The Band Played Waltzing Matilda Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[G][G][G][G]

[Verse 1]
When [G]I was a y[C]oung man
I [G]carried my pack
And I lived the free [D]life of a ro[G]ver
From the Murray's green [D]basin
to the [C]dusty out[G]back
I waltzed my Ma[D]tilda all [G]over
Then in [D]nineteen fifteen
my [C]country said [G]"Son,
it's [D]time to stop rambling,
'cause there's [C]work to be [G]done"
So they gave me a [C]tin hat
and they [G]gave me a gun
And they sent me a[D]way to the [G]war

[Chorus 1]
And the [G]band played [C]"Waltzing Ma[G]tilda"
As we sailed away from the [D]quay
And a[C]midst all the tears
and the [G]shouts and the cheers
We sailed off for [D]Gallipo[G]li

[Verse 2]
How [G]well I remem[C]ber that [G]terrible day
When the blood stained the [D]sand
and the [G]water
And how in that [D]hell
that they [C]called Suvla [G]Bay
We were butchered like [D]lambs
at the [G]slaughter
Johnny [D]Turk he was ready,
he [C]primed himself [G]well
He [D]showered us with bullets,
and he [C]rained us with [G]shells
And in five minutes [C]flat
he'd blown [G]us all to hell
Nearly blew us right [D]back to Aus[G]tralia

[Chorus 2]
And the [G]band played [C]"Waltzing Ma[G]tilda"
As we stopped to bury our [D]slain
And [C]we buried ours,
and the [G]Turks buried theirs
And it started all [D]over [G]again

[Verse 3]
Now [G]those who were [C]living
did their [G]best to survive
In that mad world of [D]death, blood, and [G]fire
And for seven long [D]weeks
I [C]kept myself a[G]live
While the corpses a[D]round me
piled [G]higher
Then a [D]big Turkish shell
knocked me [C]arse over [G]tit
And [D]when I awoke
in my [C]hospital [G]bed
And saw what it had [C]done,
Christ I [G]wished I was dead
Never knew there were [D]worse things
worse than [G]dy ing

[Chorus 3]
And no [G]more I'll go [C]waltzing Ma[G]tilda
To the green bushes so far and [D]near
For to [C]hang tent and pegs,
a [G]man needs two legs
No more waltzing Ma[D]tilda for [G]me

[Interlude 1]
[G][G][Dm][C]
[G][G][G][D]
[G][D][G][C]
[G][G][D]
[G][G][G][G]

[Verse 4]
So they col[G]lected the crip[C]ples
the [G]wounded and maimed
And they shipped us back [D]home
to Aus[G]tralia
The legless, the [D]armless,
the [C]blind and in[G]sane
Those proud wounded [D]heroes of Suv[G]la
And [D]as our ship pulled into [C]Circular [G]Quay
I [D]looked at the place
where me [C]legs used to [G]be
And thank Christ there was [C]nobody
[G]waiting for me
To grieve and to [D]mourn and to [G]pity

[Chorus 4]
And the [G]band played [C]Waltzing Ma[G]tilda
As they carried us down the gang[D]way
But [C]nobody cheered,
they [G]just stood and stared
And they turned their [D]faces a[G]way

[Verse 5]
And [G]now every [C]April
I [G]sit on my porch
And I watch the pa[D]rade pass be[G]fore me
I see my old [D]comrades,
how [C]proudly they [G]march
Reliving their [D]dreams of past [G]glory
I [D]see the old men,
all [C]twisted and [G]torn
The [D]forgotten heroes
of a [C]forgotten [G]war
And the young people [C]ask me,
"What are [G]they marching for?"
And I ask my[D]self the same [G]question

[Chorus 5]
And the [G]band plays [C]Waltzing Ma[G]tilda
And the old men still answer the [D]call
But [C]year after year
their [G]numbers get fewer
Some day no one will [D]march there at [G]all

[Outro 1]
[G]Waltzing Matilda, [C]Waltzing Ma[Bm]tilda,[Am]
[G]Who'll go a- Waltzing Matilda with [D]me?
[G][D][G][C]
[G][G][D][G]