Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: waltzing mathilda

Agli amici che erano interessati segnalo questa versione, ispirata dalla
dolorosa campagna di Gallipoli (in Turchia, 50mila ragazzi australiani
sacrificati nella WW)
The Band played Waltzing Mathilda		
 I
Now when I was a young man I carried me pack 
And I lived the free life of the rover. 
From the Murry's green basin to the dusty outback, 
Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over. 
Then in 1915 my country said, "Son, 
It's time you stop rambling, there's work to be done." 
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun 
And they marched me away to the war. 
And the band played Waltzing Matilda, 
As the ship pulled away from the quay 
And midst all the cheers, flag waving and tears, 
We sailed off for Gallipoli 
II
And how well I remember that terrible day, 
How our blood stained the sand and the water 
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay 
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter. 
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well. 
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shells, 
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell, 
Nearly blew us back home to Australia. 
(But) And the band played Waltzing Matilda, 
As we stopped to bury our slain, 
We buried ours, the Turks buried theirs, 
Then we started all over again. 
III
And those that were left, well we tried to survive 
In that mad world of blood, death and fire. 
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive 
Though around me the corpses piled higher. 
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me ass over head 
And when I awoke in me hospital bed 
And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead. 
Never knew there were worse things than dying. 
For I'll go no more Waltzing Matilda, 
All around the green bush far and free 
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs, 
No more waltzing Matilda for me. 
IV
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, and maimed, 
And they shipped us back home to Australia. 
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane, 
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla. 
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay 
I looked at the place where me legs used to be 
And I thank Christ there was no body waiting for me 
To grieve, to mourn and to pity. 
But the Band played Waltzing Matilda 
As they carried us down the gangway, 
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared, 
Then they turned all their faces away. 
V
So now every April I sit on me porch 
And I watch the parade pass before me. 
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march 
Reviving old dreams and past glory, 
And the old men march slowly, all bone stiff and sore 
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war 
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?" 
And I ask myself the same question. 
But the band plays Waltzing Matilda, 
And the old men still answer the call, 
But as year follows year, more old men disappear 
Someday, no one will march there at all. 
Last Verse
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda. 
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me? 
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billibong 
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me? 
 (Eric Bogle)
-- 
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose
(Janis Joplin)
17/08/2005 8.28.05

Tra l'altro c'è stata anche la famosa diatriba che Waltzing Mathilda divenne 
l'inno australiano:
How 'Advance Australia Fair' became the national anthem
Although the official anthem was 'God Save the Queen' (or 'King') from 1788 
to 1974, numerous commercial and official competitions were held over the 
years to find a substitute. The first was held in 1840.
John Dunmore Lang, who published an 'Australian Anthem' and an 'Australian 
Hymn' in 1826, was an early advocate of a distinctively Australian anthem; 
Carl Linger of South Australia wrote 'The Song of Australia' (1860), which 
was suggested to the then Prime Minister in 1929 as a possible national 
anthem.
Among the competitions held were one by The Bulletin, which attracted 74 
entries, and two by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1943 and 1945. 
The Commonwealth Jubilee celebrations competition in 1951 was won by Henry 
Krips with 'This Land of Mine'.
The issue of a truly national anthem was raised persistently before the 1956 
Olympic Games, which were held in Melbourne. 'Advance Australia Fair' and 
'Waltzing Matilda' were the two songs most strongly favoured then as the new 
anthem. 'Waltzing Matilda' was composed in 1895, with lyrics by one of 
Australia's best known poets, A. B. ('Banjo') Paterson.
On Australia Day, 26 January, in 1972, the number of entries (400) received 
in an Australia-wide national anthem quest gave an indication of the 
interest in a new anthem. Exactly a year later a government-sponsored 
competition was announced, which drew 2500 entries for the words and 1300 
for the music. The judges selected six entries for the words, but rejected 
all the musical entries.

 Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.
[-]
You never explain that "Matilda" is the young man's pack, or bedroll.
"Waltzing Matilda" means taking to the road with your pack on your
back.
Joe from Massachusetts

 back.
Vero, infatti l'ultima versione parla della vita del "rover", il vagabondo
dell'outback: "I carried me (my) pack and I lived the free life of the
rover. From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback I waltzed my
Matilda all over". Esiste una bellissima versione di Joan baez di
quest'ultima "Waltzing Matilda" e un'altra dei Pogues. E poi, ma ci stiamo
allontanando dall'originale, la splendida "Tom Traubert's Blues" di Tom
Waits, che, nel ritornello, canta appunto "Walting Matilda, waltzing
Matilda with me..."
-- 
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose
(Janis Joplin)
17/08/2005 18.15.53