Posted on 06/17/2024 3:25:32 AM PDT by Ozguy1945
Waltzing Matilda is Australia's unofficial national anthem.
It is a song about suicide being a better option than being a prisoner of tyranny.
Such is Australia.
Here the musician, playing in the caldera of extinct volcano Mt Buninyong, slows it down and pauses a lot.
This gives the birds in the trees around him a chance to sing back.
What do those birds say?
(Excerpt) Read more at youtu.be ...
Australians ostensibly forgot the meaning of the words, because they are putting up with lots of tyranny from their government.
No it's not.
What do those birds say?
“Leave the singing to us”?
Up jumped the Swagman and dived into the billabong
“You’ll never catch me alive” cried he
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
A billabong is a former part of a river.
A small lake.
My folks have an old vinyl...Andre Kostelanetz, World’s Greatest Waltzes. WM is one of the selections. It’s so moving and beautiful! Found it on youtube at the 2 minute mark in a medley with “Now Is The Hour.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWNC3vZG2a8
Next best imo, Jimmie Rodgers’ version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fQvPFR_1M
Leftist commie style tyranny is threatening the entire western culture, meaning Australia is not alone. Look at Canada, Castro’s son is now in charge and there are new gun laws there and attempts to change their culture. And our very own regime here in the US is a complete international joke where our puppet pResident rambles on and wonders off.
But I must say tyranny is being held back by our 2nd Amendment where millions of good people own some excellent weapons capable of defending their homes and our way of life if necessary. I strongly believe this is holding back the transformation of America into a full communist nation.
Americans will not give up their guns as easily as the good people of Australia did 20 some odd years ago.
So, a billabong is kind of like a swamp? Drain the billabong?
Interestingly, “Waltzing Matilda” is not a waltz.
For many years...until fairly recently...I thought Waltzing Matilda was just a song about a guy who wanted to take his sweetheart dancing...I had never listed carefully to the lyrics. But now that I know what a "jumbuck" is...what a "billabong" is...and what a "billy" is I recognize it as being a very powerful and moving song.
My favorite version:
No it's not.
“ A billabong (/ˈbɪləbɒŋ/ BIL-ə-bong) is an Australian term describing a small body of water, usually permanent. It is most often defined as an oxbow lake, caused by a change in course by a river channel; however, other types of small lakes, ponds, or waterholes are also described as billabongs in various Australian sources. ”
Yes, the Australian people have shown clearly that they are no longer the Crocodile Dundee type characters that many believe that they once were. The same goes for their Kiwi neighbors. But, I am not sure that the “words” to this song ever meant to most what this article claims that they do.
From a BBC link,
"What are the lyrics to ‘Waltzing Matilda’?"
‘Waltzing Matilda’ doesn't have official lyrics as such, and slightly different versions may be heard from place to place. But the typical lyrics run as follows:
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his “Billy” boiled, “You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”
Chorus: Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his “Billy” boiled, “You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee, And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag, “You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”
(Chorus)
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred. Down came the troopers, one, two, and three. “Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”
(Chorus)
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong. “You'll never catch me alive!” said he And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong: “You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”
https://www.classical-music.com/features/works/waltzing-matilda-name-lyrics
It is not clear from the lyrics if the swagman committed suicide, or if he drowned during his attempt to get away, because he wasn't as good of a swimmer as he thought.
Do we now consider it suicide when people die trying to evade the authorities?
"You will never catch me alive coppers."
"Bap, bap", from the bad guy's gun.
"Bap, bap, bap", from police guns.
Medical examiner, "Death by suicide."
I don't think so.
Australia is differrent and Australians are different. Of all the English-speaking nations, Oz is the most ... different.
Watch any three of these and you’ll see what I mean:
“Wake in Fright” (either the 1971 Donald Pleasance film, or the 2017 Guy Pearce miniseries)
LOW-budget indie film “The Magician” or it’s later miniseries, “Mr Inbetween”
“Chopper,” the film Eric Bana was born to star in
“Van Diemen’s Land,” a true story of penal colony inmates who survive an escape into the wilderness by resorting to cannibalism
“The Royal Hotel,” starring Julia Garner, unforgettable as “Ozark’s” Ruth Langmore
Watch a couple of episodes of “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo” and (presuming you’re old enough) you’ll recognize it as the blueprint for the 1960s American TV show, “Flipper.”
And that’s without going anywhere near Crocodile Dundee, the Mad Max franchise, Quigley, or the myriad of films about their cruelty to the Aborigines.
Breaker Morant is one of my favorite movies.
Yes,I’ve read about Slim Dusty. I’ve read that he’s a much loved figure in celebrating Australia’s history through his music.I’ve also read that he’s seen Down Under as “owning” Waltzing Matilda in the same way that Kate Smith is seen as “owning” God Bless America here.
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