Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah tree
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 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”
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred
Up rode the troopers, one, two, three
With 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
It is said that A.B. (Banjo) Paterson based the poem-song on an actual event during the depression when work was scarce. The swagman, who carries all he owns on his back, is looking for work, and at night he rests by a coolabah tree. When some sheep pass by, he tries to capture one for dinner, but troopers arrest him for stealing. The penalty is execution, so the swagman escapes by diving into the lake (billabong) but he drowns.
From A Poem A Day: Australasia & the Pacific
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