What is WALTZING MATILDA?
Helen Johnston
>Hi,
> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
>Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
>I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
>Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
>danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
>
>Thanks,
>Rocky
Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
a national anthem! The words to the first verse are
Once a jolly swagman sat by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited for his billy boil,
Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?
------
| Helen Johnston | Josquin is master of the notes, which must |
| Caltech Astronomy Dept. | express what he desires; other composers |
| h...@deimos.caltech.edu | must do what the notes dictate |
| | - Martin Luther |
David M Tate
>
> I believe that "Waltzing Matilda" is the Australian national anthem.
>Has a nice beat.
Nope, not the national anthem, though "national song" would probably be an
accurate description. The Powers That Be couldn't quite handle the thought
of a national anthem about a hobo who steals sheep...
The song is inextricably linked to the Australian national consciousness
(whatever that is), and references to it crop up in many other songs, as
well as Australian literature. Non-Aussies who think of it as a cute folk
tune along the lines of the American "My Darling Clementine" are way off the
mark.
(Apologies in advance to Our Friends Down Under for any inaccuracies here...)
(A simple "Strewth, Mite, too right!" will suffice...)
--
David M. Tate | "How pierceful grow the hazy yon/ How myrtle
dt...@unix.cis.pitt.edu | petalled thou;/ For spring hath sprung the
| Cyclotron--/ How high browse thou, brown cow?"
(Not as short as he looks) | --Walt Kelly
Bill King
and the Lash?" I think so....
Bill
Neal Miller,,,
> Hi,
> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
> Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
> I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
> Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
> danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
I believe that "Waltzing Matilda" is the Australian national anthem.
Has a nice beat.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neal Miller | "Why not go mad?" | mill...@clutx.clarkson.edu
Clarkson University | - Ford Prefect | mill...@clutx.bitnet
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
imj...@csc.anu.edu.au
I thought it was about time somebody from Australia contributed to this
discussion. Here is the authoritative information (well maybe :-))
In reference to Waltzing Maltida, the Maltida is the swag, or pack, that the
swaggie carries. The swag is the rolled up bedding and posessions of the
swaggie. The swag is carried across the shoulders; there is no stick!
The song was written by A.B. 'Banjo' Patterson, one of Australia's most famous
authors of poems and stories. There is some dispute, however, as to how much
of the song was actually his. It has been interpreted as a commentary on the
Shearers' Strike of the late 1800's. The song refers to the antagonism between
the shearers and the authorities.
Incidentally, the first line should be:
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong...
^^^^^^
P.S. Full lyrics available on request.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ian Jamie Research School of Chemistry
imj...@csc.anu.edu.au Australian National University
ja...@rsc.anu.edu.au Canberra, ACT, Australia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hans Huttel
> inappropriate playing of "Waltzing Matilda" in celebration/honor of war
> veterans, esp. those missing legs (different songs). Tim
But the song wasn't written by The Pogues! It's a song by Eric Bogle, the
Australian equivalent of Woody Guthrie. And there is far more to the song
than Tim Thornton thinks. It is a song about the many Australian who went
off to Gallipoli in Turkey to fight for the British empire in WW1. Peter
Weir made a film about this (called `Gallipoli').
The song has become quite famous in Ireland (understandably, not all Irish men
were keen on fighting for the British back then) and this is probably why
The Pogues did their version.
--
...There are also people out there who think that The Pogues wrote `Dirty
Old Town' - one of my ex-flatmates (a Dane) even thought the song was
American! (Ewan MacColl, who wrote `Dirty Old Town' is _almost_ Scottish.)
--
Hans H\"{u}ttel, Office 1603 JANET: ha...@uk.ac.ed.lfcs
Lab. for Foundations of Comp. Sci. UUCP: ..!mcvax!ukc!lfcs!hans
JCMB, University of Edinburgh ARPA: hans%lfcs.e...@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, SCOTLAND Peace sells - but who's buying ?
Stephen Smoliar
>> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
>>Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
>>I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
>>Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
>>danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
>
>Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
>most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
>a national anthem!
Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
As far as TWIN PEAKS goes, I know I am missing a lot (like episodes every
Saturday night these days); but where were all those references. Leland
was into swing (and Bob is not a music-lover).
