Neill's 1850 collection).

There is also speculation about the relationship the song bears to "The Bold Fusilier" (a.k.a. "Marching through Rochester"), a song sung to the same tune and dated by some back to the 18th century but first printed in 1900. The Times , 15 September 2003, "Sporting anthems", Section: Features; p. 17. (This song refers to Rochester, Kent|Rochester in Kent , and the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough .)

A bold fusilier came marching back through Rochester
Off from the wars in the north country,
And he sang as he marched
Through the crowded streets of Rochester,
Who'll be a soldier for Marlboro and me?

It has been widely accepted that "Waltzing Matilda" is potentially based on the following story:

:In Queensland in 1891 the 1891 Australian shearers' strike|Great Shearers' Strike brought the colony close to civil war and was broken only after the Premiers of Queensland|Premier , Samuel Griffith , called in the military.

:In September 1894, on a station called Dagworth (north of Winton), some shearers were again on Strike action|strike . It turned violent with the strikers firing their rifles and pistols in the air and setting fire to the woolshed at the Dagworth Homestead, killing dozens of sheep.

:The owner of Dagworth Homestead and three policemen gave chase to a man named Samuel Hoffmeister – also known as "French(y)". Rather than be captured, Hoffmeister shot and killed himself at the Combo Waterhole .

Bob Macpherson (the brother of Christina) and Paterson are said to have taken rides together at Dagworth. Here they may have passed the Combo Waterhole , where Macpherson may have told this story to Paterson.

The song itself was first performed on 6 April 1895 by Sir Herbert Ramsay at the North Gregory Hotel in Winton, Queensland . The occasion was a banquet for the Premier of Queensland . It became an instant success.

In 2008, Australian historian Peter Forrest claimed that the widespread belief that Paterson had penned the ballad as a socialist anthem, inspired by the Great Shearers' Strike, was false and a "misappropriation" by political groups., BBC News, 5 May 2008 Instead, Forrest asserted that Paterson had in fact written the self-described " wikt:ditty|ditty " to impress Winton woman Christina Macpherson, whose family he visited in January 1895 and with whom he flirted despite being engaged to someone else., Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC News, 5 May 2008 It was to Macpherson's melody that he fitted the words of his song. This theory was not shared by Ross Fitzgerald, who argued that the defeat of the strike only several months before the song's creation would have at least been in Paterson's mind "subconsciously" and thus was likely as an additional inspiration for the song.

In February 2010, ABC Newswww.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/12/2818131.htm Waltzing Matilda An Old Cold Case Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC News, 10 February 2010 reported an investigation by barrister Trevor Monti that the death of Hoffmeister was more akin to a gangland assassination than to suicide. The same report asserts "Writer Matthew Richardson says the song was most likely written as a carefully worded political allegory to record and comment on the events of the shearers' strike."

Ownership

In 1903 the song was used by the Billy Tea company for use as an advertising jingle , making it nationally famous. A third variation on the song, with a slightly different chorus, was published in 1907. Paterson sold the rights to "Waltzing Matilda" and "some other pieces" to Angus & Robertson Publishers for five pounds (the currency of the time).

The song was copyright ed by an American publisher, Carl Fischer Music , in 1941 as an original composition. Although no copyright applies to the song in Australia and many other countries, the Australian Olympic organisers had to pay royalties to Carl Fischer Music following the song being played at the 1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta . Carl Fischer's copyright hold ended in 2011. Arrangements such as those claimed by Roger D. Magoffin remain in copyright in America.

Lyrics

Typical lyrics

There are no "official" lyrics to "Waltzing Matilda" and slight variations can be found in different sources.For instance, compare the lyrics at to This version incorporates the famous "You'll never catch me alive said he" variation introduced by the Billy Tea company . Paterson's original lyrics referred to "drowning himself 'neath the coolibah tree".

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 till his billy boiled,
"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 tucker bag,
"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 shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Whoseor "Where" that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? "
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? ",
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never take me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Plot

The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker making a crude cup of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's ostensible owner arrives with three policemen to arrest the worker, he drowns himself in a small lake and goes on to haunt the site.

