A bit of "true blue, fair dunkum" aussie kulture for you...
Waltzing Matilda
Once a jolly swagman sat beside the billabong,
Under the shade of a coulibah tree,
And he sang as he sat and waited till his billy boiled:
Chorus:
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me
And he sang as he sat and waited by the billabong
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me.
2. Down came a jumbuck to drink beside the billabong
Up jumped the swagman and seized him with glee
And he sang as he tucked the jumbuck in his tuckerbag
Chorus:
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 tucked the jumbuck in his tuckerbag
You'll come a waltzing matilda with me.
3. Down came the stockman, riding on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three.
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tuckerbag?
Chorus:
You'll come a waltzing matilda with me
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
You'll come a waltzing matilda with me
Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tuckerbag?
You'll come a waltzing matilda with me.
4. Up jumped the swagman and plunged into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive," cried he
And his ghost may be heard as you ride beside the billabong,
Chorus:
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you ride beside the billabong,
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me.
A.B. "Banjo" Patterson, 1893
Swagman: hobo, bum - in australia traditionally had winecorks dangling on strings from brim of hat to ward off flies. They carried a "swag" (bag of belongings) across the shoulders. Also called "Sundowners" because they would inevitably show up at the gates of a sheep or cattle station (ranch) looking for work at sundown, join the boys in the kitchen for a meal, then leave again before morning.
Billabong: Wet, swampy area.
Bunyip: Mythological creature said to inhabit billabongs. Australia's answer to yowies, bigfoots, abominable snowmen etc.
Jumbuck: A sheep
Tucker bag: Food bag
Stockman: Farmer, specialising in stock (eg: sheep or cattle). I've always heard it sung as "squatter" though, who was a wealthy farmer/landowner in the times, as versus those poor farmers with a "selection", a small piece of usually poor land sold to them cheaply by the government.
Thoroughbred: A horse with pure bloodlines.
Troopers: A cross between police and army in early colonial times. The original Troopers were drawn from the better behaved convicts, and had a reputation of being little more than rough, corrupt, violent thugs & thieves in uniforms. Oddly, many of our police forces still fight that reputation today.
Billy: A tin can with a wire handle, sometimes with a lid, hung above a fire to boil water or cook food in.
Matilda: No idea who she was... probably a true blue, fair dunkum, colonial aussie shiela who could skin a jumbuck and get it into the billy, while replacing the corks on your hat and chasing off the bunyips.
Get that into ya, mate! Crikey!
(I feel a bit faint after all that "ocker" stuff, might go have a little lie down now.
)