--
USPS: Stephen Smoliar
5000 Centinela Avenue #129
Los Angeles, California 90066
Internet: smo...@venera.isi.edu
Nur Iskandar Taib
>the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
I THINK the phrase to "go Waltzing Matilda" means to
go roaming around the outback (whatever the outback
is...)..
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iskandar Taib | The only thing worse than Peach ala
Internet: NT...@AQUA.UCS.INDIANA.EDU | Frog is Frog ala Peach
Bitnet: NTAIB@IUBACS !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Thornton
In the song, "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda," the Pogues refer to the
Cisco's Buddy
} I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
} Matilda."
Only about half the world has heard of it (you must belong to the other
half :-)).
} There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," [...]
Really? I don't recall any...
} Also, if any of you are Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being
} played while Donna and Leland danced and when Madeline dies be
} "waltzing Matilda?"
No, it couldn't. I don't recall what it was, but it definitely was *not*
"Waltzing Matilda".
--
"If I haven't explained Jerry, it's because he really can't be explained."
-- Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)
UUCP: ...!decwrl!ruby.enet.dec.com!boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%ruby...@DECWRL.DEC.COM
Liron Lightwood
> In article <1991Mar4.1...@nntp-server.caltech.edu> h...@surya.UUCP
> (Helen Johnston) writes:
>>
>>Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
>>most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
>>a national anthem!
>
than our own national anthem.
Liron Lightwood Internet : r.lig...@trl.oz.au
Telecom Research Laboratories Phone : +61 3 541 6658
770 Blackburn Road Snail : P.O. Box 249 Clayton 3168 Australia
Clayton Vic. 3168 Australia Disclaimer : my views are not the company's
Stephen P. Guthrie
>Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
>the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
>As far as TWIN PEAKS goes, I know I am missing a lot (like episodes every
>Saturday night these days); but where were all those references. Leland
>was into swing (and Bob is not a music-lover).
>--
I also do not remember hearing anything about Waltzing Matilda in Twin
Peaks, however I don't agree that Bob is not a music-lover. I think it
was Bob who liked all that old music, rather than Leland himself. The
era of that stuff Leland listened to is probably that of when Bob was
alive, before he became an owl. Remember the record player playing when
Bob/Leland was preparing to do Maddie in, also Bob/Leland singing in the
car when he had Maddie in the trunk, etc, etc.
btw, I think you may be wrong about it meaning the stick. I believe the
actual act of going of into the bush and doing whatever it is that swagmen
do there is called going Waltzing Matilda. Actually the stick is Matilda
and when you go out with the stick you are doing the waltzing. I didn't
post this earlier because I'm Australian myself, and a bit embarassed
about not remembering the exact meaning.
Neal Miller,,,
> (Helen Johnston) writes:
>>In article <12675.2...@ecs.umass.edu> gio...@ecs.umass.edu writes:
>
>>> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
>>>Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
>>>I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
>>>Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
>>>danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
>>
>>Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
>>most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
>>a national anthem!
(Sorry, I couldn't find the previous reference...)
I've talked to a lot of people, and the vast majority of them would
seem to favor the prospect of changing our (U.S.) national anthem to "Louie,
Louie". I think it more accurately portrays contemporary American culture,
plus it doesn't have references to bombs and rockets. It'd be a sure hit at
the Olympics!
Cisco's Buddy
}} Waltzing Matilda? Isn't that also a Pogues song on the album "Rum,Sodomy
}} and the Lash?" I think so....
Nope, that's "And the Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'", which is a song
written by Eric Bogle about the Battle of Gallipoli during WWI.
In article <1991Mar5.0...@ucselx.sdsu.edu>, maxc...@ucselx.sdsu.edu (Tim Thornton) writes...
} In the song, "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda," the Pogues refer to
} the inappropriate playing of "Waltzing Matilda" in celebration/honor of
} war veterans, esp. those missing legs (different songs).
I think you're misreading the song. There's nothing in the song that
suggests that "Waltzing Matilda" is being inappropriately used in those
instances. *Ironically*, yes; inappropriately, no.
In fact, a stanza from "Waltzing Matilda" is quoted at the end of the song,
and one of the lines is *very* appropriate:
"And their ghosts may be heard,
As they march by the billibong"
"Waltzing Matilda" is *not* a very upbeat song.
Norm Carpenter
> Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
> I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
> Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
> danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
>
Don't know about national anthems or swagmen or walking sticks, but I
do know that Waltzing Matilda is that unusual dance one does when hanging
by the neck from a rope. Think about it. Swagman steals jumbuck, gets
caught, is going Waltzing Matilda. Makes sense to me.
