Waltzing Matilda (2)

Harry A Nathan

Once a jolly swagman camp’d by a billabong
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree
And he sang as he sat and waited till his billy boiled
You’ll come a waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda my darling
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he sat and waited til 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 the jumbuck in his tuckerbag
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda my darling
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he sat and waited til his billy boiled
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Down came a squatter mounted on a thoroughbred
Down came troopers one two three
Whose is the jumbuck you’ve got in the tuckerbag?
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda my darling
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he sat and waited til his billy boiled
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Up jumped the swagman, sprang into the billabong
Drowning himself neath the Coolibah tree
And his ghost may be heard as you walk around the billabong
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

This song nearly became Australia’s national anthem in 1974, but Advance Australia Fair ended up as the choice. There are three versions of Waltzing Matilda. The original which was written by Banjo Patterson in 1895. This version that Harry Nathan wrote around the turn of the century, and Marie Cowan wrote a further version in 1903. Her version is the one most popular.