Lyrics And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - John Williamson

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

When I was a young man I carried a 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 the country said Son
There’s no time for roving, there’s work to be done
And 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 our ships pulled away from the quay
Amidst all the cheers, the flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
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 showered us with bullets and he rained us with shells
And in ten minutes flat, well he’d blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us back home to Australia
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury the slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
Well those that were left, we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
For ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke 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 free
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
They collected the crippled, the wounded and maimed
And they shipped us on home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and insane
All the brave wounded heroes of Suvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
And 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
And then turned their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
But the old men march slowly, their bones stiff and sore
Tired old men from a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, «What are they marching for?»
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year those old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year those old men disappear