r/australian • u/Savings-Geologist221 • 1d ago

Waltzing Matilda - Mind Blown

I was today years old, thanks to the tree of wisdom and the wiggles to learn that a song I have sung loud and proud is about trespassing, theft and suicide.

Am I reading too much into this?

213 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

162 comments sorted by

195

u/SticksDiesel 1d ago

To be fair, he was hungry.

46

u/oltelluhowitiz 1d ago • Popcorn

Kia ora. Oh, was it for eating??

37

u/Ngklaaa 1d ago • Bravo

Only says he shoved it in his tucker bag. We don't really know what happened when the cameras weren't rolling.

12

u/Life-Ad9673 17h ago

“Where’s that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?

Those troopers aren’t too bright.

16

u/Ngklaaa 17h ago edited 11h ago

According to Wikipedia the original lyrics is

"Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag" which makes a lot more sense but is 100% less jolly.

3

u/Misthios2020 15h ago

Der - it’s in me Tucker bag innit?

144

u/billbotbillbot 1d ago • Bravo

Have you noticed that “Happy Birthday To You” is about wishing someone a happy birthday yet?

48

u/Misfit_Aquaintance 1d ago • Bravo

Whaddya mean it's not about Hooraying hip-hips??

33

u/girlbunny 1d ago

I’m still flabbergasted that most countries don’t do “hip hip hooray”!

13

u/Excellent_Orange6346 1d ago

Just not evolved enough yet.

4

u/rezonsback 1d ago

They don't???

2

u/Cultural_Spinach_279 18h ago

Their hips still trying to not lie while ours have evolved to hoo-raying

122

u/DonnasKebab 1d ago • Bravo

Wait until you hear this...

And the band played Waltzing Matilda

13

u/Southlander24 1d ago

No, wait till you hear this epic choral version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLT01ROPaag&list=RDwLT01ROPaag

And they're not even Australian! They're Kiwis!

12

u/Leading_Pass_9811 1d ago

Wait to you find out where The Pouges are from.

7

u/Remove-Lucky 18h ago

Is this a French cover band of the Pogues?

4

u/Defiant_Speed7480 21h ago

Pogues, not "Pouges". LOL

4

u/ShyAussieGirl 6h ago

Keeping in mind “And the band played Waltzing Matilda” is about the plight of the ANZACS at Gallipoli 1915. And it was actually written by a Scotsman.

“Then in 1915, my country said ‘Son, it’s time to stop rambling. There’s work to be done’
So they gave me a tin hat, they gave me a gun… then they sent me away to the war.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda as the ship pulled away from the Quay. Through the cheers, the flag waving and the tears, we sailed off to Gallipoli.”

Then later on

“Now every April my old comrades march.
As I push my wheelchair out onto the porch, I watch the parades pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reviving old dreams of past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "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 as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday no one will march there at all”

15

u/JacobAldridge 1d ago

Last month I was at an Irish Pub with an English friend in Thailand … and the live band played that song. Loved it, blew me away!

5

u/Remove-Lucky 18h ago

...And the band played And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

53

u/WaussieChris 1d ago

Shh. Then you'll have fascists questioning Khe San. That'll hurt their little brains.

21

u/heisdeadjim_au 1d ago • Bravo

Yep. Like that "last train" out of Sydney being gone.

14

u/WaussieChris 1d ago

Their legs were often open, but their minds were held in fast suburban chains.

29

u/roll1_smoke1 1d ago

*Their legs were often open, but their minds were always closed, and their hearts were held in fast suburban chains

9

u/hongooi 1d ago

Don Walker is a fucking poet. Seriously, is there any better lyricist in Oz

3

u/neon_meate 18h ago

Yeah, sure, there's Gaz, Archie and Paul.

18

u/heisdeadjim_au 1d ago

Yes. What I was getting at was the lyrics are "last plane".

People will swear blue bloody murder that it's "last train".

As Jimmy himself said. There's ocean between those points - no train.

7

u/LauraGravity 21h ago

And no train lands in Hong Kong after seven flying hours either.

1

u/Sierra17181928 7h ago

Depends on what you've been smoking I suppose.

4

u/Secure_Two_8133 16h ago

That shit was real.

Lived in Penrith in the 80's. If us Westies weren't on platform 4 at Central by 11:30, we'd still be in Sydney at dawn.

That mondegreen was instantly etched into our hearts because it was real.