Glossary

The lyrics contain many distinctively Australian English words, some now rarely used outside this song. These include:

; waltzing : derived from the German term Wanderjahre|auf der Walz , which means to travel while working as a artisan|craftsman and learn new techniques from other masters before returning home after three years and one day, a custom which is still in use today among carpentry|carpenter s.
; Matilda : a romantic term for a swagman's bundle. See below, "Waltzing Matilda."
; Waltzing Matilda : from the above terms, "to waltz Matilda" is to travel with a swag, that is, with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a blanket or cloth. The exact origins of the term "Matilda" are disputed; one fanciful derivation states that when swagmen met each other at their gatherings, there were rarely women to dance with. Nonetheless, they enjoyed a dance, and so they danced with their swags, which was given a woman's name. However, this appears to be influenced by the word "waltz", hence the introduction of dancing. It seems more likely that, as a swagman's only companion, the swag came to be personified as a woman.

:Another explanation is that the term also derives from German immigrants. German soldiers commonly referred to their greatcoat s as "Matilda", supposedly because the coat kept them as warm as a woman would. Early German immigrants who "went on the waltz" would wrap their belongings in their coat, and took to calling it by the same name their soldiers had used.
:The National Library of Australia states:
::Matilda is an old Teutonic female name meaning ‘mighty battle maid’. This may have informed the use of ‘Matilda’ as a slang term to mean a de facto wife who accompanied a wanderer. In the Australian bush a man's swag was regarded as a sleeping partner, hence his ‘Matilda’. (Letter to Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Churchill, KG from Harry Hastings Pearce, 19 February 1958. Harry Pearce Papers, NLA Manuscript Collection, MS2765) http://www.nla.gov.au/epubs/waltzingmatilda/index.php? p=glossary

; swagman : a man who travelled the country looking for work. The swagman's " Swag (bedroll)|swag " was a bed roll that bundled his belongings.
; billabong : an oxbow lake (a cut-off river bend) found alongside a meandering river.
; Eucalyptus coolabah|coolibah tree : a kind of eucalyptus tree which grows near billabongs.
; jumbuck : a sheep.
; billycan|billy : a can for boiling water in, usually 2–3 pint s.
; Tucker bag : a bag for carrying food ("tucker").
; Trooper (police rank)|troopers : policemen.
; Squatting (pastoral)|squatter : Australian squatters started as early farmers who raised livestock on land which they did not legally have the right to use; in many cases they later gained legal use of the land even though they did not have full possession, and became wealthy thanks to these large land holdings. The squatter's claim to the land may be as uncertain as the swagman's claim to the jumbuck.

Variations

The lyrics of Waltzing Matilda have been changed since it was written.

In a facsimile of the first part of the original manuscript, included in "Singer of the bush", a collection of Paterson's works published by Lansdowne Press in 1983, the first two verses appear as follows:

: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?

: Chorus:
:Who'll come a waltzin' Matilda my darling,
:Who'll come a waltzin' 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 the tucker bag,
:You'll come a waltzin' Matilda with me.

: Chorus :
:You'll come a waltzing Matilda my darling,
:You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.
:Waltzing Matilda and leading a water bag,
:You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

Some corrections in the manuscript are evident; the verses originally read (differences in italics):

: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 roving Australia with me?

: Chorus:
:Who'll come a rovin (rest missing)
:Who'll come a waltzin' Matilda with me?
:Waltzing Matilda and leading a tucker bag.
:Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me?

It has been suggested that these changes were from an even earlier version, and that Paterson was talked out of using this text, but the manuscript does not bear this out. In particular, the first line of the chorus was corrected before it had been finished, so the original version is incomplete.

The first published version, in 1903, differs slightly from this text:

:Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabongs,
: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? "

: Chorus:
: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 waterhole,
:Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee,
:And he sang as he put him away in the tucker-bag,
:You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

:( Chorus )

:Up came the squatter a-riding his thoroughbred,
:Up came policemen—one, two, a and three.
:"Whose is the jumbuck you've got in the tucker-bag?
:You'll come a waltzing Matilda with we."

:( Chorus )

:Up sprang the swagman and jumped in the waterhole,
:Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree.
:And his voice can be heard as it sings in the billabongs,
:Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

:( Chorus )

By contrast with the original, and also with subsequent versions, the chorus of all the verses was the same in this version. This is also apparently the only version that that uses "billabongs" instead of "billabong".

Current variations of the third line of the first verse are "And he sang as he sat and waited by the billabong" or "And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled". Another variation is that the third line of each chorus is kept unchanged from the first chorus, or is changed to the third line of the preceding verse.

