And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda Chords by Eric Bogle

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Now when I was a [F] young man, [C] I carried [Am] me pack,
And [C] I lived the [G] free life on [C] the rover.
[F] _ [C] _ _ From the Murray's [F] green basin to [C] the dusty _ [Am] outback,
[C] Well I waltzed my Matilda all over.
_ _ _ [G] Then in _ 1915 [F] my country [C] said,
Son, [G] it's time you [Gm] stop rambling, [F] there's work to [C] be done.
So they gave me [F] a tin hat [C] and they gave me [Am] a gun, _ _ _
And [C] they marched [G] me away to the [C] war. _ _
_ And the band [F] played Waltzing [C] Matilda, _ _
_ As the ship pulled away from [G] the quay. _
_ [F] And amidst all the cheers, the [C] flag waving [Am] and tears,
_ [C] We sailed off [G] for _ [C] Gallipoli. _
_ _ _ And how well I [F] remember [C] that terrible [Am] day,
How [G] our blood stained the [G] sand and the [C] water,
[G] And _ of [C] how in [F] that hell that [C] they called Suvla [Am] Bay,
[G] We were butchered like lambs at [C] the slaughter. _ _
_ [G] Johnny Turkey was waiting, [F] he'd primed [C] himself well,
[G] He showered us with bullets and [F] he rained us [C] with shell,
And in five minutes [F] flat he'd [G] blown us all to [Am] hell. _
_ [G] Nearly blew us right back to [C] Australia, _ _
_ But the band [F] played Waltzing [C] Matilda. _ _
When we stopped to bury [G] our slain, _
_ [F] We buried _ ours [C] and the Turks [Am] buried theirs,
_ _ [C] Then we started [G] all over [C] again.
_ _ _ And those that [F] were left, well [C] we tried to [Am] survive,
In that [C] mad world of [G] blood, death and [C] fire.
[G] _ _ And for ten weary [F] weeks I [C] kept myself [Am] alive,
Though around [G] me the corpses [C] piled higher. _
_ [G] Then a big Turkey shell [F] knocked me arse [C] overhead, _
[G] And when I woke up in me [F] [C] hospital bed,
And saw what [F] it had done, [C] well I wished [Em] I [Am] was dead. _ _
[G] Never knew there was worse things [C] than dying, _ _ _
For I'll go [F] no more Waltzing [C] Matilda, _ _ _
All around the green bush far [G] and free, _ _ _
[F] To hum tens and pegs, [C] a man needs [Am] both legs,
_ No [C] more Waltzing [G] Matilda [C] for me.
_ _ _ So they gathered the [F] crippled, the [C]
wounded, [Am] the maimed,
[G] And they shipped us back home to [C] Australia.
_ _ The legless, the [F] armless, the blind, the [Am] insane,
[G] Those proud wounded heroes [C] of Suvla. _ _
_ [G] And as our ship pulled [F] into circular [C] quay,
[G] I looked at the place where me [F] legs [C] used to be,
And [C] thank Christ [F] there was nobody [C]
waiting [Am] for me, _ _
[G] To grieve, to mourn and [C] to pity.
But _ the band [F] played Waltzing [C] _ Matilda, _ _
As they carried us down the _ [G] gangway, _ _
But [F] nobody cheered, they just stood and [Am] stared,
_ _ Then they [G] turned all [G] their faces [C] away. _
_ _ And so now, [F] every April, [C] I sit on me [Am] porch,
And I [G] watch the parade pass before me, _
_ And I see [F] my old comrades, [C] how proudly [Am] they march,
_ [G] Reviving old dreams of [C] past glories. _ _
[G] And the old men march slowly, all [F] bones stiff [C] and sore,
[G] They're tired old heroes [F] from a forgotten [C] war,
And the young people [F] ask, [C] what are they marching [Am] for? _ _
[G] And I ask meself the [C] same question, _ _
But the band [F] plays Waltzing [C] Matilda, _ _
_ And the old men still answer [G] the call, _ _
But [F] as year follows year, more [C] old men _ [Am]
disappear.
_ _ _ [C] Someday no one [G] will march there [C] at all,
[F] _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ Waltzing Matilda, _ _ [F] Waltzing Matilda,
_ [C] Who'll come Waltzing Matilda with [G] me? _
_ [C] And their ghosts may be [F#]
heard, [C] as they march by [Am] that [F] billabong,
Who'll [C] _ _
come Waltzing [G] _
Matilda [C] with me? _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _ [N] _