And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda chords by Eric Bogle
Guitar chords with lyrics
Edit of jteethy's tab with small changes to lyrics and chords that I prefer.
I play this on Ukulele, so I don't know what capo to recommend.
[Verse]
G C G Em
When I was a young man I carried me pack
G D G
And I lived the free life of a rover
C G Em
From the Murray's green banks to the dusty Outback
G D G
I waltzed my Matilda all over
D C G
Then in 1915 me country said, Son
D C G
It's time you stopped rambling there's work to be done
C G Em
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
G D G
And they marched me away to the war
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[Chorus]
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D
When the ship pulled away from the quay
C G Em
And amidst all the tears, flag-waving and cheers
G D G
We sailed off for Gallipoli
[Verse]
G C G Em
And how well I remember that terrible day
G D G
When our blood stained the sand and the water
C G Em
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
G D G
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
D C G
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
D C G
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells
C G Em
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
G D G
Nearly blew us back home to Australia
[Chorus]
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D
When we stopped to bury our slain
C G Em
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
G D G
Then we started all over again
[Verse]
G C G Em
And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
G D G
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
C G Em
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
G D 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
C G Em
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
G D G
Never knew there was worse things than dying
[Chorus]
G C G
So no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
C D
All around the green bush far and near
C G Em
To hump tent and pegs a man needs his legs
G D G
No more Waltzing Matilda for me
[Verse]
G C G Em
So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
G D G
And they shipped us back home to Australia
C G Em
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
G D G
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
D C G
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
D C G
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
G C G Em
I thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
G D G
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
[Chorus]
G C G
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D
As they carried us down the gangway
C G Em
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
G D G
And then turned their faces away
[Verse]
G C G Em
So now every April I sit on me porch
G D G
And I watch the parade pass before me
C G Em
I see my old comrades how proudly they march
G D G
Renewing old dreams of past glory
D C G
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore
D C G
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
C G Em
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
G D G
And I ask myself the same question
[Chorus]
G C G
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
C D
And the old men still answer the call
C G Em
But year after year those old men disappear
G D G
Someday no one will march there at all
[Outro]
G C
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
G D
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
G D Em C
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong
G C D7 G Last updated:
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