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