Biography:
Scotland's greatest living Australian. Or the other way around, depending on how you look at it.
Born in Peebles, Scotland, and emigrating to Australia in 1969, he currently resides near Adelaide, South Australia. Written in 1972, And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is perhaps his best-known song, being a haunting evocation of the ANZAC experience fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli. It has also been interpreted as a reaction to the Vietnam War.
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Other songs:
- And The Band Played "waltzing Matilda"
- Across The Hills Of Home
- And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
- And The Band Played Waltzing Matlida
- Ballad Of Henry Holloway
- Bloody Rotten Audience
- Dedication Day
- Front Row Cowboy
- Green Fields Of France
- Leaving Nancy
- No Mans Land
- Now Im Easy
- Safe In The Harbour
- Scraps Of Paper
- The Blessing
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
Waltzing my Matilda Eric Bogle
G C D G
When I was a young man I carried my pack
G D C G
And I lived the free life of a rover
G C D G
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
G D G
I waltzed my Matilda all over
G D C G
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
G D C G
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
G C D G
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
G D C G
And they sent me away to the war
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As we sailed away from the quay
C G C
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
G D C G
We sailed off for Gallipoli
G C D G
How well I remember that terrible day
G D C G
When the blood stained the sand and the water
G C D G
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
G D C G
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
G D C G
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
D C G
He shot us with bullets, he rained us with shells
G C D G
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
G D C G
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As we stopped to bury our slain
C G C
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
C G D C G
And it started all over again
G C D G
Now those who were living did their best to survive
G D C G
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
G C D G
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
G D C G
While the corpses around me piled higher
G D C G
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
D C G
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
G C D G
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
G D C G
Never knew there were worse things than dying
G C G
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
G C D
To the green bushes so far and near
D C G C
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
C G D C G
No more waltzing Matilda for me
G C D G
So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
G D C G
And they shipped us back home to Australia
G C D G
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
G D C G
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
G D C G
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
D C G
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
G C D G
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
G D C G
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As they carried us down the gangway
C G C
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
G D C G
Then turned all their faces away
G C D G
And now every April I sit on my porch
G D C G
And I watch the parade pass before me
G C D G
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
G D C G
Reliving the dreams of past glory
D C G
I see the old men, all twisted and torn
D C G
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
G C D G
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
G D C G
And I ask myself the same question
G C G
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
G C D
And the old men still answer the call
C G C
But year after year their numbers get fewer
G D C G
Some day no one will march there at all
G C
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
G C G D
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me
G D
And their ghosts may be heard
G C
As they march beside the billabong
G D G
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
G C D G
When I was a young man I carried my pack
G D C G
And I lived the free life of a rover
G C D G
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
G D G
I waltzed my Matilda all over
G D C G
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
G D C G
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
G C D G
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
G D C G
And they sent me away to the war
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As we sailed away from the quay
C G C
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
G D C G
We sailed off for Gallipoli
G C D G
How well I remember that terrible day
G D C G
When the blood stained the sand and the water
G C D G
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
G D C G
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
G D C G
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
D C G
He shot us with bullets, he rained us with shells
G C D G
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
G D C G
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As we stopped to bury our slain
C G C
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
C G D C G
And it started all over again
G C D G
Now those who were living did their best to survive
G D C G
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
G C D G
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
G D C G
While the corpses around me piled higher
G D C G
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
D C G
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
G C D G
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
G D C G
Never knew there were worse things than dying
G C G
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
G C D
To the green bushes so far and near
D C G C
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
C G D C G
No more waltzing Matilda for me
G C D G
So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
G D C G
And they shipped us back home to Australia
G C D G
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
G D C G
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
G D C G
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
D C G
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
G C D G
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
G D C G
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D
As they carried us down the gangway
C G C
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
G D C G
Then turned all their faces away
G C D G
And now every April I sit on my porch
G D C G
And I watch the parade pass before me
G C D G
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
G D C G
Reliving the dreams of past glory
D C G
I see the old men, all twisted and torn
D C G
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
G C D G
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
G D C G
And I ask myself the same question
G C G
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
G C D
And the old men still answer the call
C G C
But year after year their numbers get fewer
G D C G
Some day no one will march there at all
G C
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
G C G D
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me
G D
And their ghosts may be heard
G C
As they march beside the billabong
G D G
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
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