• On Science-Fiction

    I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

    I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system.

    - Jack Handey, "Deep Thoughts"
  • In education as elsewhere, the broad primrose path leads to a nasty place.

    - A. N. Whitehead
  • A great war leaves the country with three armies: an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves.
  • English is a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.
  • True words are not beautiful,
    Beautiful words are not true.
  • Bishop of Bath and Wells: You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity… Have you ever considered a career in the church? Blackadder: Yes, but I couldn't get used to the underwear.

    Blackadder the Second
  • What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

    - Samuel Johnson

  • Terry Pratchett

    That seems to point up a significant difference between Europeans and Americans. A European says: "I can't understand this, what's wrong with me?" An American says: "I can't understand this, what's wrong with him?"

    "It's still a lie. Like the lie about masks."
    "What lie about masks?"
    "The way people say they hide faces."
    "They do hide faces."
    "Only the one on the outside."

    Maskerade

  • Balzac a dit:

    Mes avis sur vos relations avec les femmes sont aussi dans ce mot de chevalerie: Les servir toutes, n'en aimer qu'une.

    Le véritable amour est éternel, infini, toujours semblable à lui-même; il est égal et pur, sans démonstrations violentes; il se voit en cheveux blancs, toujours jeune de cœur.

Waltzing Matilda

Posted on 6 May, 2008 by Jon Whyte

This is one version of the lyrics:

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled
“Who’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 ’til his billy boiled,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up got the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that 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 stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Up came the troopers, one, two, three,
“Who’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”
“Who’s that jolly jumbuck you’ve got in your tucker bag?”,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Up got the swagman and jumped into the billabong,
Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree.
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
“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 pass by that billabong,
“Who’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?”

I read something about this in the papers this afternoon and remembered how much I loved the tune and the last stanza [not the chorus] :

Up got the swagman and jumped into the billabong,
Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree.
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
“Who’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?”

It’s so sad and beautiful but also contains that little hint of Aussie humour. :) Although…it is nigh on impossible to find that version sung these days as everyone prefers the less sad version introduced by the Billy Tea company. Boo.

Wikipedia
National Library of Australia
The clock in Melbourne Central also plays a rendition of this tune every hour [at around 5 past or so.]

Filed under: Song, YouTube | Tagged: , ,

« »

Leave a Reply