After
coming to Australia, the first colonists usually bought some sheep, hired a few man, found
a place in the bush they liked
(bush is wild, uncultivated land), and built a house on "their" land. If there
were any Aborigines there, they were frightened away, or shot. These early farmers were
called "squatters".
In the second half of the 19th century many of them became rich and their farms
were patrolled by soldiers (troopers). They employed migrant workers to work for them.
The following song, sometimes called and
unofficial Australian anthem,
tells the story of a poor swangman - a seasonal
migrant worker. The story is sad, but the melody is very lively.
Once a jolly swangman camped
by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Chorus:
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
(Each chorus repeats the last two lines of the preceding stanza.)
Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swangman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Chorus
Up rode the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred,
Up rode the troopers - one-two-three:
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Chorus
Up jumped the swangman and sprang into the billabong,
You'll never catch me alive", said he.
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Chorus
Waltzing Matilda means dancing with a sleeping blanket. (A "matilda" is a rolled-up blanket for sleeping in.) The expressions "matilda", "swangman", "billabong" (a pool in a dried-up river), "coolibah tree" (a gum tree, a sort of eucalyptus which is Australia's most typical tree), "billy" (a kettle), "jumbuck" (a sheep), "tucker" (food) and "squatter" are used only in Australian English called "Strine".
