Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Subject: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Dave
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 08:03 AM

I know it's probably been asked for 100s of times but I've tried location it and havn't had much luck. Can anyone help please.

Subject: Lyr Add: AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA
From: Gearoid
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 08:23 AM

AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA
(Eric Bogle)
As recorded by Eric Bogle on "Scraps of Paper" (1983)

1. Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover.
From the Murry's green basin to the dusty outback,
Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.
Then in 1915 my country said, "Son,
It's time you stop rambling; there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war.
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.

2. And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water,
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk, he was waiting; he primed himself well.
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell,
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back home to Australia.
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain,
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs,
Then we started all over again.

3. And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire,
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher.
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead.
Never knew there were worse things than dying.
For I'll go no more Waltzing Matilda,
All around the green bush far and free.
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs.
No more waltzing Matilda for me.

4. So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
And they shipped us back home to Australia--
The legless, the armless, 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 I thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve, to mourn and to pity.
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway,
But nobody cheered; they just stood and stared,
Then they turned all their faces away.

5. And so now every April I sit on me porch
And I watch the parade pass before me,
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glories,
And the old men march slowly, all bone-stiff and sore.
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war,
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question.
But the band plays Waltzing Matilda,
And the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear.
Someday, 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 they march by that billabong:
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Dave
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 09:05 AM

Thank you Gearoid -Go raibh mile maith agat

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Barbara
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 10:25 AM

You did know this was in the database? Along with a couple of parodies? I hope you didn't do all that typing, Gearoid.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Sam
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 11:52 AM

the band played Waltzing Matilda is on a Tommy Makem & Clancy Bros. "The makem & Clancy Collection" Shanachie Records Cpr[/ #52001, written by E. Bogle, Island Music. I have heard it several times by different artists, but this is one I have on CD so thats as much as I can supply you with. Play time is 6 min. Sam the wannabe banjo picker.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Jan 99 - 04:12 PM

Seems that the database isn't working too well today. I keep getting error messages. I sent Max an e-mail to alert him.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Gearoid
Date: 26 Jan 99 - 08:30 AM

Dave and Barbara

Sorry about the bluntness on my mail yesterday (I was just about to type a quick note when my boss walked in. I swear my hand never moved as fast, the poor mouse got such a shock, (every time she walks to my desk i'm in the Mudcat- not creating a good impression of myself) Dave, You are more than welcome (Barbara I just copied and pasted from the DT) dave try messing around with the DT in the top right of your screen (you'll be amazed what you fine)

Anyway got to do some work (only for about 2 minutes though)

Take care Gearoid

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From:
Date: 26 Jan 99 - 01:52 PM

I have 3 versions of this yar song...the aforementioned Tommy Makim, Joan Baez (on Ring Them Bells) which is a sweet lyrical version, contrasting well with the words, and my personal favorite by the POGUES. My son, then a collitch kid, came home with that CD. At the time I came home he was playing the JESSE JAMES track. Imagine his dismay when old pater actually liked that track and several others. That particular CD is replete with folk-punk rock-Celtic arrangements. Anyway, their BAND is my fav.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: O'Boyle
Date: 26 Jan 99 - 04:41 PM

I have heard many versions of this song, but the best by far that I have heard is done by Rob Williams of The Fenians. They have some samples on their page, I don't know if The Band Played waltzing Matilda is one of the smples but you can access the page here at their webpage.

Rick

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Apr 02 - 12:45 PM

The original, and best, sung by Eric Bogle accompanied by John Munro, can be heard here: Matilda 1915
The copyright holder is credited in the DT, but the composer, Eric Bogle, is not.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Apr 02 - 12:58 PM

Sorry, Eric Bogle was credited at the top. In the DT, Murray is mis-spelled and ass is substituted for arse.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 11:51 PM

June Tabor does a good version of this.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: breezy
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 11:53 AM

June Tabor sings the definitive version period.
Eric Bogle came to prominance as a consequence of her recording this song
imho

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Jake Bryan
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 12:10 PM

Priscilla Herdman has also done a haunting version of this song. First heard it from her back in the '70's.

Subject: RE: LYR:'The Band played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Dani
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 12:17 PM

I think the best I've heard was our own Kendall Morse. There was another thread on this song: if anyone has a chance to look it before I do, go for it.

Dani

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: mmb
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 09:46 PM

I first heard this song when Priscilla performed it at the Niskayuna Folk Festival, sometime around 1978 or '79.

I had an uncle who was wounded at Anzio in 1944, and was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 19. To this day I remember the impact of Priscilla's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda." When I walked backstage to speak to her, our eyes met, and without a word she simply held out her arms and embraced me.

To stay with the thread: Her version retains the original "arse."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: mg
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 12:13 AM

my favorites are Priscilla Herman and John McDermott although he modifies the tune a bit. mg

Subject: ADD: Don't Play 'The Band Played Waltzing Matilda'
From: Geordie-Peorgie
Date: 19 Apr 08 - 06:39 PM

Don't Play 'The Band Played Waltzing Matilda'

When I was a young man I played the guitar
And I led the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin to each dusty folk bar
I waltzed my old Martin all over

But at each bar I played in the people said, "Son!
We do like your playing" but when I was done
They'd leap on the stage, shouting, "Now, I'll give you one!"
And this was the song that they sang.

