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And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

from Forfocs​​​é​​​ic, Vol. 3: Love & War by Thom Dunn

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Originally written by Eric Bogle

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When I was a young man
I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin
To the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over

Then in 1915, my country said son
It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the Quay
And amidst all the cheers
The shouts and the tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in the hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

Johnny Turk, he was ready
He'd 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 right back
To Australia

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those who were living
Did their best to survive
In that mad world of guts, blood, and fire
For seven long weeks
I kept myself alive
As the corpses around me
Piled higher

Then a big Turkish shell
Knocked me ass over tits
And when I awoke
In my hospital bed

And saw what it had done
Christ, I wished I was dead
I never knew there was worse things
Than dying

And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes, so far and near
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the crippled
The wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless
The blind and the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve, or to mourn, or to pity

And 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

Now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parades pass before me
I see my old comrades
How proudly they march
Reliving the dreams of past glories

I see the old men, all crippled and worn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me
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 year after year
Their numbers get fewer
Someday no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

credits

from Forfocs​​​é​​​ic, Vol. 3: Love & War, released March 1, 2023
Rose Drucker — Violin
Craig Divino — Drums
Thom Dunn — Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano, Programming, etc.
Lyrics / Songwriting — Eric Bogle

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Thom Dunn Boston, Massachusetts

Thom Dunn is a Boston-based writer, musician, & new media artist. He enjoys Oxford commas, metaphysics, and romantic clichés (especially when they involve whiskey), and he firmly believes that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is the single greatest atrocity committed against mankind. He is a graduate of Clarion Writer's Workshop at UCSD & Emerson College. thomdunn.net ... more

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