Waltzing Matilda

"Waltzing Matilda" is one of Australia's best known songs. The bush ballad, a country folk song, has been called "the unofficial national anthem of Australia". The title, "Waltzing Matilda", is Australian slang for walking through the country looking for work, with one's goods in a "Matilda" (bag) carried over one's back.

Original song manuscript from 1895

The song tells the story of a traveling farm worker boiling a billy at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with three policemen to arrest the worker for taking the sheep, the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole. The worker's ghost stays to haunt the site.

The words to the song were composed in 1895 by poet, Banjo Paterson. The version of "Waltzing Matilda" that we sing today was published as sheet music in 1903 as an advertising jingle for "Billy Tea". There are many stories about the song and how it was written. The song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland.

History

Writing of the song

The story of “Waltzing Matilda” began in the village of West Paisley in Scotland, 2 km south of where Glascow airport is today. In about 1804, young Scottish poet, Robert Tannahill, wrote a poem to be used as the words of a song, “Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigielea”. His musician friend, James Barr, composed some music for it. The song,” Thou Bonny Wood of Craigie Lee”, was published in 1818. In about 1891, Australian musician, Thomas Bulch, wrote a marching tune for a brass band. He called it “Craigielee”. The beginning of “Craigielee” was Barr’s “Thou Bonny Wood of Craigie Lee”. In April 1894, the local brass band played ”Craigielee” at the annual Warrnambool steeplechase meeting in southwestern Victoria.

Christina Macpherson attended the steeplechase meeting with her younger sister’s family. Christina was a gifted musician who could hear and remember tunes and play them by ear on piano. The band’s performance of “Craigielee” caught Christina’s attention. When she had a chance, she made up a tune based on her memory of the beginning of "Craigielee".

The Macphersons owned Dagworth Station, a very big and very remote sheep farm 130 km northwest of Winton in Central-West Queensland. In June 1895, Christina and her older sister, Jean, took their old father to Dagworth to visit the Macpherson brothers who ran the property. There was no piano at Dagworth. When Christina arrived, she found an autoharp with 3 or 4 chord bars which belonged to the bookkeeper, John Tait Wilson, who was on holidays. In the next 7 weeks Christina learned to play it.

In August, Christina and her brothers went to Winton for a week or so. The journey took 2 days. At the same time Banjo Paterson went to Winton to visit Sarah Riley, his fiancé of 7 years, and to see how people lived on the big, remote sheep stations. Sarah was a very good friend of Christina from their school days in Melbourne. When he arrived in Winton, Banjo attended a gathering where Christina played some music to entertain those present. The tune that Christina heard at the Warrnambool races caught Banjo’s attention. In Christina’s own words, Mr Paterson asked me what it was – I could not tell him. He said that that he thought that he could write some words for the music. He then and there wrote the first verse. The rest of the words for “Waltzing Matilda” were written over the next three or four weeks in August and early September at Dagworth Station and other places. In Christina’s own words, "In a short time, everyone in the district was singing it.”

Paterson went back to Sydney in early September. Sometime later, Banjo wrote to Christina and asked her to send him a copy of the music of their song. He wanted to give it to a musical friend who thought that it would make a good bush song. This gave Christina a big problem: Christina played music by ear: she did not use sheet music. Writing down music from memory is quite hard, even for musicians who read music well. It is very hard one who plays by ear. In Christina's own words, "I am no musician but did my best". Christina could write the pitch of the notes very well but was not good at representing the length of notes. Her manuscripts have many mistakes.

Christina wrote a first draft and at least 3 full drafts of the song. She kept one, gave another to W B Bartlam who took it to Townsville. She sent a copy to Banjo in Sydney. The musical friend to whom Banjo gave his copy may have been Harry Nathan. The manuscripts helped to spread the song at the time but were then forgotten. The copy that Christina sent to Banjo was lost. The copy that Christina kept was not discovered until 1992. The Bartlams knew what their copy was and passed it down through the the family but no one else believed them until Richard Magoffin contacted them in 1971.

For the first 7 years after its composition, the song spread by word of mouth and singers made changes to the words and music. The first person to publish "Waltzing Matilda" as a song was Harry Nathan on 20 December 1902. Nathan said that Banjo wrote the words and he made up the harmony and arrangement. Nathan also changed some of the words and wrote a new variation of the original tune. He arranged “Waltzing Matilda” as a military style march and gave it a rather unpleasant harmony.

