The Band Played Waltzing Matilda Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
When [G]I w[C]as a young
man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
[G]From the Murray's [C]Green Basin
to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Mat[G]ilda all over
[C]Then in 1915 my [G]cou[C]ntry said,
It's time to stop [G]rambling,
there's [C]work to be [G]done
[C]so [G]they gave me a tin hat
[C]and they gave me a gun
and they sent me away to the war
[Am][G][F][G][C][G][G]
And a [C]band played [F]Waltzing Mat[C]ilda,
and a ship pulled away [F]from the [G]quay
And [F]amid all the cheers,
like [C]waving and [Am]tears,
we [C]sailed off for [G]Gallipoli
[C]It's well I remem
[F]ber that ter[C]rible day
[Am]When our [C]blood stained
the sand [G]and the wa[C]ter
How in that how [F]that they
[C]caused silver bay
[Am]We were bu[C]tchered li[G]ke lambs
at [C]the slaughter
Johnny Tuck[G], he was ready,
oh he [F]primed himself [G]well
[C]He [G]rained us with bullets
and he [F]showered us with [G]shell
[C]And in five minutes flat,
[F]we were all[C] blown to hel[Am]l
Yet he [C]blew us [G]back home to [C]Australia
And the band played [F]Waltzing Matilda
[C]When we start to [F]bury our slain
[G]We bur[F]ied ours,
and the [C]Turks buried [Am]theirs
And we [C]started all [G]over [C]again[G][C]
Those that were liv[F]ing
while [C]we tried to survive
[Am]In that ma[C]d world of[G] blood,
death, [C]and fire
For ten weary week[F]s,
I just kept [C]myself alive
[Am]As a[C]round me t[G]he corpses piled h[C]igher
Then a [G]big Turkish shell
knocked me [F]arse overhead
[C]And whe[G]n I awoke in my hospit[F]al bed[G]
[C]And saw what it had [F]done,
I [C]wished I [Am]were dead
Never knew there were worse
things than dy[C]ing
For no more I'll [F]go waltzing Matilda
[C]All around the green [F]bush far and [G]free
For to [F]hunt and to peck
a [C]man needs both [Am]legs
No more [C]waltzing Mat[G]ilda for [C]me
They gathered [F]the crippled,
the [C]wounded, the maimed
[Am]And they shipp[C]ed us back home
[G]to [C]Australia
The armless, the [F]legless,
the [C]blind, the insane
[Am]Most proud[C] wounded heroes [G]of Sioux blood
[C]An [F]d a[C]s the[G] ship
pulled into Cir[F]cular Quay
[C]And I loo[G]ked at the place
where my leg[F]s used to be
[C]I thanked Christ there was
[F]nobody wait[C]ing for me
[Am]To griev[C]e and to mourn[G] and to pi[C]ty
But the band played [F]Waltzing Matilda
[C]As they carried us dow[F]n the gangway[G]
But [F]nobody cheered,
they just [C]stood there and stared
[Am]And then they turn[C]ed all their
[G]faces [C]away[G][C][G][C]
So now every April [F]I sit o[C]n my porch
[Am]And [C]I watch [G]the parade
pass before [C]me[F][C]
I see my old comrades,
[F]how[C] proudly the[E]y march
[Am]Reviv[C]ing [G]old dreams of past glories
[C]I s[F]ee [C]the[G] old men,
all tired, stiff and [C]sore
Those [G]weary old heroes
of a for[Ebdim]gotten war
[Em]And the youn[C]g people ask,[F]
what are [C]they [E]marching [Am]for?
[C]And I ask myself t[G]he same quest[C]ion
[G]An [C]d the band plays Wal[F]tzing Matilda
[C]And the old men still answe[F]r the call
[G]But yea[F]r after year,
[G]more [C]of them disap[Am]pear
Someday [C]no one [G]will march
there [C]at all
Waltzing Matilda,
[F]Waltzing Mat[G]ilda
[C]Who'll come [Am]waltzing with [F]Tilda, with [G]me
And their [C]ghosts may be heard,
as [Am]they march [C]by that [F]purple bar
[C]Who'll [G]come waltzing with Tilda,
with [Fm]me[Bb][Fm][C][C][G]
I'll see you next time.