Waltzing Matilda Waltz lyrics

Well, once jolly swagmen went humping their swags

And stuffed jolly jumbucks down in their tucker bags

These days, jolly junkies go on house-breaking jags

And steal to buy the poison they need

While the swaggie, he just wanted a feed

And who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

Hey Banjo, this country's not what it used to be

We've changed all your words, and re-written your score

And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more

Once Henry and Mary, on a warm afternoon

Rowed down Reedy River to the broad bright lagoon

The song of the river is a long vanished tune

Since they built the uranium mine

And what's left is just toxic slime

And who'll come a-walting Matilda with me?

Oh, Henry, this country's not what it used to be

Days pass with a whimper, and not with a roar

And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more

Well, we cut down the trees, and the land we reclaimed

We ploughed and we planted, then we ploughed it again

And again and again, and again and again

So that now on a hot windy day

We can watch our topsoil blow away

And who'll come a-walting Matilda with me?

The desert is marching down to the sea

On the day that it stretches

From shore to shining shore

We'll go waltzing Matilda no more

Saturday night outside a King's Cross hotel

There stands our future, and it's halfway to hell

Kids with hard drugs and young bodies to sell

Hey Australia, what progress we've made!

We've come a long way, since Diamond day

And who'll come a-walting Matilda with me?

Hey Anzac*, is this what you fought to keep free?

A land fit for heroes, or junkies and whores?

And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more

And who'll come a-walting Matilda with me?

This country could still be what we want it to be

Perhaps one day soon, the dream will be restored

And we'll go Waltzing Matilda once more

We'll go Waltzing Matilda once more

• Artist:Eric Bogle
• Album:Endangered Species