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And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Liam Clancy
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Tuning: E A D G B E
Recorded by many, Liam Clancy's version in my opinion best captures the emotion of the song
tuning pending on your voice, i play this half step down, standard works fine too (key of A)
3/4 time at 105 bpm
last section is 4/4 time
chords and picking patterns (last a chord to chorus 5 is a single A note (open 5th string)
x02220 A 543234
xx0232 D 432123
244222 F#m 543123
020100 E7 543234
022100 E 643234
xx4432 Bm 432123
xx0230 Dsus2
separate picking pattern for the last verse in 4/4
[Intro]
A A
each verse & chorus
A D A F#m
A E7 A A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A
E E D A
E E D A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A
A D A A
A D E7 E7
D Bm A D
A E7 A A
ive deliberately broken it into 3 sections to make the patterns stand out
and make it easy to remember, its almost like a sonnet in its symmetry
[Intro]
A A
[Verse 1]
A D A F#m
Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
A E7 A A
And I lived the free life of a rover
A D A F#m
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Out-back
A E7 A A
I waltzed my Matilda all over
E E D A
Then in nineteen fif-teen me country said, Son
E E D A
It's time to stop rambling there's work to be done
A D A F#m
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
A E7 A A
And they sent me away to the war
[Chorus 1]
A D A A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
A E7 A A
When the ship pulled away from the quay
D Bm A D
And a-mid all the tears, flag-waving and cheers
A E7 A A
We sailed off for Ga-llip-o-li
[verse 2]
A D A F#m
And how I re-member that terrible day
A E7 A A
When our blood stained the sand and the water
A D A F#m
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
A E7 A A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
E E D A
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
E E D A
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells
A D A F#m
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
A E7 A A
Nearly blew us back home to Au-stralia
[Chorus 2]
A D A A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
A E7 A A
When we stopped to bury our slain
D Bm A D
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
A E7 A A
Then we started all over a-gain
[Verse 3]
A D A F#m
And those that were left, just tried to sur-vive
A E7 A A
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
A D A F#m
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself a-live
A E7 A A
While a-round me the corpses piled higher
E E D A
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
E E D A
And when I a-woke in me hospital bed
A D A F#m
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
A E7 A A
Never knew there was worse things than dying
[Chorus 3]
A D A A
So no more I'll go Waltzing Ma-tilda
A E7 A A
All a-round the green bush far and near
D Bm A D
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
A E7 A A
No more Waltzing Ma-tilda for me
[Verse 4]
A D A F#m
So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
A E7 A A
And they shipped us back home to Au-stralia
A D A F#m
The armless, the legless, the blind, the in-sane
A E7 A A
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
E E D A
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
E E D A
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
A D A F#m
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
A E7 A A
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
[Chorus 4]
A D A A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
A E7 A A
When they carried us down the gangway
D Bm A D
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
A E7 A A
Then they turned all their faces a-way
[Verse 5]
A D A F#m
So now every April I sit on my porch
A E7 A A
And I watch the par-ade pass be-fore me
A D A F#m
I see my old comrades how proudly they march
A E7 A A
Re-newing old dreams of past glory
E E D A
I see the old men, all tired, stiff and sore
E E D A
The weary old heroes from a forgotten war
A D A F#m
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
A E7 A A
And I ask my-self the same question
[Chorus 5]
A D A A
And the band plays Waltzing Ma-tilda
A E7 A A
And the old men still answer the call
D Bm A D
But year after year their numbers get fewer
A E7 A A
Someday no one will march there at all
[Verse 6] - 4/4 timing
A A D D
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
A D A E7
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?
A E7 F#m D
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong
A Dsus2 E7 A
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?
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