Waltzing Matilda

Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)



OH! there once was a swagman camped in the Billabong,
   Under the shade of a Coolabah tree;
And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling,
   “Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.”

Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, my darling,
    Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag—
    Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Down came a jumbuck to drink at the water-hole,
   Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee;
And he sang as he put him away in his tucker-bag,
   “You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!”

Down came the Squatter a-riding his thorough-bred;
   Down came Policemen—one, two, and three.
”Whose is the jumbuck you’ve got in the tucker-bag?
   You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.”

But the swagman, he up and he jumped in the water-hole,
   Drowning himself by the Coolabah tree;
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong,
   “Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 04, 2023

49 sec read
228

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaB aBaBcbaB xbaB cbaB x
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,025
Words 166
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 8, 4, 4, 1

Andrew Barton Paterson

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem. more…

All Andrew Barton Paterson poems | Andrew Barton Paterson Books

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