Below Left: Banjo Paterson, year unknown

Andrew Barton Paterson was born in New South Wales in 1864. He was a man of many faces; writer, poet, traveller, farmer, and war correspondant are some of the occupations he employed druing his life. Among Paterson's many literary achievements is The Man From Snowy River,a long poem about an untouchable stockman named Harrison who is hired to round up escaped horses. The Man From Snowy River was adapted into a movie in 1982, starring Kirk Douglas as Harrison and David Bradshaw as Paterson.  

Paterson wrote the lyrics to Waltzing Matilda to go with a tune played for him by Christina Macpherson, at a gathering at Dagworth Station. The tune was a Scottish ditty called Cragleleigh. The original words, as penned by Paterson, are as follows:

Oh, there once was a swagman camped in the billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he looked at the old billy boiling,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

Chorus

Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda my darling,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Waltzing Matilda and leading a waterbag,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

Down came the jumbuck to drink at the water-hole,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he put him away in his tucker-bag,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.

Up came the Squatter a-ridding his thoroughbred,
Up came Policemen - one, two and three,
Whose is that jumbuck you've got in the tucker-bag,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.

The swagman he up and he jumped in the water-hole,
Drowning himself by the coolibah tree,
And his ghost may be heard as it sings by the billabong,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

The bush slang is explained below.  An interesting fact about this song is that is known the world over. Most Europeans and North Americans are familiar with the tune or the title of the song. In Australia, Waltzing Matilda is the song most loved by the country's citizens. Waltzing Matilda was also used as overture music and as the title song in the 1963 John Wayne movie, Donovan's Reef.

Below Left: A swagman with his swag and billy.

Paterson intentionally used bush slang in writing Waltzing Matilda. This song was about the sheep shearers of the outback stations, and the song itself was written in response to the shearer strike at Dagworth Station shortly before Paterson penned these words. 

Swagman- Equivelent to the American hobo of the 1920's and 1930's, a swagman is a transient- usually an unemployed seep shearer who was travelling on foot looking for work. He was called a swagman because of the supplies he carried; the blanket or mat that a hobo carried was called a swag. 

Billabong- A waterhole. Water is a scarse commodity in Australia, expecially in the hot barren expanse of the outback. 

Coolibah- a species of Eucalyptus that is indigenous to Australia.

Billy- a billy is a tin bucket or pot which is used for boiling. A popular use of the billy is boiling tea. Billy tea is a bush specialty, and tends to be quite strong in flavor.

Jumbuck- a sheep. If you're not from Australia, you wouldn't know this, so the choice of this word holds special significance for the shearers for whom Paterson wrote this song for. 

Waterbag- a waterback is a bladder type sling which is waterproof; hence, it became popular to call it a waterbag.

Tucker bag- Tucker is Aussie slang for food. A tucker bag is a bag large enough to hold several days worth of food and other provisions.

Squatter- A squatter is a land owner; usually the owner of a sheep or cattle station, or of a farm. In the earliest days of European settlement, people literally squatted land; that is, they held land illegally by occupying the land without a permit. The government had a hard time relocating squatters, and generally let  them keep the land. Squatters became the first land owners in Australia.

Policeman- In various versions of this song, the word trooper is used in lieu of policeman. Either way, the word meant mounted police. One cannot walk in the outback because it is far too hot. One would tire within minutes if he attempted to walk through the desert. Also, there are many species of dangerous and agressive snakes in the outback. The only way to get around was by riding a horse.

Waltzing Matilda-  When a swagman took to the road to find work, he was said to be "waltzing his matilda." In other words, he was "dancing" down the road or taking his swag for a walk. The matilda is another name for the swagman's pack, particularly his blanket or sleeping mat. There is several thoeries on how the matilda got it's name. The most likely explaination is that the word matilda goes back to the German word, mathilde, which literally translates to "blanket."  Another term used to describe the travelling of swagmen is "humping the bluey." I'm not sure what this means. If anyone knows, please email me so I may add it here.

Below Left: A Coolibah Tree

http://www.tac.com.au/~anva/waltzing_matilda.htm

The website offers a a wav file that features a man singing the Marie Cowen version of Waltzing Matilda. Cowen adapted the lyrics to her version of Paterson's song in 1906. Cowen's version of Waltzing Matilda is the version that is best known. The site also features a midi file, without singing, of the original tune of Waltzing Matilda.