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Waltzing Matilda Lyrics
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabahs tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda waltzing Matilda
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he stowed the jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda waltzing Matilda
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Up rode the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred
Down came the troopers one two three
Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda waltzing Matilda
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
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 he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Under the shade of a coolabahs tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he stowed the jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Down came the troopers one two three
Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
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
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
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Waltzing Matilda is slang for being arrested such as for a vagrancy or poaching offense.
It also, like so many phrases ('ring a roses' for example*), has a very dark meaning, originally referring to being hanged, dancing at the end of a rope.
But what it means to later song writers like here or Tom Traubert's Blues for instance, is what they want it to mean. They themselves might not be aware of its origins.
*Forgive me, in case anyone didn't know, that particular nursery rhyme goes back to the Black Death. The posey to ward off the smell of death, tishoo tishoo, sneezing was a symptom, and 'all fall down'. Well, that's obvious, innit?