'The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' ANZAC photomontage and Lyrics

Free mp3 download available for this and all my other tracks at: http://www.4shared.com/dir/21755036/4451a554/sharing.html
This was a song first brought to my attention by a very good friend of mine from Australia. I've recorded and posted it in remembrance of ANZAC Day on April 25th. It was originally written by Eric Bogle in 1972, but it has been recorded by a number of other artists since including The Pogues, my recording is based loosely on this version.

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said son
Its time to stop rambling cause theres work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played waltzing matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers the flag-waving and tears
We sailed off to gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called suvla bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets and he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat hed blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to australia
But the band played waltzing matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were living, how we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more Ill go waltzing matilda
to the green bushes so far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless the blind the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into circular quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played waltzing matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
And they turned all their faces away

And now every april I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving their dreams of past glory
The old men walk slowly, all bent stiff and sore
The tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "what are they
marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays waltzing matilda
And the old men still answer to the call
But year after year those old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
Wholl go a-waltzing matilda with me?
And their ghosts can be heard
As they pass by the billabong
Who'll go a-waltzing matilda with me

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[cqsallie]

I've loved this song for years and I've heard it by some of the finest singers in the genre.

You are wonderful!

Thank you for this video....

[jonathandavidr]

Thankyou for leaving such a touching comment!

Jonathan

[minstrelbhoy]

You are a fine singer, singing a masterpiece of a song.....must be the greatest anti-war song written.

[jonathandavidr]

Thankyou for the compliment. It was a wonderfully moving song.

Jonathan

[dangerdan941]

Gives me the same feeling Band of Brothers gave me

[jonathandavidr]

If Band of Brothers gave you the same feeling as it did me, then that is a great compliment.

Thankyou, Jonathan

[billy90syd]

love this song.

and your rendition father and son.

billy.

[ccox888]

Beautiful. Very beautiful. Thank you.

[vaux99100]

really good!

[TheMakemFolksinger]

brillant love it, keep them coming, cheers Dave The Makem Folk Singer

[bjbjbjbjbj]

@cqsallie

wicked

great version

i'm practicing to this

cheers

[bjbjbjbjbj]

@cqsallie

wicked

[mattyjh69]

Jonathon, loved your version. I have a mate who says he would love to play this at ANZAC Day 2011. Can you email me the chords for this song. Kind Regards

Matty Hayes. Gulf War Veteran and Grandson of a WWII Veteran.

[hbombharry]

very good mate its such a powerful song with a deep meaning to the human race..

[nogodsnever]

Great Job!! One of my favorite songs....

[pldigout]

very well done, !

[sannys75]

super!!! danke aus hamburg...

[StripeyTinca]

It's good to see some true talent.....excellent rendition, good job Sir.