The Pogues - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda (LIVE!)

AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA

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
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's 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 tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How 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, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd 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
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush 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 my legs used to be
And thank 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 and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from 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 answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

copyright © Eric Bogle

Category:

Music

Tags:

• pogues
• shane
• macgowan
• waltzing
• matilda

[powerbarz]

Green day can shove their holiday up their arse, this is an anit war song the way it should be!!

[peterlawler1]

Forget Green Day or any other band that covered this.This is not an anti war song. It is an Australian song about our young men in WW1, telling it like it was. I know most of you don't understand, but read the lyrics, it is about the Gallipoli campaign and the returned servicemen that attended the ANZAC day marches and how inspiring and futile this all was. I don't mind that other people find solace in the lyrics, but it is ours and you shouldn't take it for your own agendas

[bobdevo]

@peterlawler1 : Not an antiwar song? Are ya daft man, that's exactly what it is

[jak649]

Liam Clancy does an incredible version of this song

[shesgonesailing]

Well Done, I tip my glass to the Pogues! Very old song , and they did it with respect!

[billywhizztransit]

@alexis It's an anti war song written by Eric Bogle who also wrote The Green Fields of France. The Dubliners also did this song but in my eyes The Pogues do the definite version of this.

[AlexisHarrington]

This song is heartbreaking and so true. They didn't teach me much about WWI in school and it wasn't until I did some research for a book I wrote that I learned what a horrible, bloody, pointless mess it was. A tragic, nightmarish event that should never happened and thanks to everyone, including Shane and the boys, for letting the story be heard.

[mara66M]

@crafty9990 yeah i do agree with you when i see it now, i shoud've wrote reply in full words and left out the numbers given the nature of the subject, my Dad loved this song and would've agreed with you,He played it all the time before his death from cancer,His uncle's fought in that terrible conflict. Thank you for your reply.

[crafty9990]

@mara66M Thats both one of the best and worst replies I've ever seen on YouTube. the sentiment is there and you know what your talking about but the use of text speak cheapened it something shocking!

[bluegibby7]

Are u still believing in that fairy tale u r grand father told about a united Ireland ( with tears in eyes )may I add as big Ian said never , never , never ,