For thos of you rabid flamers, don't ask me to demonstrate.
Norm
*******************************************************************************
no...@oliveb.OLIVETTI.COM
"Watch this space." -- Acme Advertising
Pete Young
> Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
> most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
> a national anthem! The words to the first verse are
There's a lovely spoof version of this translated into 'English', called
Walking A Bulldog.
Once a jolly vagabond camped by a lillypond
under the shade of an old oak tree
and he sang as he watched and waited till his kettle boiled
who'll come a walking a bulldog with me.
Along came a hedgehog to drink at the lillypond
Up jumped the vagabond and grabbed him with glee
He shoved the little hedgehog into his great big picnic-hamper
you'll come a walking etc.
Along came a constable on a big red bicycle
up came the gamekeepers one,two,three,
Where's that little hedgehog that you've got in your picnic hamper
You'll come a walking etc.
Up jumped the vagabond and leapt into the lillypond
etc (same as the original)
Some artistic license is required to fit all the words in !
Pete
____________________________________________________________________
Pete Young pyo...@axion.bt.co.uk Phone +44 473 645054
British Telecom Research Labs,SSTF, Martlesham Heath IPSWICH IP5 7RE
Friendless
>Nope, not the national anthem, though "national song" would probably be an
>accurate description. The Powers That Be couldn't quite handle the thought
>of a national anthem about a hobo who steals sheep...
and the national song is "Advance Australia Fair". "Waltzing Matilda" is most
definitely not the song that Leland listened to the night after Laura died,
and I have seen the first 5 hours of Twin Peaks and it has absolutely
certainly not appeared there at all ever. If it does I'll let you know.
Friendless, an Aussie.
James McGowan
>
>Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
>most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
You mean it's not "Tie Me Kangaroo Down"? Gosh! Don't I feel silly!
--
James McGowan Internet: ja...@nrc.com
Network Research Corporation Phone: (805) 485-2700
2380 North Rose Avenue FAX: (805) 485-8204
Oxnard CA 93030
aldridge andrea
able to add a little bit more. Andrew Barton (A.B.,"Banjo" after a
favorite horse of his) Paterson was my grandfather's commanding
officer in the Light Horse in World War I. (Pa told a story once of
when German fighters flew overhead while they were digging trenches
[yes, even the Light Horse dug trenches], and Paterson had them hold
their shovels flat over their heads as bullet shields.)
"Advance, Australia Fair" is the actual Australian National Anthem--a
fine song in its own right and much underrated.
I've heard two different tunes to "Waltzing Matilda;" the lesser-known
one I have seen ascribed in print to Paterson himself; I will NOT
attempt to reproduce either here.
Approximate words and simplified definitions:
Once a jolly SWAGMAN camped by a BILLABONG foot traveler waterhole
Under the shade of a coolabah tree
And he sang as he watched and billycan--container for
waited while his BILLY boiled boiling yer tea
"You'll come a watlzing MATILDA with me" traveleer's bedroll
Refrain: WALTZING MATILDA, Waltzing Matilda traveling hobo-style
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and (third line of last
waited while his billy boiled verse here always)
"You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me"
Up came a JUMBUCK to drink at the billabong sheep
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he stuffed that (very small sheep)
jumbuck in his TUCKER BAG satchel for food
"You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me"
Up came the SQUATTER, mounted on his thoroughbred local landowner
Up came the TROOPERS, one, two, three local lawmen
"Where's that jolly jumbuck
you've got in your tucker bag?
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!"
Up jumped the swagman and leapt into the billabong
"You'll never catch me alive!" said he
And his ghost may be heard as you
ride beside the billabong--
"You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me..."
During most of his life, Paterson was a war correspondent and
newspaper writer, as well as poet laureate of the bush (my term, no
one else's). The BUSH may refer to the outback, that great,
only-partially-untrammeled wilderness of sand and scrub inland from
the fertile coastal regions of Australia, or, more likely, to the
so-called "uncivilized" forests and mountains of said regions.
Paterson also wrote "The Man From Snowy River," of two-movie fame, and
hundreds of other poems. His correspondence and writings have been
collected in a massive two-volume book set titled "Singer of the Bush"
and "Song of the Pen," printed in Australia. WORTH getting if you
have any Aussie contacts. About fifty dollars American, I think.
