And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

​(Intro} E A E A
​(V1)
​ E A E C#m
​When I was a young man I carried me pack,
​ E B E
​And I lived the free life of a rover.
​ A E C#m
​From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Outback,
​ E B E
​I waltzed my Matilda all over.
​(V2)
​ B A E
​Then in 1915 me country said, Son,
​ B A E
​It's time you stopped rambling there's work to be done.
​ A E C#m
​So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
​ E B E
​And they marched me away to the war.
​(Chorus)
​ E A E
​And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
​ A B Bsus4 B
​When the ship pulled away from the quay.
​ A F#m E C#m
​And amidst all the tears, flag-waving and cheers,
​ E B E Esus4 E
​We sailed off for Gallipoli.
​(V3):
​ E A E C#m
​And how well I remember that terrible day,
​ E B E
​When our blood stained the sand and the water.
​ A E C#m
​And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay,
​ E B E
​We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
​(V4)
​ B A E
​Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well,
​ B A E
​He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells.
​ A E C#m
​And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell,
​ E B E
​Nearly blew us back home to Australia.
​(Chorus)
​ E A E
​And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
​ A B Bsus4 B
​When we stopped to bury our slain.
​ A F#m E C#m
​We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
​ E B E Esus4 E
​Then we started all over again.
​(V5)
​ E A E C#m
​And those that were left, well, we tried to survive,
​ E B E
​In that mad world of blood, death and fire.
​ A E C#m
​And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive,
​ E B E
​While around me the corpses piled higher.
​(V6)
​ B A E
​Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
​ B A E
​And when I awoke in me hospital bed.
​ A E C#m
​And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead,
​ E B E
​Never knew there was worse things than dying.
​(V7)
​ E A E
​So no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda,
​ A B Bsus4 B
​All around the green bush far and near.
​ A F#m E C#m
​To hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs,
​ E B E Esus4 E
​No more Waltzing Matilda for me.
​(V8)
​ E A E C#m
​So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed,
​ E B E
​And they shipped us back home to Australia.
​ A E C#m
​The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
​ E B E
​Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
​(V9)
​ B A E
​And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay,
​ B A E
​I looked at the place where me legs used to be.
​ A E C#m
​And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me,
​ E B E
​To grieve and to mourn and to pity.
​(Chorus)
​ E A E
​And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
​ A B Bsus4 B
​When they carried us down the gangway.
​ A F#m E C#m
​But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared,
​ E B E Esus4 E
​Then they turned all their faces away.
​(V10)
​ E A E C#m
​So now every April I sit on my porch,
​ E B E
​And I watch the parade pass before me.
​ A E C#m
​I see my old comrades how proudly they march,
​ E B E
​Renewing old dreams of past glory.
​(V11)
​ B A E
​And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
​ B A E
​They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war.
​ A E C#m
​And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
​ E B E
​And I ask myself the same question.
​(Chorus)
​ E A E
​And the band plays Waltzing Matilda,
​ A B Bsus4 B
​And the old men still answer the call.
​ A F#m E C#m
​But year after year their numbers are fewer,
​ E B E Esus4 E
​Someday no one will march there at all.
​{Outro}
​ E A
​Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
​ E B
​Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
​ E B C#m A
​And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong,
​ A E B7 E
​Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
A   B   C   D   E   F   G