G C G
When I was a young man I carried my pack
Em Am D7 G
And I lived the free life of the rover
C G
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Outback
Em Am D7 G
I waltzed my Matilda all over
D C G
Then in 1915 me country said, Son
D C G
It's time to stop rambling there's work to be done
D7
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
D7 G
And they sent me away to the war
G C Am D7
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D7
As our ship pulled away from the quay
Am E7
And amidst all the cheers, flag-waving and tears
G Am7 D7 G
We sailed off for Gallipoli
G C G
And how well I remember that terrible day
Em Am D7 G
When the blood stained the sand and the water
C G
And how in that town that day called Suvla Bay
Em Am D7 G
We were butchered like lambs to the slaughter
D C G
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
D C G
He chased us with bullets, and he rained us with shells
D7
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
G
Nearly blew us back home to Australia
G C Am D7
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D7
As we stopped to bury our slain
Am E7
We burned ours and the Turks burned theirs
G Am7 D7 G
Then we started all over again
G C G
Now those that were left, well, we tried to survive
Em Am D7 G
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
C G
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Em Am D7 G
While around me the corpses piled higher
D C G
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
D C G
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
D7
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
D7 G
Never knew there was worse things than dying
G C Am D7
For I'll go no more Waltzing Matilda
G C D7
All around the green bush far and near
Am E7
To hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
G Am7 D7 G
No more Waltzing Matilda for me
G C G
So they collected the cripples,the wounded and maimed
Em Am D7 G
And they shipped us back home to Australia
C G
The armless, the legless, the blind, and insane
Em Am D7 G
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
D C G
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
D C G
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
D7
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
D7 G
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
G C Am D7
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D7
As they carried us down the gangway
Am E7
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
G Am7 D7 G
Then they turned all their faces away
G C G
And now every April I sit on my porch
Em Am D7 G
And I watch the parade pass before me
C G
I see my old comrades how proudly they march
Em Am D7 G
Renewing old dreams of past glory
D C G
And the old men march slowly, all bent stiff and sore
D C G
They're tired old men from a forgotten war
D7
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
D7 G
And I ask myself the same question
G C Am D7
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
G C D7
And the old men still answer the call
Am E7
But year after year their numbers get fewer
G Am7 D7 G
Someday no one will march there at all
G C
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
G D7
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
G D7 G C
And their ghosts may be heard as they pass by the Billabong
G D7 G
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