Three weeks later, on 12 January 1903, Paterson sold the rights to “Waltzing Matilda” to Angus and Robertson. Very soon after Paterson sold them, the rights were purchased by tea merchant James Inglis, who wanted to use “Waltzing Matilda” as an advertising jingle for Billy Tea. Inglis did not find any of the existing "Waltzing Matilda" songs satisfactory and asked Marie Cowan, the wife of one of his managers, to try to turn it into and advertising jingle. Marie Cowan made some small changes to Nathan's tune and changed a few of the words. The policemen became troopers in verse 3 and the swagman cried, "You'll never take me alive." in verse 4. Cowan repeated the second line of each verse in the corresponding chorus. She gave the song a simple, brisk, harmonious accompaniment which made it very catchy. Her song, published in 1903, quickly grew in popularity and Cowan's arrangement remains the best-known version of "Waltzing Matilda".

By 1971, the manuscript that Christina gave W. B. Bartlam had been passed down to his son, J. R. Y. Bartlam who lived in Tasmania. He told the Bulletin magazine that his daughter, Barbara Roulston, had the copy and that it could be examined at her home. Dedicated “Waltzing Matilda” researcher, Richard Magoffin, heard about this. He contacted Barbara Roulston. Barbara took the manuscript to the chief archivist at the Tasmanian State Library. He verified that the manuscript was written around 1895 by Christina Macpherson. This showed, beyond reasonable doubt, the Scottish origin of “Waltzing Matilda” and that the melody of Christina and Banjo’s “Waltzing Matilda” came from the music of James Barr’s “Thou Bonny Wood of Craigie Lee”. J R Y Bartlam sent a photograph of the manuscript to Magoffin and he included the photo in each of his books.  

Alternative Theories

Christina Macpherson’s manuscript did not become well known until late in the 1900’s. Until then it was widely thought that the melody of “Waltzing Matilda” came from the English song, “The Gay Fusilier” also known as “Marching through Rochester”. It was sung to the same tune as the Nathan/Cowan “Waltzing Matilda "published in 1902/03. This song describes an event as happening in Rochester, England, in the reign of Queen Anne, 1702 to 1714. Many believed that the song was written at that time.

Verse: A gay fusilier was marching down through Rochester
Bound for the wars in the low country,
And he cried as he tramped through the drear streets of Rochester,
Who'll be a sojer for Marlboro with me?

Chorus: Who'll be a sojer, Who'll be a sojer,
Who'll be a sojer for Marlboro with me?
And he cried as he tramped through the drear streets of Rochester,
Who'll be a sojer for Marlboro with me?

There is, however, no written evidence that "The Gay Fusilier" existed before 1900. English folklore authority, Ralph Vaughan Williams, said that the existence of the song in the early 1700's was very doubtful because its language was not appropriate to that time.The song has the pattern (musical form) popular American, which suggests a much later origin.

In his 1987 book, Richard Magoffin suggested that the music of “Waltzing Matilda” may have originally come from an Irish Jig, “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself”, which was probably composed by Irishman, John Field, and which began to appear in print about 1797. In a letter to Magoffin, the City Librarian of Dublin Library said that he thought he could detect a slight resemblance in it to “Waltzing Matilda”. This is very flimsy evidence. Instead of checking the quality of the evidence, Magoffin went on to say that it would be nice to think that the Irish have played a part in providing Australia with her song.

Until the internet arrived, it was extremely difficult for researchers to access old music. Now, with YouTube and digital collections of old music, it is a quick and simple task. An audio file of “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself”can be heard, and the sheet music can be viewed, at the above links and numerous other websites. It is now obvious to anyone that there is not the slightest resemblance between it and “Waltzing Matilda”.

Lyrics

There are no "official" words to "Waltzing Matilda", and slight differences can be found in the sources. This version uses the famous "You'll never catch me alive said he" variation introduced by the Billy Tea company. Paterson's original words use 'drowning', which the tea company felt was too negative.

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til 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 he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came 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".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
"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 sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."
"Oh, You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

Other websites

• “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself” YouTube video with audio and sheet music arranged/composed by John Field.
• “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself” Musescore video with audio and sheet music arranged/composed by John Field.