Eric Bogle "Waltzing Matilda Waltz" @Illawarra Folk Festival 2015

"WALTZING MATILDA WALTZ" Lyrics Eric Bogle http://ericbogle.net/ Well, once jolly swagmen went humping their swags And stuffed jolly jumbucks down in their tucker bags These days, jolly junkies go on house-breaking jags And steal to buy the poison they need While the swaggie, he just wanted a feed And who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me? Hey Banjo, this country's not what it used to be We've changed all your words, and re-written your score And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more. Once Henry and Mary, on a warm afternoon Rowed down Reedy River to the broad bright lagoon The song of the river is a long vanished tune Since they built the uranium mine And what's left is just toxic slime And who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? Oh, Henry, this country's not what it used to be Days pass with a whimper, and not with a roar And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more. Well, we cut down the trees, and the land we reclaimed We ploughed and we planted, then we ploughed it again And again and again, and again and again So that now on a hot windy day We can watch our topsoil blow away And who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? The desert is marching down to the sea On the day that it stretches From shore to shining shore We'll go waltzing Matilda no more Saturday night outside a King's Cross hotel There stands our future, and it's halfway to hell Kids with hard drugs and young bodies to sell Hey Australia, what progress we've made! We've come a long way, since Diamond day And who'll come a-walting Matilda with me? Hey Anzac*, is this what you fought to keep free? A land fit for heroes, or junkies and whores? And it's "Waltzing Matilda" no more. And who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? This country could still be what we want it to be Perhaps one day soon, the dream will be restored And we'll go Waltzing Matilda once more We'll go Waltzing Matilda once more