There is also the very popular so-called Queensland version that has a different chorus, one very similar to that used by Paterson:

:Oh there once was a swagman camped in a billabong
:Under the shade of the coolibah tree
:And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling
:Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me?

: Chorus:
: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 with glee
:And he sang as he stowed him away in his tucker bag
:You'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me

:( Chorus )

:Down came the squatter a'riding his thoroughbred
:Down came policemen one two three
:Whose is the jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?
:You'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me

:( Chorus )

:But the swagman he up and he jumped in the water hole
:Drowning himself by the coolibah tree
:And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the billabong
:Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?

:( Chorus )

There is also a version released by the American singing group The New Christy Minstrels which offered yet another last verse:

:I'm just a simple swagman who'd be obliged to fare thee well
:I'm just a journeying down to the sea
:For it's God bless the Queen who gave to you this billabong
:And it was God who gave that jumbuck to me

Covers and derivative works

The song is a fixture at many Australian sporting events. It was performed at the 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony|Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Olympic Games in Sydney by singer Slim Dusty , as well as at the Opening Ceremony of the subsequent 2000 Summer Paralympics|Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games by Australian pop star Kylie Minogue . It was previously sung at the Opening Ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane by Rolf Harris . It is sung during the pre-game entertainment of the AFL Grand Final|Australian Football League Grand Final each year.

The song has been recorded by many Australian musicians and singers, including John Williamson (singer)|John Williamson , Peter Dawson (bass-baritone)|Peter Dawson , John Schumann , The Seekers , Tenor Australis , Thomas Edmonds (tenor)|Thomas Edmonds , Rolf Harris and Lazy Harry . Bands and artists from other nations, including Wilf Carter (Montana Slim), The Irish Rovers , The Swingle Singers , and the Red Army Choir , have also recorded the song; as well, the song forms the basis of " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " by Scottish/Australian songwriter Eric Bogle (itself frequently covered, perhaps most famously by The Pogues ).

The film Once a Jolly Swagman (1949) uses "Waltzing Matilda" throughout its musical score and the song is heard sung as well. The score of the 1959 film On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach , written by Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold , is based heavily on motifs from "Waltzing Matilda". The song is first heard during the opening credits to the film. The song itself is heard in the last minutes of the movie. At the time of the film, Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)|Jimmie Rodgers had his version of the song in the US charts at #41. He had recorded two versions of the song.

The Australian TV series Secret Valley had "Waltzing Matilda" with different lyrics as its theme song.

The Family Car Songbook (1983) presents a "translation" of the song, using the same musical score, into an "American" version of singing the same ballad.Mossman, Tam. (1983). The Family Car Song Book . Philadelphia: Running Press.

The score of the 2008 Baz Luhrmann film Australia (2008 film)|Australia featured a version of "Waltzing Matilda" performed by Australian singer Angela Little (singer)|Angela Little .

In 1961, Australian songwriter Jack O'Hagan provided new lyrics to the traditional tune to be called " God Bless Australia " (see that article for its lyrics) that he hoped would become the Australian national anthem .

There is an Olympic version called "Goodbye Olympians" (really "Song of Farewell") specially written by a Melbourne poet William Tainsh. It was sung at the closing ceremony of the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

Derivative musical works

During the 1950s, a parody of the original entitled "Once A Learned Doctor" gained some currency in university circles. It featured lyrics rewritten with reference to the split in the Australian Labor Party in the period 1954–1957.

In 1958, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a version with new lyrics entitled "Rockin' Matilda" about a beautiful Australian girl named Matilda.

The melody is used in Harold Baum's "Waltz Round The Cycle" in ''The Biochemists' Songbook .

Rambling Syd Rumpo in Round the Horne did a parody of "Waltzing Matilda" beginning "Once long ago in the shade of a goolie bush..."

" And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " was written by Eric Bogle in 1971. The song concerns the Australian experience at the Gallipoli Campaign|Battle of Gallipoli and Anzac Day . It incorporates the melody and a few lines of "Waltzing Matilda"'s lyrics at its conclusion.

American singer-songwriter Tom Waits combined "Waltzing Matilda" with his own material in "Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind In Copenhagen)" on his 1976 album Small Change . This song was subsequently performed by Rod Stewart and released as a single titled "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)" in 1992. He then included it on his Lead Vocalist (album)|Lead Vocalist album in 1993.