Hope this has been of some use and/or interest.
Ta--
Andrea Aldridge
cnb...@vaxa.strath.ac.uk
> Hi,
> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
> Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
> I was wondering if it's part of the real world. Also, if any of you are
> Twin Peaks viewers, could the record being played while Donna and Leland
> danced and when Madeline dies be "waltzing Matilda?"
>
> Rocky
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha.
Australia / Twin Peaks, what's the difference anyway ?
I like it.
But will Laura come a waltzing Matilda with you ?
Probably not, unless Mr. Lynch has one hell of a big trick up his
sleeve. Either way, I'd stay out of Twin Peaks and the Australian
dept. of tourism until the heat cools down.
Graham.
Dani Zweig
That's the tune of Waltzing Matilda. Is that the one you meant?
Clark D. McGrew
I have a question that is not specifically about Waltzing Matilda, but
related. Holdstock and Macleod sing a British Recruiting song which
has the same tune as Waltzing Matilda from sometime in the 19th
century. I don't remember the exact name, but it is something like
"Through the Streets of Rochester." Does anybody know which of these
songs came first and are there many other songs to the same tune?
Also, when did "Through the Streets of Rochester" originate?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Clark McGrew mcg...@skid.ps.uci.edu
Friendless
>Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
>the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
>As far as TWIN PEAKS goes, I know I am missing a lot (like episodes every
>Saturday night these days); but where were all those references. Leland
>was into swing (and Bob is not a music-lover).
Oh gee, and what was the name of Paul Revere's horse. I think the matilda
was the swag he carried on his back, in fact my dictionary says it is. It also
says the expression "to waltz matilda" means to wander about as a tramp with a
swag. Here are the words:
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah 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
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
"You'll come a'waltzing matilda with me"
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
And sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
"You'll come a'waltzing matilda with me"
Chorus
Down came the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred
Down came the troopers One! Two! Three!
They said "where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"Oh you'll come a'waltzing matilda with me"
Chorus
Up jumped the swagman and jumped into the billabong
"You'll never take me alive" said he
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
"You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me"
Chorus to end.
Note that the last two lines of each chorus are the last two lines of the
preceding verse. Now for some translations:
Swag: bag of stuff that a swagman/tramp carries.
Billabong: a lake, in particular one formed at the bend of a river when the
course of the river changes. Say the river goes round a loop, then changes
course to short-circuit the loop. The water which remains in the loop is a
billabong.
Coolabah Tree: I dunno, just some sort of tree. The dictionary says "A species
of eucalyptus, eucalyptus microtheca, and usually associated with areas
subject to occasional inundation." Has been taken as the names of various
"cool and shady" products, for example Coolabah cask wine.
Billy: Tin pot with a handle used for boiling water over a camp fire.
Jumbuck: a sheep or lamb
Tucker: food
Squatter: land-owner. Say last century or so, it was easier to just go and
build a farm somewhere without bothering to purchase the land from the crown.
I don't know whether it was cheaper or quicker or both. Eventually the govt
decided all those who were illegally "squatting" on the land could have it
anyway, and thus the squatters became land-owners, and usually very rich.
Trooper: policemen. At this time, undisciplined and violent, used to go
around shooting blacks and swagmen and drinking lots of rum. Still do.
Friendless
gio...@ecs.umass.edu
> Peaks, however I don't agree that Bob is not a music-lover. I think it
> was Bob who liked all that old music, rather than Leland himself.
I don't agree that BOB is not a music-lover either but I also have to point
out that Waltzing Matilda, from the responses I've received, sounds
just like the kind of song BOB might sing-- i.e. remember the
"does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy..." bit?
To clarify the reference to Waltzing Matilda made in Twin Peaks in the
first place: In the secret diary, Laura talks about a dream of
dancing with her mom to Waltzing Matilda, except the only thing is that
her mom is speaking with BOB's voice. Because of this, I thought that
if the "Maddy dies" music and the "dancing with Donna" music were
actually Waltzing Matilda, then maybe this reference in the diary
might have been some kind of foreshadowing.
Anyway, thanks for all of the info.
