page_title: Waltzing Matilda
hierarchical_section_title: Waltzing Matilda
caption_attribution_description: English: Original lyrics of â€˜Waltzing Matildaâ€™ c.1895 Music by Christina Rutherford Macpherson (1864â€“1936) based on a remembered tune Words by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson (1864â€“1941) music and lyrics written down by Christina Macpherson ink on paper; 31.0 x 24.8cm Manuscript Collection National Library of Australia
context_page_description: "Waltzing Matilda" is one of Australia's best known songs. The bush ballad, a country folk song, has been called "the unofficial national anthem of Australia".
  The title, Waltzing Matilda, is Australian slang for walking through the country looking for work, with one's goods in a "Matilda" carried over one's back.
  The song tells the story of a traveling farm worker making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with three policemen to arrest the worker for taking the sheep, the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole. The worker's ghost stays to haunt the site.
  The words to the song were written in 1895 by a poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson. It was first printed as sheet music in 1903. There are many stories about the song and how it was written. The song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland.
context_section_description: "Waltzing Matilda" is one of Australia's best known songs. The bush ballad, a country folk song, has been called "the unofficial national anthem of Australia".
  The title, Waltzing Matilda, is Australian slang for walking through the country looking for work, with one's goods in a "Matilda" (bag) carried over one's back.
  The song tells the story of a traveling farm worker making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's  owner arrives with three policemen to arrest the worker for taking the sheep (a crime punishable by hanging), the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole. The worker's ghost stays to haunt the site.
  The words to the song were written in 1895 by a poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson. It was first printed as sheet music in 1903. There are many stories about the song and how it was written. The song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland.
caption: Original song manuscript from 1895
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