While it all seems really straightforward and presents itself as a simple story of a man in trouble, it is actually referring to events that happened in the late 1800s involving a sheep shearers strike that turned violent and left a man dead.Īs the true story goes, in 1891, Australia experienced a Great Sheep Shearer's Strike where several of the shearers went on strike and began firing their guns, killing over one hundred sheep. Rather than be captured, he kills himself in the nearby billabong or watering hole. The owner, clearly mad, gets the police after him. He captures and kills a sheep - or a jumbuck - as the song puts it, and finds himself face to face with a 'squatter' or rich landowner. In the song, the man lives in the bush and sleeps under the stars (which is where the name comes from 'Waltzing' meaning to travel by foot, and the 'Matilda' is his swag or tent). It's not just about a swagman living in the bush. The household song has a much more loaded history than many realise. While the song sounds like a 'boppy' tune, it actually has quite a dark meaning behind it. Based on a true story, it is about a man who lives in the Australian outback in his swag, whereupon he gets himself into trouble by killing the sheep of a landowner nearby. The song (originally a poem) was written by Australian poet, Banjo Paterson in the late 19th Century while he was staying at Dagworth Station, a cattle station near Winton in Central West Queensland. It does not store any personal data.Waltzing Matilda has been labelled Australia's 'unofficial' national anthem. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Performance'. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin.

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A waltz for matilda series