Rocky
DoN Nichols
>In article <1991Mar4.1...@nntp-server.caltech.edu> h...@surya.UUCP
>(Helen Johnston) writes:
>>In article <12675.2...@ecs.umass.edu> gio...@ecs.umass.edu writes:
>
>>> I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of a piece called "waltzing
>>>Matilda." There are references made to it in the TV show "Twin Peaks," but
[ ... ]
>
>Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
>the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
Well, not quite. I'm not from Australia, but I believe that the
swagman, unlike the hobo, did not hang his worldly goods from a stick over
his shoulder (a "bindlestiff, I think"), but rather, rolled up his goods in
his bedroll, which was rolled around the long axis, with other goods
inside. The ends were then tied shut with the two ends of a line (rope,
whatever) producing something which looks like a fat bow, with a loose
bowstring. The swagman then proceeded to put his head, and one arm, through
the loop of rope, with the swag (bedroll), laying diagonally across his
back. Because of its length, and mass, it imparted a gait which resembled
waltzing, at least if your brain had been sufficiently baked in the outback.
:-) From the waltzing image, came the woman's name affectionately given to
the swag (bedroll).
Well, now I'll return you to your regularly scheduled flamefest :-)
DoN.
--
Donald Nichols (DoN.) | Voice (Days): (703) 664-1585
D&D Data | Voice (Eves): (703) 938-4564
Disclaimer: from here - None | Email: <dnic...@ceilidh.beartrack.com>
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Cisco's Buddy
Matilda" and "And the Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'".
I first heard the Bogle song as done by Priscilla Herdman. Years later,
after Herdman had married and been to Australia for her honeymoon, at
another concert of hers, she performed not only the Bogle song, but
did the original "Waltzing Matilda", but with a completely different
melody and rhythm. It was rather bizarre after being used to the more
traditional version, but it was also very striking. I wish to hell I
could remember how it went...
Andrew A. Alexis
In article <mcgrew.6...@skid.ps.uci.edu>, mcg...@skid.ps.uci.edu
(Clark D. McGrew) writes:
> related. Holdstock and Macleod sing a British Recruiting song which
> has the same tune as Waltzing Matilda from sometime in the 19th
> century. I don't remember the exact name, but it is something like
> "Through the Streets of Rochester." Does anybody know which of these
> songs came first and are there many other songs to the same tune?
> Also, when did "Through the Streets of Rochester" originate?
him up and asked him. He says the British songwriter Peter Coe wrote it,
and that it is a fairly recent song. Coe found the first verse on an old
broadside someone had papered their wall with, and made up the rest to
match the fragments he found on the broadside. The song is about the
Marlboro Wars in the 18th century.
He and Alan Mcleod will be touring the east coast(of the US) in April, and
will definately be at the Mystic Seaport Festival, whenever that is.
If you see him, tell him you read about it on usenet.
He is looking for songs about General Ludd and Captain Swing. There is
the song that Jon Berger's group does, on the famous Mercedes Benz shape
note tape. Anybody know of any others?
--
"You can lead a horse|=| UUCP: ames!att!pacbell! \
to water, but a pencil |=| pyramid!sun!pacbell! -=>sactoh0!aaalexis
must be lead" |=|{ucbvax!}ucdavis!csusac! /
- Stan Laurel |=| INTERNET: aaal...@sactoh0.SAC.CA.USA
houston dunleavy
OK, so not too many other Aussies get offended, here is an attempt
at a definitive answer to this question.
"Waltzing Matilda" is our national song, NOT our National Anthem, that
honor goes to "Advance Australia Fair." The words originally penned by A. B.
"Banjo" Patterson whose work was also the inspiration for the film, "The Man
from Snowy River".
A Matilda (or swag) is a bundle wrapped up and carried by a swagman
as he wanders aroung, usually looking for work, but not always. Carrying the
swag around the country was referred to as waltzing the Matilda, or, more
colorfully to Americans I guess, humping the bluey. I suppose the song would
not have become as famous with a title like "Humping the Bluey", but who knows?
The copyright for the song is owned by Allans' Ltd.
The song tells the story of a swagman, camped by a spring, about to
brew up tea when he spies a stray sheep, which he pops into his bag, although
not quickly enough to escape the notice of the local squatter, the man whose
land he is presumably on and whose sheep he has just stolen. Before the
squatter and the local constabulary can catch him however, he jumps into the
spring and is drowned, leaving only his ghost to haunt the place.
Peace and understanding,
Houston Dunleavy.