A Pitjantjatjara language version of the song, performed by Trevor Adamson , an Australian country/gospel singer, can be found on the 1999 album Putumayo Presents: World Playground .

The closing theme for the 1982 Australian film The Man from Snowy River (1982 film)|The Man From Snowy River , itself based on another poem by Banjo Paterson, incorporates a small piece of the tune of "Waltzing Matilda".

In 1995 two Canberra musicians, Bob Smoothey and Kevin Rallings, wrote "Long Live the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps|Anzacs " to the tune of "Waltzing Matilda" and recorded it at the Royal Military College, Duntroon , Canberra. The National Executive of the Returned and Services League of Australia|RSL of Australia listened to the recording and approved the sentiment of the song. Smoothey's and Ralling's aim was for a well known Australian artist ro record it with a percentage of the proceeds going to the RSL and release it on Anzac Day 1996, but none of the artists contacted were able to record it in time, so Smoothey sang it himself with local singer Linda Dane.
The fanfare of the 2000 Summer Olympics , composed and arranged by James Morrison (musician)|James Morrison , incorporates a small portion of "Waltzing Matilda".

In 2003, the Scared Weird Little Guys released "Cleanin' Out My Tuckerbag", a comedic parody|spoof of the song, done in the style of Eminem 's songs " Cleanin' Out My Closet " and " Lose Yourself ".

On the occasion of Queensland's 150-year celebrations in 2009, Opera Queensland produced the revue Waltzing Our Matilda , staged at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University|Conservatorium Theatre and subsequently touring 12 regional centres in Queensland. – Tour dates The show was created by Jason Barry-Smith|Jason and Leisa Barry-Smith and Narelle French. at Opera Queensland The story line used the fictional process of Banjo Paterson writing the poem when he visited Queensland in 1895 to present episodes of four famous Australians: bass-baritone Peter Dawson (bass-baritone)|Peter Dawson (1882–1961), soprano Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), Bundaberg, Queensland|Bundaberg -born tenor Donald Smith (tenor)|Donald Smith (1922–1998), and soprano Gladys Moncrieff , also from Bundaberg. The performers were Jason-Barry Smith as Banjo Paterson, Guy Booth as Dawson, David Kidd as Smith, Emily Burke as Melba, Zoe Traylor as Moncrieff, and Donna Balson (piano, voice). – Artists

Literature

In the story " The Mountain Movers " by Australian science fiction writer A. Bertram Chandler , the song gets new words in the mouth of future Australian space adventurers. The plot of Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novel The Last Continent is set in an Australia-like locale and includes a parody on the events of "Waltzing Matilda". The book A Waltz for Matilda , by Australian author Jackie French is about a girl called Matilda, whose father in the story was the swagman the song was written about.

Status

Official use

The song has never been the officially recognised national anthem in Australia. Unofficially, however, it is often used in similar circumstances. The song was one of four included in a Australian plebiscite, 1977 (National Song)|national plebiscite to choose Australia's national song held on 21 May 1977 by the Malcolm Fraser|Fraser Government to determine which song was preferred as Australia's national anthem. "Waltzing Matilda" received 28% of the vote compared with 43% for " Advance Australia Fair ", 19% for " God Save the Queen " and 10% for " Song of Australia ".

The lyrics are hidden on the final pages of Australian passports, such as above and below the words "notice" on some passports.

Sports

"Waltzing Matilda" was used at the 1974 World Cup and at the 1976 Summer Olympics|Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 and, as a response to the New Zealand Haka of the All Blacks|All Blacks haka , it has gained popularity as a sporting anthem for the Australia national rugby union team . It is also performed, along with " Advance Australia Fair ", at the annual Australian Football League|AFL Grand Final.

Matilda the Kangaroo was the mascot at the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane , Queensland. Matilda was a cartoon kangaroo, who appeared as a 13-metre high (42 feet 8& nbsp;inches) mechanical kangaroo at the opening ceremony, accompanied by Rolf Harris singing "Waltzing Matilda".

The Australia women's national association football team|Australian women's national soccer team is nicknamed the Matildas after this song.

Military units

It is used as the quick march of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and as the official song of the 1st Marine Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Marine Division , commemorating the time the unit spent in Australia during the Second World War. Partly also used in the British Royal Tank Regiment's slow march of "Royal Tank Regiment", because an early British tank model was called " Matilda II (tank)|Matilda ".

Copyright Citations

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