Waltzing Matilda Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[G][C][G][Em][G][D][Dsus4][G]

[Verse 1]
[G]When I was a [C]young man,
I [G]carried my pack[Em],
and I [G]lived the free life of a rover.
From the Murray's Green
[C]Basin to the [G]dusty
[Em]Outback
I [G]waltzed my Mathilda [Am]all [G]over
Then in [D]1915 my coun[C]try said [G]son
It's [D]time to stop rambling,
there's [C]work to [G]be done
So they gave me a [C]tin hat
and they [G]gave me [Em]a gun
And [G]sent me away [D]to the [G]war
And the bands played [C]waltzing Math[G]ilda
As we sailed away [C]from the quay
[D]And [C]amid all the tears,
flag [G]waving and [C]cheers
We [G]set sail for Gallipoli
How well I remem[C]ber that [G]terrible day
[Em]And the bloo[G]dstain,
the sand and the water
And how in that [C]hell
that [G]they called Suvabe
[Em]We were bu[G]tchered like lambs
at the slaughter
Johnny [D]Turkey was ready,
he [C]primed himself well
[G]He cha[D]sed us with bullets
and [C]rained us with shell
[G]And in five minutes fla[C]t,
[G]he'd blown us to hell
[Em]Nearly blew [G]us right back to Austr[D]alia[G]
And the bands played [C]Waltzing Mat[G]ilda
As we stopped to [C]bury our [D]slain
We [C]buried ours,
and the [G]Turks buried theirs
[C]And it [G]started all over aga[D]in
[G]Now those that were left
[C]just tri[G]ed to survive
[Em]In a m[G]ad world of blood, death a[D]n d [G]fire
And for ten weary week
[C]s I kept m[G]yself alive
[Em]As aroun[G]d me the corpses piled higher
Then a [D]big Turkish shell
knocked me [C]arse [G]overhead
And [D]when I awoke in my [C]hospital bed
[G]Saw what I'd[C] done,
[G]I wished I were dead
[Em]Never knew[G] there were worse
things than dying
For no more I'll go [C]waltzing Math[G]ilda
All around the green [C]bush far and [D]near
For to [C]hum tent and pegs,
a [G]man needs both [C]legs
No more [G]waltz and Mathilda for me
They collected the [C]cripples,
the [G]wounded, the maimed
[Em]And they shipp[G]ed us back
home [D]to [G]Australia
The armless, the [C]legless,
[G]the blind, the in[Em]sane
[G]Proud wounded heroes of Silva
And as [D]our ship pulled into [C]Circle or [G]Quay
I looked [D]at the place where
my [C]legs used to be
[G]And thank Christ there was
[C]nobody wait[G]ing for me
[Em]To griev[G]e and to mourn and to pity
And the band played [C]Waltzing Mat[G]ilda
As they carried us [C]down the [G]gangway
[D]But nob[C]ody cheered,
they just [G]stood there and [C]stared,
[G]and turned all their faces away
And now every [C]April I sit [G]on my porch
[Em]And I watc[G]h the parade pass before me
I watch my old [C]comrades,
[G]how proudly they march
[Em]Reliving o[G]ld dreams of past glory
And the [D]old men march slowly,
all [C]bent stiff and [G]sore
[D]Forgotten heroes from a [C]forgotten [G]war
And the young people [C]ask,
what are [G]they marching [Em]for?
[G]I ask myself t[D]he same q[G]uestion
And the band plays [C]while
singing Math[G]ilda
And the old men [C]an swer the call
[D]But yea[C]r after year the
[G]numbers get [C]fewer
Someday [G]no one will march
there at [G]all
Waltzing Mathilda,
[C]waltzing Mathilda
[G]Who'll come a -waltzing
Mathilda with [D]me?
And their [G]ghosts may be [D]heard
As they march [Em]along the [C]billabong
[G]Who'll come a -waltzing Mathilda with [G]me?