Numero Uno
>
> Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
> the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly
> goods?
far...@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (Friendless):
>
> I think the matilda was the swag he carried on his back, in fact my
> dictionary says it is. It also says the expression "to waltz matilda"
> means to wander about as a tramp with a swag.
>
> Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
> Under the shade of a coolabah tree
>
> Down came the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred
> Down came the troopers One! Two! Three!
>
> Up jumped the swagman and jumped into the billabong
> "You'll never take me alive" said he
> And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
> "You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me"
The Jolly Swagman was the most important man in Australian's history.
Sam Hoffmeister was the most Australian of all the Australians, more
Australian than you or Paul Hogan, or any other half-shrewd mug. How
could a Bavarian anarchist be the most Australian Australian?
The old Sam preached that anarchism meant communal co-operative living
without a central government, groups of republics - from each according
to his ability and to each according to his needs. It was the strongest
political movement in Australia in 1891. He was one of the men who set
up the military camp at Barcaldine during the the shearers' strike of
1891, and the other big strike of 1984. There was this squatter named
MacPherson who hired scab labour, instead of union shearers. So they
burned his shed down; or, rather, Sam Hoffmeister did...
Twenty shearers rode to the Dagworth woolshed one Sunday night. On
guard was a copper named Daly; he was armed with a carbine. MacPherson
and his staff were also armed. The shearers fired a volley. "Come
out, you bastards, with your hands up or you'll die!" Daly and
MacPherson fired shots into the night; but it was all a blind, to
cover Sam Hoffmeister while he burned down the shed full of sheep.
"Give it to the bastards, boys, we've waited four years for this,"
Sam yelled then he snuck to the woodshed with kerosene and a box of
Bryant and May; then the shearers and Sam made good their escape. As
luck would have it, heavy rain fell overnight and Squatter MacPherson
and Constable Daly could find no tracks in the morning. The fire was
written up in the southern press with said it was a part of a plot to
set up an anarchist republic in western Queensland, which was true.
Anyway, MacPherson and Constable Daly rode to Winton and enlisted the
aid of two more troopers, named Cafferty and Dyer. Meanwhile, back at
their camp by the Diamantian River, Sam and his mates ate mutton and
damper. Well, eventually, MacPherson, the squatter, mounted on his
thoroughbred, and the three troopers found Sam Hoffmeister and his
mates camped by the billabong... and so "Waltzing Matilda" was born.
It was Sam Hoffmeister who introduced the term "Waltzing Matilda"
into Australia; when the other shearers said they were "humping Bluey"
(carrying a swag), Sam would say, "I'm awaltzing with Mathilde."
Y'see, Mathilde was a name give by German soldiers to their camp
followers, hundreds of years ago. Later, when prostitutes weren't
allowed to travel with armies, they called their overcoats Mathilde.
In the First World War they were amazed when they heard Australian
soldiers singing "Waltzing Matilda", when they themselves had a
similar song (a'course they'd never heard of Sam Hoffmeister - and
neither had the Australian soldiers...).
Anyway, Sam Hoffmeister had been saying: "auf der walz mit Mathilde"
for four years since the big battles at Barcaldine. And the idea
of saying awaltzing with Matilda caught on, all over Queensland.
Well, the night after the fire, Sam's mates saw him burn some papers
in the campfire. Some of the shearers said he'd burned a letter that
had come on the mail coach a few days before from Brisbane, giving
him the nod that scabs would work the Dagworth shed; but the papers
were a detailed plan to set up an anarchist republic in western
Queensland.
"Up rode the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred
Up rode the troopers, one, two, three!
And they soon searched the camp and found Winchester rifles..."
They also found revolver cartridges, plus gelignite. The cartridges
matched the onew found near the Dagworth shed after the battle. All
the boys denied anyone left the camp. "What's that you've got in your
tucket bag?" Squatter MacPherson asked Sam Hoffmeister. "Where are
those papers that came to you in the Brisbane mail the other day?"
And do you know what Sam Hoffmeister replied?
"You'll never take me alive..."
And do you know what happened then? He jumped into the billabong...
this is ridiculous! He didn't jump into the billabong; he shot himself.
