Tom Traubert's Blues Lyrics
And it ain't what the moon did
I got what I paid for now
See you tomorrow
Hey Frank can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Matilda waltzing Matilda
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me
of a blinded alley
And I'm tired of all these soldiers here
No-one speaks English
And everything's broken
And my strength is soaking away
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go a waltzing Malitda with me
and the taxi cab's parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
You tore my shirt open
And I'm down on my knees tonight
You buried the dagger
Your silhouette window light
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me
Now that I kissed her
And the one-arm bandit knows
And the maverick Chinaman
with the cold-blooded sigh
And the girls down by the striptease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me
Fugitives say
that the streets aren't for dreaming now
Manslaughter dragnet
and the ghost that sells memories
Want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me
And the keys from the jailor
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda's the defendant
She killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me
in a hotel someplace
And a wound that would never heal
No prima donnas the perfume is on
and old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street-sweepers,
The night watchmen flame-keepers
And goodnight Matilda too
Goodnight Matilda too.
Don't know the meaning, but I do know that "Waltzing Mathilda" is quite a famous folk song in Australia.
WIKIPEDIA: "The refrain is based (almost word by word) on an old Australian folk hymn, "Waltzing Matilda", but has little in common with this song apart from this. In the Australian version, the term "Waltzing Matilda" means to roam the roads, to go walk-about. In Waits' version it seems to mean the hapless drinking and roaming of the modern small-time nomadic musician.
The origin of the song is somewhat ambiguous. The most plausible version, the sub-title of the track "Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen", seems to be that it is about a time that Waits spent in Copenhagen in 1976 while on a tour. There, he apparently met Danish singer Mathilde Bondo. In a 1998 radio interview, she confirmed that she met Waits and that they spent a night on the town together. This is also confirmed by Peter Sander. This version of the origin of the song is thus supported by the subtitle, the use of the name "Mathilda" (though spelt differently from the potential real-world inspiration) and the fact that Waits has on occasion introduced the song as "a song about throwing up in another country".
In an interview on NPR's World Cafe, aired December 15th 2006, Tom Waits states that Tom Traubert was a 'friend of a friend' that died in prison"
Can someone explain the meaning of this song??
I heard from an aussie once that "Waltzing Matilda" is their cops way of saying "lets take a little walk to the police station" this has become a little in-joke in my family.
I love this song. I remember also my mum and dad telling me that there were Thunder tanks in WW" that were called "Waltzing Matildas" They were big and cumbersome, so they "waltzed a bit when they were driven." Kind of makes you think that the line "Matilda's a defendant, she killed about a hundred, that it could mean the "Waltzing Matilda Tank killing soldiers.