Waltzing Matilda was written by Andrew Barton “Banjo” Patterson.
The following notes are provided to help people understand the song and what it is about.
See below for lyrics.
Swagman: more usually referred to as a “swaggie”. Commonest translation of “swagman” is tramp or hobo, but that’s not quite the same. It’s someone who walks the tracks of the bush/outback looking for work, or subsistence. Rural Australia relied heavily on such itinerant workers for a very long time and it was the custom that landholders would assist swaggies when they turned up by issue of food perhaps tea/tobacco/sugar/meat/flour. The swagman is a man who carries a swag.
Jolly: in Australia in times gone by, certainly it was still the case when I was very small, "jolly" was used as an all purpose expletive. I don't believe it is intended only to infer that the swagman was jolly in the sense of happy and good humoured. A double meaning fits the context very well... here's a jolly swagman - inoffensive and doing noone any harm.
Swag: is usually translated as “bedroll”. Can be a blanket inside of which you carefully secure your essential belongings. You might put your belongings on the blanket then roll it up and tie it either at either end with a rope which is then used like a handle. You sling the swag across your shoulder by the rope and off you go. The iconic image has a “billy” attached on the outside.
A swag is also known as a “matilda”. A “matilda” was also a term for a common law wife which may have influenced the use of the term for the swag. It would have been consistent with Australian humour if this was the case. Afterall, a common law wife is someone you sleep with consistently without being married, as you do your swag. So your swag is your matilda.
Waltzing matilda. If you’re walking along with your swag on your back, the swag moves with your body as you walk and you’re said to be “waltzing matilda”. Some suggest that the German word “waltzen” which has been translated as “to tramp or hike” or wander about was also an influence. Again you see the play on the words which is a very typical sort of witty word play style of humour Australians have long been fond of.
Billabong: a backwater off a river. A billabong fills when there is a flood, then as the water recedes it gets isolated from the flow. Australia has an endless cycle of drought and flood. Billabongs are where bunyips reside. A bunyip is a sort of scary monster creature. Reputedly incredibly ugly but it usually appears in children’s stories as a poor gentle misunderstood creature that everyone is scared of but deserving of sympathy. Though in the case of this story, I guess the ghost of the swaggie has reign at this billabong.
Coolabah tree: a type of native tree of the species eucalyptus. The shade of a coolabah tree isn’t very deep. The canopy is quite light, so it’s dappled shade. You find coolabah trees in the outback, so you know that the events of the song take place in a very remote area. No shops, no services.
Billy: a small tin pail (maybe 1 litre capacity) with a handle. It is used like a universal cooking pot and kettle. To “boil the billy” means to make tea ie the drink.
Jumbuck: a term for sheep.
Tucker: food
Squatter: the landholder. There’s a fair bit of history behind how the landholders came by their land. The squatters would simply go and occupy vast areas of land. Over time and various changes to the laws they came to have tenure. It was an inequitable process that heavily favoured the wealthy and lead to a range of interesting historical events we don’t need to discuss here. The fact that the squatter in the song is described as being mounted on his thoroughbred is a reference to the wealth of the landowner and the great divide between the landholders and the workers. There is a bit of a sub-text of “the bastard could surely spare one bloody sheep for a poor swaggie”. The song was written just after a very bitter shearers strike in the 1890s which was about the time of a severe drought and economic depression. The government (and police) backed the landholders against the striking shearers. There was violence and political upheaval. The union movement really got going. Shortly after these events the Australian Labor party was formed.
Trooper: the police of their day. It is significant that the troopers are there backing up the wealthy squatter. This is a reference to the system being stacked against the workers. There’s a thread weaving through many Australian historical events of power corrupted and the law being used to protect the interests of the wealthy.
“Where’s that jolly jumbuck you’ve got in your tucker bag” = hand over that sheep
“You’ll come a waltzing matilda with me” at the end of the this stanza means “you’re under arrest”.
“You’ll never take me alive” = “I’ll see you in hell”. This is an echo of some Australian bushrangers ie outlaws the most famous of whom were driven to bushranging through the actions of corrupt police and associated injustices. In particular one named Ben Hall is famous for this phrase. Ned Kelly, another great Australian icon, is also deeply associated with this sort of tragic result of police corruption and social injustice. "You'll never take me alive" can be seen as an Australian statement of "liberty or death".
So there you have it. Waltzing Matilda is the story of a poor Aussie “battler” driven to suicide by the selfishness of the wealthy and the impacts of a system in which the only way to survive is to take what you have to. It is a story that speaks to the deep commitment of Australians to the concept of a “fair go”.
Waltzing Matilda is more than a folk song. This is the national song of Australia and will stir national pride far more than the official anthem. You know they’re really going for patriotic feeling when they roll out Waltzing Matilda at a sporting event. It is so effective at rousing the crowd some opposition teams have tried to ban the crowd singing it.
Waltzing Matilda (modern commonly known version). Follow the link to the youtube listing of the late great Slim Dusty singing Waltzing Matilda.
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah 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 the 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
Down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred
Up came the troopers, one two three
Where’s that jolly jumbuck you’ve got in your tuckerbag
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 the billabong
“You’ll come a waltzing matilda with me”
[sing softly now…]
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
You’ll come a waltzing matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong
You’ll come a waltzing matilda with me
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