Banjo Paterson arrived at the Dagworth station the year after Sam
Hoffmeister died - as a guest of Squatter MacPherson. (Banjo was
courting a sheila in the district, name of Sarah.) MacPherson told
Banjo about the attack on the woolshed and recited a rough version of
the peom. "Awaltzing mit Mathilde". Banjo had never heard of the
term "waltzing Matilda", him being a New South Welshman, where it was
unknown, but he got the idea of adapting the poem when he heard a
lady guest playing on the harpsichord a tune she'd heard played by a
German band at the Warrnambool races...
But the tune of "Waltzing Matilda" is the same as an English song
"Once a Jolly Soldier". Banjo heard the tune and adapted the peom
which became the song "Waltzing Matilda". A'course, being a squatter's
friend, he toned it down, had it that Sam was wanted for stealing a
sheep, whereas he was to be charged with arson, conspiracy and sedition;
did you ever hear of three troopers and a squatter being needed to
arrest a man for stealing one sheep? And he had Sam jump into the
billabong...
The original went like this:
Once the old Sam Hoffmeister camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched his old billy boiling
"auf der walz mit Mathilde...
Awaltzing Matilda and hiding a tuckerbag
Who'll come awaltzing Matilda with me?
Down came the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred
Down came the troopers, one, two, three!
Where's that anarchist propaganda you've got in your tuckerbag?
You'll come awaltzing Matilda with me!
But old Sam he up and grabbed hold of his rifle
"You'll never take me alive," said he.
And his ghost may be heard as he sings by the billabong
"auf der walz mit Mathilde... with me".
The old Sam Hoffmeister was a mate of William Lane. Billy buzzed off
to Paraguay and formed the republic there, but the old Sam was a
stubborn Bavarian and he struck with the anarchists who refused to go
with Lane. And old Sam was on the way to have another crack at it in
Queensland when he met his untimely end... he, the greatest Australian
of them all...
The Queensland Law Report for 1984:
An inquest was held into the death of one Samuel Hoffmeister, who shot
himself by the Four Mile Billabong near Kynuna, Queensland. The Dagworth
woolshed fire was mentioned at the inquest, but the arrested shearers
struck to their alibi and no charges were laid. It was suggested that
Hoffmeister might have received a bullet wound in the Dagworth fire battle.
Extracted from "The Great Australian Legends" by Frank Hardy.
-Num
Henry Troup
h...@surya.caltech.edu (Helen Johnston) writes:
|> Once a jolly swagman sat by a billabong
|> Under the shade of a coolabah tree
|> And he sang as he watched and waited for his billy boil,
|> Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?
Which roughly translated into ''standard english'' means something like:
Once a jolly rogue sat by a pond
under the shade of a coolabah tree
and he sang as he watch and waited for his tea to boil
who will come hiking with me
'waltzing matilda' is a reference to the peculiar bounce of a bed roll
off your rump, so I am told.
I'm gonna get flamed right off the net by 5,000,000 Australians, I just know it
Henry Troup - H...@BNR.CA (Canada) - BNR owns but does not share my opinions
"If you have taken a vow of perpetual poverty, you must take your deduction
on line 256" - 1990 Canadian Tax Guide
bwh...@inmet.inmet.com
Iskandar Taib <NT...@AQUA.UCS.INDIANA.EDU> says:
> >Hopefully, someone from Oz can resolve this; but is not "Waltzing Matilda"
> >the name of the stick to which the "jolly swagman" ties all his worldly goods?
>
> go roaming around the outback (whatever the outback
> is...)..
his duffel. Waltzing your matilda means humping about with it as you
avoid honest labor (;->). (I think a matilda is also called a bluey,
but I may be wrong there.)
Lois Lew
I believe that it was Eric Bogle (an Australian folk singer) who wrote
"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" Am I wrong?
-Lois
--
Lois A. Lew,
Phone#: (617) 784-0979
(ARPA): l...@lucid.com
(UUCP): ...!sun!edsel!lew
Nolan Hinshaw
>In article <1991Mar4.1...@nntp-server.caltech.edu> h...@surya.caltech.edu (Helen Johnston) writes:
>>
>>Boy, are you ever going to get flamed for this one! It's Australia's
>>most famous tune - far more well-known than our pathetic excuse for
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>You mean it's not "Tie Me Kangaroo Down"? Gosh! Don't I feel silly!
>
classic in its own time.
--
Nolan Hinshaw Internet: no...@twg.com
The Wollongong Group Dingalingnet: (415)962-7197
Piobairi Uillean, San Francisco
I am my own different drummer!