"The Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'
And the audience soon forgot me.
So 'midst all the tears, the flag waving and beers
I went out to the loo for a pee.

How well I remember that terrible day
And how my blood boiled, like water.
For up to that time I'd been well on my way
To winning the publican's daughter

Johnnie Turk, he was there and he sang the song well,
I rained him with insults, but 'truth is to tell
I wished Eric Bogle had gone straight to hell
And never had come to Australia

And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda'
And the audience joined in the refrain
So when Johnnie Turk had finished, the berk
Went on and sang it again.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GerryM
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 08:41 AM

The parody above of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is also in the Digital Tradition, as "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda (2)", with no attribution above or in the DT. It was written by Tony Miles, of Queensland, and he called it "And the Band Played 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda'".

Graham Dodsworth, who has posted to Mudcat a few times, has quite a bit to say about the parody in his Master's thesis, The Nature of Folk Song in Australia. I'm going to quote at length from that thesis:

Parodies of 'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda':

Parodies are a form of extension of a song that don't necessarily require retention of the essence of the song it feeds off. Some parodists draw pleasure from shadowing the original lyrics as closely as they can, as can be seen in this first example of parodies resulting from 'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda'. Tony Miles, who wrote the parody in 1979, the year following Bogle's recording of the song, is an accomplished and recognised songwriter in his own right.

Most interestingly, even from the parody, we may see which of the versions was used as a model for the work and again by examining the 6th line of the verse which we number as the 5th in the original (3rd here), we see the Miles version is taken from one that never left Australia.

(Version 13) AND THE BAND PLAYED 'AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA' (Parody by Tony Miles of Brisbane).

Tune: "And The Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'" by Eric Bogle

I solicited this version of Tony's parody directly from Tony via phone, and received this set of words with accompanying notes via e-mail. The accompanying notes were basically the patter Miles used to introduce the song during the 1980s which are recorded on his 'Australia Through and Through' tape.

Just so you have the right background to this parody. When Eric wrote the original I thought it was a great song and I still do. The trouble was that when I began to tour and imagined I was on the brink of great fame and fabulous wealth, 'The Band' had become a bit of a block-buster and Eric a star. At every gig I played someone would sing it without fail. Added to this was the fact that Eric was living in Brisbane (where Miles also resided) at the time and the first question I was always asked was "do you know Eric Bogle?" When I responded that he was a mate of mine (he was, after all, only Eric), I was suspected of being a name dropper. A few just refused to believe me. And so for a while I began to feel that I was doomed to live in the shadow of Eric and that's why I wrote the song (parody). As it has happened, history confirmed my fears. When people talk about me these days it's usually -"What ever happened to .....um......what was his name?' As I said at the beginning, great to hear from you. Keep in touch.             Yours in obscurity,
Tony Miles. 5 February, 2000.
(Miles, 2000)

1st.   
When I was a young man and played a guitar
I lived the free life of a rover.
From Brisbane's green river to dusty folk clubs
I waltzed my old Martin all over.
And at each club I played, the people said 'Son,
We do like your songs', but when I was done
They'd leap on the stage saying "Now I'll sing one"
And this is the song that they'd sing.

1st Chorus:
'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda',
Then the audience soon forgot me
And amidst all the tears, flag waving and cheers,
I'd slip to the loo for a pee.

2nd.   
How well I remembered that terrible day,
How my blood boiled much hotter than water.
For up to that time I'd been well on the way
To winning the publican's daughter.
Johnny Turk, he was singing and sang the song well,
I showered him with insults and truth is to tell,
I wished Eric Bogle had gone straight to hell
And never had come to Australia.

2nd Chorus:
'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda'
was such a well loved refrain
that when Johnny Turk had finished the berk
Started all over again.

3rd.   
And now every April I sit on my porch
And watch my past life pass before me.
And I wished I had written that rambling song
That brought Eric Bogle such glory.
And the songs what I wrote, I don't sing them no more
They're tired old songs from a tired old bore
And the young people ask 'What did he write them for?'
And I ask myself the same question.

3rd Chorus:
'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' -
How the singers respond to that call,
And as year passes year all my hopes disappear
That no one will sing it at all

(Miles, 2000).


In the light of the above message which accompanied the e-mail that contained the parody, If I were to perform the parody in the future, I would add the following chorus, so that the song would follow the original form where the actual chorus of 'Waltzing Matilda' is sung at the end and thus we have an example of the process of altering a song to suit one's tastes.

(Final chorus is sung to the tune of 'Waltzing Matilda')
And these words may be heard as you pass by your local pub,
'What ever happened to old what's his name?'
Graham H. Dodsworth. 7 February, 2000.

(Version 13.2) AND THE BAND PLAYED 'AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA' (Parody by Tony Miles of Brisbane).


