And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda chords by Liam Clancy

Written By Eric Bogle
Recorded by many, Liam Clancy's version in my opinion best captures the emotion of the song

tuning pending on your voice, i play this half step down, standard works fine too

3/4 time at 105 bpm
last section is 4/4 time

chords and picking patterns (last a chord to chorus 5 is a single A note (open 5th string)
x02220 A 543234
xx0232 D 432123
244222 F#m 543123
020100 E7 543234
022100 E 643234
xx4432 Bm 432123
xx0230 Dsus2 not picked

Intro
A A

each verse & chorus
A D A F#m
A E7 A A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A

E E D A
E E D A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A

A D A A
A D E7 E7
D Bm A D
A E7 A A

ive deliberately broken it into 3 sections to make the patterns stand out
and make it easy to remember, its almost like a sonnet in its symmetry



Intro
A   A
       Now when
Verse 1
A       D           A          F#m
I was a young man I carried me pack
      A              E7        A       A
And I lived the free life of a rover
         A              D            A         F#m
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Out-back
  A            E7        A       A
I waltzed my Matilda all over

        E            E       D             A
Then in nineteen fif-teen me country said, Son
     E            E                D       A
It's time to stop rambling there's work to be done
        A         D                 A         F#m
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
         A       E7          A     A
And they sent me away to the war

Chorus 1
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
         A           E7            A    A
When the ship pulled away from the quay
      D           Bm          A          D
And a-mid all the tears, flag-waving and cheers
   A              E7        A   A
We sailed off for Ga-llip-o-li

verse 2
    A        D           A        F#m
And how I re-member that terrible day
         A                 E7           A       A
When our blood stained the sand and the water
    A           D              A          F#m
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
        A              E7           A          A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

       E           E           D              A
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
   E              E               D                A
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells
       A            D            A            F#m
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
       A            E7         A       A
Nearly blew us back home to Au-stralia

Chorus 2
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
        A          E7       A    A
When we stopped to bury our slain
D         Bm            A            D
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
        A           E7     A   A
Then we started all over a-gain

Verse 3
    A               D          A            F#m
And those that were left, just tried to sur-vive
        A            E7               A       A
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
        A         D            A        F#m
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself a-live
        A            E7            A       A
While a-round me the corpses piled higher

       E           E                D         A
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
    E        E          D        A
And when I a-woke in me hospital bed
    A               D             A            F#m
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
      A              E7                A       A
Never knew there was worse things than dying

Chorus 3
      A            D           A     A
So no more I'll go Waltzing Ma-tilda
      A               E7           A    A
All a-round the green bush far and near
       D             Bm     A              D
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
        A           E7        A   A
No more Waltzing Ma-tilda for me

Verse 4
        A            D            A             F#m
So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
         A               E7         A       A
And they shipped us back home to Au-stralia
    A            D            A             F#m
The armless, the legless, the blind, the in-sane
      A             E7        A       A
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

    E             E           D        A
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
  E             E              D            A
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
            A                D            A           F#m
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
   A             E7           A       A
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

Chorus 4
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
          A          E7       A       A
When they carried us down the gangway
    D      Bm                 A               D
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
          A                E7      A   A
Then they turned all their faces a-way

Verse 5
   A         D       A         F#m
So now every April I sit on my porch
      A             E7          A       A
And I watch the par-ade pass be-fore me
  A          D            A            F#m
I see my old comrades how proudly they march
   A          E7             A       A
Re-newing old dreams of past glory

  E           E        D                A
I see the old men, all tired, stiff and sore
    E         E             D         A
The weary old heroes from a forgotten war
        A            D              A             F#m
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
    A        E7            A       A
And I ask my-self the same question

Chorus 5
        A          D           A     A
And the band plays Waltzing Ma-tilda
        A             E7         A    A
And the old men still answer the call
    D          Bm         A           D
But year after year their numbers get fewer
        A           E7             A   A
Someday no one will march there at all


Verse 6 is strumming - 4/4 timing

A                 D
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
A             D           A          E7
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?
E7        A             E7       F#m               D
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong
A             Dsus2       E7         A
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?


i have no idea how to notate the strumming pattern for the last verse
i suspect there is an offbeat at the start of line 3 (1 bar of 1 beat) for the words "and their"

A 4 beats D 4 beats
A 2 beats D 2 beats A 2 beats E7 2 beats
E7 1 beat A 2 beats E7 2 beats F#m 2 beats D 2 beats