Jon Berger
><mcgrew.6...@skid.ps.uci.edu>
>
>In article <mcgrew.6...@skid.ps.uci.edu>, mcg...@skid.ps.uci.edu
>(Clark D. McGrew) writes:
>> related. Holdstock and Macleod sing a British Recruiting song which
>> has the same tune as Waltzing Matilda from sometime in the 19th
>> century. I don't remember the exact name, but it is something like
>> "Through the Streets of Rochester." Does anybody know which of these
>> songs came first and are there many other songs to the same tune?
>> Also, when did "Through the Streets of Rochester" originate?
>
>You asked the right net...Dick Holdstock is a friend of mine, so I called
>him up and asked him. He says the British songwriter Peter Coe wrote it,
>and that it is a fairly recent song. Coe found the first verse on an old
>broadside someone had papered their wall with, and made up the rest to
>match the fragments he found on the broadside. The song is about the
>Marlboro Wars in the 18th century.
>He and Alan Mcleod will be touring the east coast(of the US) in April, and
>will definately be at the Mystic Seaport Festival, whenever that is.
>If you see him, tell him you read about it on usenet.
>He is looking for songs about General Ludd and Captain Swing. There is
>the song that Jon Berger's group does, on the famous Mercedes Benz shape
>note tape. Anybody know of any others?
Ok, I'll 'fess up. "General Ludd", from the aforementioned tape (I didn't
know it was famous! Gosh!) is stolen^H^H^H^H^H^H adapted from a Roy
Harris record, so Dick may well know about it already. Apropos of nothing
whatsoever, the tune has been adapted as a Morris dance by the redoubtable
Antone Ceppernich of the Berkeley Morris.
The "Streets of Rochester" song was also recorded by an odd little British
group called Strawhead. I love them, personally, but I've noticed that
they grate on the ears of everyone else I've ever exposed to their
recordings. They seem to specialize in British military music from many
periods, with an emphasis on 18th century stuff, and their instrumentation
relies heavily on synthesizers and cornettos. A cornetto, for those not
up on their period instruments, is kind of like a recorder with a teeny
trumpet mouthpiece and Peyronie's syndrome; it's black, has a conical
bore, finger holes, and a pronounced curve to the left. It's typically
played with the mouthpiece applied to the corner of the lips rather than
the middle, for some unknown reason. They died out in the 17th century
because nobody could play them in tune, and Strawhead is very definitely
no exception, but I think they sound great anyway.
My records remain in boxes, and my recollection of the lyrics is
incomplete, but the first verse definitely goes:
A recruiting sergeant rode through the streets of Rochester
Home from the war in the Low Country.
And he sang as he rode and played upon his kettle-drum
"Who'll be a soldier for Marlborough and me?"
Then there's a verse -- I guess this is Coe's bit now -- about all the
solid middle-class citizens with jobs who think that war is scary and
dangerous, and another one about the poor unemployed youth ("the young man
who had long been on the parish-rolls" is the actual phrase) who thinks
that war is a hell of a lot better than starving to death at home. If
anyone desperately wants the full lyric, email me; I'd welcome the excuse
to haul the record out.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Berger jo...@ingres.com {mtxinu,sun,amdahl,pyramid}!ingres!jonb
"Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that we're all drawings." -- B. Kliban
Phil Scott
me what Tom Waits was talking about when he used the expression in
that song (can't remember the title - was it something to do
with "Martha"?) from one of his earliest LPs
(whose name I also can't remember..) I haven't heard it for many
years, but I recall thinking at the time that it was a new use of
the term.
Phil Scott (psc...@pandanus.ntu.edu.au)
Stephen Smoliar
the best examples of truth in advertising I have seen in some time.
Nevertheless, there is one minor embellishment which has caught on
among those who have spent any time in New York. In article
<1991Mar5.1...@unicorn.cc.wwu.edu> n904...@unicorn.cc.wwu.edu
(aldridge andrea) provides the following annotated couplet:
>
>Up came a JUMBUCK to drink at the billabong sheep
>Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
The New York version of the second line is:
Up jumped the swagman and KOCHED him with glee subdued through intense
exposure to a former New
York mayor
(Thoroughness is not without its risks! We may now return to the serious.)
--
USPS: Stephen Smoliar
5000 Centinela Avenue #129
Los Angeles, California 90066
Internet: smo...@venera.isi.edu