This version of Miles' parody was found during a web-search for 'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' and although there can be no doubt that this parody has been taken directly from Tony Miles parody, Miles is not acknowledged anywhere and the initials RG have been placed at the bottom of the text. There have been some interesting although minor alterations to the Miles original. 'Dusty folk bar' in this version rhymes better than 'dusty folk club' in the version supplied my Miles himself. Despite this, the last line of the 1st verse in the subsequent version is clumsy and misses the obvious rhyme where 'sung' would have been more logical to rhyme with 'done' than 'sang me' or Miles' 'sing'? More interesting is the alteration in the final verse where once again the most interesting line is the original 6th line of the 5th verse. Where Miles was executing a close parody of the version with which he was most familiar 'tired old men from a tired old war' by writing 'tired old songs from a tired old bore' the version below seems unaware of the Australian version of this line, and therefore the significance of Miles' cleverness with parodying the line, and possibly hasn't noticed or cared that they have altered the line to 'tiring old songs from a tiring old bore'.

1st.   
When I was a young man I played the guitar
And I lived the free life of the rover
From Brisbane's green river to each dusty folk bar
I waltzed my old Martin all over
But in each club I played in the people said, 'Son
We do like your singing'
But when I was done
They would leap on the stage saying now I'll sing you one"
And this is the song that they sang me:

1st Chorus:
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
And the audience forgot about me
So amidst all the tears, flag waving and cheers
I went to the loo for a pee.

2nd.   
How well I remember that terrible day
How my blood boiled much hotter than water
For up to that time I'd been well on me way
To wooing the publican's daughter.
Johnny Turk he was there and he sang the song well
I rained him with insults and truth is to tell
I wished Eric Bogle had gone straight to hell
And never had come to Australia.

2nd Chorus:
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
It was such a well-loved refrain
And when Johnny Turk was finished, the berk
Went and sang it all over again.

3rd.   
So now every April I sits on me porch
And I watch my past life go before me
And I wish I had written that rambling song
That brought Eric Bogle such glory
The songs that I wrote, I don't sing 'em no more
They're tiring old songs from a tiring old bore
And when young people ask 'What did he write them for?'
I ask myself the same question.

3rd Chorus:
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
And the singers respond to the call
As year after year all my hopes disappear
That no one will sing it at all

RG   
Digital Tradition Mirror
http://back.numachi.com/cgi-bin/rickheit/dtrad/lookup?ti=BANDPLY2&tt=BANDPLAY

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 02 Sep 21 - 02:08 AM

Absolutely love American folk singer, Priscilla Herdman's version. I have seen her in various folk venues over the years and hearing her sing it "live" just takes your breathe away.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: Helen
Date: 19 Mar 24 - 04:29 PM

I tried to post this to the thread titled Lyr Req: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda but Joe was super-fast and super-efficient and closed the thread. :-D

Hi Steve, a song by the very talented Scottish born but now Aussie singer-songwriter Eric Bogle:

Eric Bogle - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Mar 24 - 06:53 AM

"And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water,
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter."

Along with my great Uncle Jimmy Curliss, still in his teens, his body lost forever on those beaches almost half a century before I was born. Had he survived to be my great uncle in real life, I imagine that he'd have become a wonderful and amusing man, just like my grandad, his brother. Multiply that a million times over and you have at least one definition of war. This superb song hits a raw nerve every time I hear it...

His name is in stone on a panel in Salford Cathedral. They spelled his surname wrong.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: gillymor
Date: 20 Mar 24 - 07:42 AM

The Pogues did my favorite cover of this, excising some of the wistfulness and sentimentality of other versions and adding a note of bitterness.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Mar 24 - 08:22 AM

It might not be fashionable to praise the Pogues' version but I completely agree with that.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Mar 24 - 10:08 AM

My maths has gone a bit haywire this morning. 36 years isn't anywhere near half a century. I wasn't trying to shave years off my age!

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: GUEST,Penny S.
Date: 22 Mar 24 - 05:20 AM

I went on a cruise from Istanbul to Venice and the first day early I got up to look for Troy. But there were Australians lining the deck and memorials on the north shore, and I found myself thinking of this song. Gallipoli was immediate to them, almost a century later and I stayed silent. (Didn't know enough of the words anyway.) I don't know what they made of Attaturk's generous words for the dead.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: weerover
Date: 22 Mar 24 - 08:04 AM

i have a recording of Eric singing this in Hamilton (Scotland) Folk Club dated 23 May 1976, I believe the first time he had performed it in the country of his birth. It is not a great recording, but I kept it all this time because I also sang a couple of songs that night, so I can prove to my grandkids that I used to be a half-decent singer.

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: Jack Campin
Date: 23 Mar 24 - 08:44 AM

"Atatürk's generous words for the dead" are a fake written about 20 years after he died.

There is a great song from the Turkish side, "Çanakkale içinde". It's a genuine folk song written near the time and there are several versions of it. The most often sung is the one Ruhi Su recorded, only three short verses. It's in an entirely different league from Bogle's song.

https://youtu.be/XHrVPAurcr8

Subject: RE: Origins: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Mar 24 - 08:51 AM

Wow, thanks for that link.