G'day again,

Louie Roy: Paterson did publish Waltzing Matilda in one of his later anthologies ... after the "Cowan" arrangement had become widely popular (probably sometime after 1910 ...?). It is silly to say " ... he never copyrighted them ..." because copyright (at least in countries that respect it) is achieved by publishing ... not by formal registration. In effect, the song was copyright from the moment Christina wrote out a copy for a friend at Dagworth Station, in 1895 ... and certainly from the time they sang it in the pub at Winton!

It is also incorrect to say that "... she changed all the word and in reality made a different tune ..." as the changes were only a simplification - suitable for the early model advertising jingle Inglis had in mind - and a of Banjo's words were squeezed down to the simpler tune.

In case you are confusing this with the collected "Queensland Version" of Waltzing Matilda (which uses Paterson's published words) ... that is not the Christina MacPherson original - indeed it is a separate and unrelated tune. Christina's original is essentially the same as Cowan's re-arrangement, apart from having a more sprightly, 'schottische' or 'Strathspey' tang to it. When I play her version, people have no problem recognising it as Waltzing Matilda.

Regards,

Bob Bolton