# Waltzing Matilda **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454 "2002-08-18T06:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GoinNutz22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/59ef9b/32.png) [@GoinNutz22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoinNutz22)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/1 "2002-08-18T06:36:13Z")
What is this song about? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/2 "2002-08-18T06:41:41Z")
The lyrics are included and if you’ll scroll down you’ll learn the song’s meaning and origins. [http://www.ozramp.net.au/~senani/waltz.htm](http://www.ozramp.net.au/~senani/waltz.htm) Welcome to the boards, BTW! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![atypicalcarl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@atypicalcarl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atypicalcarl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/3 "2002-08-18T06:43:16Z")
This [site](http://ausinternet.com/ettamogah/waltzing.htm)pretty much covers it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/4 "2002-08-18T06:46:44Z")
Yep. That’s a good link **Quasi** gave. It’s a song that glorifies the underdog, a poor swagman (bum, tramp) who had to steal a sheep from the rich farmer to survive. If you’re feeling less charitable, it’s a song about the fact that women were few and far between in the man’s world of 19th century outback Australia. 😉 Either way, it gets me where I live, and if I’m overseas, will draw a tear much more readily than our national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/5 "2002-08-18T13:57:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\* > Either way, it gets me where I live, and if I’m overseas, will draw a tear much more readily than our national anthem. \*\* Me too, **TL Dog** , and I’m not even Australian. 🙂 Quas ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/6 "2002-08-18T16:06:46Z")
Since this is a question about a song, I’ll move this thread to our arts forum, Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/7 "2002-08-18T16:19:39Z")
Heh, I first thought the OP was asking about “And the Band Played ‘Waltzing Matilda’” by The Pogues. Another efficient tear-jerker of a song. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/8 "2002-08-18T17:26:48Z")
“The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” was written by Eric Bogle, take a listen to his version. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/9 "2002-08-18T18:20:16Z")
Can’t find that one yet, but I’ll keep looking. Good song though. Kind of a musical version of “Johnny Got His Gun”. Man, talk about a depressing movie. ☹ And the first time I saw it I was 10 years old and scared (it came on right after the first time I saw John Carpenter’s The Thing). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/10 "2002-08-18T20:52:54Z")
_Johnny got his Gun_? “Merry Christmas! I’m the boss, and this is champagne!” Yeah, that one was a real downer. I’ll have to see it again. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/11 "2002-08-19T03:22:26Z")
Eric Bogle also wrote “Willie McBride”, another of the great WW I anti-war songs. He’s also written some wonderful memorial songs, for Kate Wolf and Stan Rogers. You’d think he’s a depressed Aussie (actually he’s a Scot) but some of his other songs are hysterical and he’s real fun in concert. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/12 "2002-08-19T04:06:50Z")
I too thought the thread was about “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” I sent my dad a Pogues CD for Father’s Day because he likes Irish music and folk music and I thought it was a good blend. Apparently, the one I sent him was a lot slower than “Rum, Sodomy and the Lash” (I really couldn’t bring myself to send that album to my parents). I recently went on a long car trip with my parents to a friend’s wedding, so I played that CD so they could hear how lively and upbeat the Pogues can be. After that song played, my mum just turned and looked at me and said: “Christ, and I thought your Father’s music was depressing!” It is a wonderful song though, I’d like to find a copy of the original. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/13 "2002-08-19T05:05:17Z")
Oops, Willie McBride is actually called “No Man’s Land” or sometimes “Green Fields of France”, very powerful. Both that and “Band Played Waltzing Matilida” are on the albums **Now I’m Easy** , **Scraps of Paper** (there appear to be two versions of this album, look at the playlist), **In Concert** , **Live in Person** , and **Not the Worst of Eric Bogle**. His official web page is here: [http://www.windbourne.com/ebogle/](http://www.windbourne.com/ebogle/) This site has some legal samples of his music: [http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,405874,00.html](http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,405874,00.html) Here’s a partial clip of “Band Played WM” from the BBC: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/folk/artist\_database/pages/bogleeric.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/folk/artist_database/pages/bogleeric.shtml) Probably more than you wanted to know, but I really like his music. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/14 "2002-08-19T10:37:27Z")
The wee Scot is getting fans all around the world - ha! Another Aussie export, apparently better received than Vegemite. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/15 "2002-08-19T11:55:13Z")
**El Elvis Rojo** : Which album did you get him? _Red Roses for Me_? **tavalla** : I’ve never been to Australia (although I’ve always wanted to visit), but I do like Vegemite. Apparently I eat it wrong though, as I put it on English muffins a little thick and without marg. (Note to self: Pick up some English muffins.) About 20 years ago I looked up the words in _Waltzing Matilda_ so that I knew what they were talking about. Interestingly, Billabong is a popular brand of surfwear and “swag” is often mentioned here. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/16 "2002-08-19T12:00:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*Either way, it gets me where I live, and if I’m overseas, will draw a tear much more readily than our national anthem. \*\* Well, I guess it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that “Waltzing Matilda” is the “peoples” national anthem, at least going by the Australians I know. I’d say if you held a referendum, WM would probably beat “Advance Australia Fair”. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/17 "2002-08-19T12:21:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*I’d say if you held a referendum, WM would probably beat “Advance Australia Fair”. \*\* Eh, won’t get my vote. Gimme “I Still Call Australia Home” any day. IMO, the rhythm of “Waltzing Matilda” is too folky to be an “anthem”. Doesn’t move me at all. Funny this thead should pop up at the same time as the “What’s Favourite National Anthem?” thread was resurrected in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/18 "2002-08-19T14:53:54Z")
And there’s a great line in one Eric Bogle tune, which one escapes me at the moment: _We stand and sing our national song, “Advance Australia Backwards”_ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/19 "2002-08-19T18:12:22Z")
Whoa, the same guy wrote “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and “No Man’s Land”? I must say, he has a talent for depressing songs. Heck, I’m tearing up just _thinking_ about “No Man’s Land”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454/20 "2002-08-19T18:17:25Z")
Whoa, the same guy wrote “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and “No Man’s Land”? I must say, he has a talent for depressing songs. Heck, I’m tearing up just _thinking_ about “No Man’s Land”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waltzing-matilda/124454.md?page=2)