{"id":32933,"date":"2023-09-27T13:50:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T11:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=188562"},"modified":"2023-09-27T14:39:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T12:39:59","slug":"waltzing-matilda-the-stories-behind-the-australian-songs-name-lyrics-and-time-signature","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/waltzing-matilda-the-stories-behind-the-australian-songs-name-lyrics-and-time-signature\/","title":{"rendered":"Waltzing Matilda: the stories behind the Australian song\u2019s name, lyrics, and time signature"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a hugely important part of Australian identity, sometimes called Australia’s ‘unofficial national anthem’. What is the story behind the song ‘Waltzing Matilda’? <\/p>

By Steve Wright\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 27 September 2023 at 11:50 AM<\/p>

\n\n

It\u2019s a hugely important part of Australian identity, and is sometimes referred to as Australia\u2019s \u2018unofficial national anthem\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But what is the story behind the song \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019? Where does the name \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 come from, and what the time signature is the song in?<\/p>\n

What is \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019?<\/h2>\n
Waltzing Matilda is a popular Australian song, an example of the Australian folk music and poetry style known as a bush ballad.\u00a0^<\/p>\n
\n
Eleven of the best\u2026 Australian musicians<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Where does the name \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 come from?<\/h2>\n
The name \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 is derived from Australian slang for, respectively, travelling on foot (waltzing) and carrying one\u2019s belongings in a \u2018matilda\u2019 (something like a bedroll).^{<\/p>\n\n<h2>What is \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 about?<\/h2>\nThe story of \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 centres on a travelling worker, or \u2018swagman\u2019 (\u2018swag\u2019 is another word for \u2018bedroll\u2019), who stops at a bush camp to brew up some tea. The traveller also captures and cooks a stray \u2018jumbuck\u2019 (an Australian term for a male sheep).<\/p>\nIn short order, the sheep\u2019s owner (a \u2018squatter\u2019 farmer) and three mounted policemen pursue the swagman for theft. However, the latter commits suicide by drowning himself in a nearby billabong (watering hole), shouting \u201cYou\u2019ll never catch me alive!\u201d. The last line of the song narrates how his ghost haunts the site forever after, singing \u201cYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/advance-australia-fair-lyrics\/\">What are the lyrics to the Australian national anthem, Advance Australia Fair?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Who wrote the lyrics to \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019?<\/h3>\nThe original lyrics were written in 1895 by the Australian poet Banjo Paterson, to a tune played by Christina Macpherson. Paterson wrote the lyrics in the small town of Winton, in the Queensland Outback. The town now has a whole museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre, dedicated to the song and its creation.<\/p>\n<h3>When was the first recording of \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019?<\/h3>\nThe song got its first recording in 1926, featuring John Collinson and Russell Callow. According to Australia\u2019s National Film and Sound Archive, \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 has had more recorded versions than any other Australian song.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/what-are-the-lyrics-to-south-australia-the-traditional-sea-shanty\/\">What are the lyrics to \u2018South Australia\u2019, the traditional sea shanty?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>What time signature is \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 in?<\/h3>\nWith that \u2018waltz\u2019 in the title, you might expect \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 to be in 3\/4 time, like most waltzes (we\u2019ve got plenty more on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-time-signature\/\">time signatures<\/strong><\/a> elsewhere on the site). In fact, it\u2019s in 4\/4 time: that\u2019s because it\u2019s a march, echoing the walking pace (or \u2018waltzing\u2019 in Australian slang) taken by the protagonist.<\/p>\n<h2>What are the lyrics to \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019?<\/h2>\n\u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 doesn\u2019t have official lyrics as such, and slightly different versions may be heard from place to place. But the typical lyrics run as follows:<\/p>\nOnce a jolly swagman camped by a billabong<br\/>\nUnder the shade of a coolibah tree,<br\/>\nAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his \u201cBilly\u201d boiled,<br\/>\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\nChorus:<\/i><br\/>\nWaltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,<br\/>\nYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me,<br\/>\nAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his \u201cBilly\u201d boiled,<br\/>\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\nDown came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,<br\/>\nUp jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,<br\/>\nAnd he sang as he shoved\u00a0that jumbuck in his tucker bag,<br\/>\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\n(Chorus)<\/i><\/p>\nUp rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred.<br\/>\nDown came the troopers, one, two, and three.<br\/>\n\u201cWhose is that jumbuck\u00a0you\u2019ve got in your tucker bag?<br\/>\nYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\n(Chorus)<\/i><\/p>\nUp jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong.<br\/>\n\u201cYou\u2019ll never catch me alive!\u201d said he<br\/>\nAnd his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong:<br\/>\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.\u201d<\/p>\nPic: Getty Images<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s a hugely important part of Australian identity, sometimes called Australia’s ‘unofficial national anthem’. 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What is the story behind the song 'Waltzing Matilda'?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/32933"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}}