Patriotic Song:Australia -Waltzing Matilda-

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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. The song tells the story of a traveling farm worker making a drink of tea 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 (a crime punishable by hanging), the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole. The worker's ghost stays to haunt the site. The words to the song were written in 1895 by a poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson. It was first printed as sheet music in 1903. 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.

Traditional: Waltzing Matilda (Arr. Tommy Tycho) · Tommy Tycho · Sydney Youth Orchestra · Sydney Conservatorium Chorale
Music Of A Nation - Advance Australia Fair / Waltzing Matilda / I Still Call Australia Home