Intro: E A E A
V1
E A E C#m
When I was a young man I carried me pack,
E B E
And I lived the free life of a rover.
A E C#m
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Outback,
E B E
I waltzed my Matilda all over.
V2
B A E
Then in 1915 me country said, Son,
B A E
It's time you stopped rambling there's work to be done.
A E C#m
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
E B E
And they marched me away to the war.
E A E
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
A B Bsus4 B
When the ship pulled away from the quay.
A F#m E C#m
And amidst all the tears, flag-waving and cheers,
E B E Esus4 E
We sailed off for Gallipoli.
V3
E A E C#m
And how well I remember that terrible day,
E B E
When our blood stained the sand and the water.
A E C#m
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay,
E B E
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
V4
B A E
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well,
B A E
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells.
A E C#m
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell,
E B E
Nearly blew us back home to Australia.
E A E
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
A B Bsus4 B
When we stopped to bury our slain.
A F#m E C#m
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
E B E Esus4 E
Then we started all over again.
V5
E A E C#m
And those that were left, well, we tried to survive,
E B E
In that mad world of blood, death and fire.
A E C#m
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive,
E B E
While around me the corpses piled higher.
V6
B A E
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
B A E
And when I awoke in me hospital bed.
A E C#m
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead,
E B E
Never knew there was worse things than dying.
V7
E A E
So no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda,
A B Bsus4 B
All around the green bush far and near.
A F#m E C#m
To hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs,
E B E Esus4 E
No more Waltzing Matilda for me.
V8
E A E C#m
So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed,
E B E
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
A E C#m
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
E B E
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
V9
B A E
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay,
B A E
I looked at the place where me legs used to be.
A E C#m
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me,
E B E
To grieve and to mourn and to pity.
E A E
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
A B Bsus4 B
When they carried us down the gangway.
A F#m E C#m
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared,
E B E Esus4 E
Then they turned all their faces away.
V10
E A E C#m
So now every April I sit on my porch,
E B E
And I watch the parade pass before me.
A E C#m
I see my old comrades how proudly they march,
E B E
Renewing old dreams of past glory.
V11
B A E
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
B A E
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war.
A E C#m
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
E B E
And I ask myself the same question.
E A E
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda,
A B Bsus4 B
And the old men still answer the call.
A F#m E C#m
But year after year their numbers are fewer,
E B E Esus4 E
Someday no one will march there at all.
Outro:
E A
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
E B
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
E B C#m A
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong,
A E B7 E
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?