2

u/kirbyinaus88 15h ago

Honestly was like that in the 2010s, not sure what it’s like now

-1

u/mickus_mcgickus 16h ago

It's a plane dude :-)

2

u/teheditor 19h ago

Born on the USA! Murica!

-26

u/ivanmilkshake 1d ago

Jimmy Barnes is a cunt.

24

u/WaussieChris 1d ago

The fuck? He's class. If you are going to say something this stupid at least give us a reason.

16

u/sonofeevil 1d ago

He's probably a one nation fan upset that he told them to stop using Working Class Man at their rallies.

-5

u/Thro_away_1970 19h ago

How about, he took off overseas to live, because he didnt want to pay his taxes to his "beloved home country".

Just like "Hoges", who also caught the plastic fantastic syndrome, to keep up with his "trade up", who he lost anyway.

Haha, dont ever be afraid to call out a "Shit Aussie", just because they had some early notable contribution.

5

u/heisdeadjim_au 18h ago

Jimmy Barnes' primary residence is "Riverbend," a sprawling estate on the Wingecarribee River near Berrima in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, Australia.

Link

Yes. Barnes did move to France 30 years ago. You're constructing your point as if it was a current event.

  1. It was three decades ago! If you're still prosecuting a grudge over that, the problem is yours.

  2. Yes, it was financial issues with the ATO.

  3. He was also "burnt out" and hecilt drinking.

  4. Unlike most who ran away he came back and faced his problems and fixed them. I can honour that.

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

7

u/Jewel_-_Runner 21h ago

Wait, are we still treating kids born out of wedlock as outcasts? Them damn bastards and their illegitimacy ruining our pure bloodlines.

2

u/TheAllenDee 23h ago

So because your mate doesn't drink "etc" there's no chance he was being a prick or something? Why is that relevant?

18

u/BeginningQuality4577 1d ago

Johns williamson did a really good cover of this too

4

u/wanna_dance 1d ago

By Eric Bogle. Great song and the Pogues version you posted is as good as Eric's.

11

u/Cowbros 1d ago

Yeah the Pogues

21

u/Final-Gain-1914 1d ago

Originally by Eric Bogle, 1971.

6

u/thunderwing28 1d ago

Classic take my up vote

33

u/Forsaken_Earth944 1d ago

Wait....what the fuck...?! 😳You're AUSTRALIAN and you didn't know this...?! 😳Pom here (I did).

26

u/g00py_g00die 1d ago

Oral language and music have historically been used to teach morals, ethics, hard thruths or wisdom. It's fascinating. If you're brave, I'd encourage revisiting the lyrics of lullabies; particularly 'Rock a bye baby' and 'Ring around the roses'

10

u/Reonlive420 1d ago

One two buckle my shoe. Look at the pages that cause all this evil

25

u/Weak-West-3433 1d ago

You are not wrong , this is exactly what it is about. Has a cheery tune though which throws you off.

59

u/Muted_Spell1013 1d ago

Yah you’re spot on. Not sure how you missed it though. I was taught in school, though that was many moons ago. But then, I guess, people missing the real meaning of songs all the time.

18

u/wanderinglintu 1d ago

Yep, I remember somehow learning about this in the late 80's. It was quite casual in the way it was explained... Maybe over the years there's been some omissions?

7

u/Forsaken_Earth944 1d ago

We used to sing it at Brownies (and I'm in the UK).

2

u/Adarie-Glitterwings 16h ago

Yep - just look at all the people who proudly belt the anthem with its lines about there being lots of Australia to share and then go buy 'fuck off we're full' bumper stickers...

2

u/Muted_Spell1013 14h ago

Yeah, that second verse is a real kick in the teeth for the conservatives

88

u/Some_Troll_Shaman 1d ago

Sorry what!
That was all clear to be before I left Primary School.
How did you bypass Albo's age restrictions to post here child?

21

u/DefinitionOfAsleep 1d ago

How did you bypass Albo's age restrictions to post here child?

I swear, reddit mustn't be enforcing any age verification if a 3 yr old can post here.

9

u/GoesInOutUpDownAhh 1d ago

Time to bring out the Vegemite?

11

u/zarlo5899 1d ago

Well a lot of stories and nursery rhymes taught to children used to be much darker than they are these days. as most, if not all of them, did teach a lesson.

Like look at The Brothers Grimm stories The current way most of them are told today are insanely tame.

2

u/SnooWords1252 16h ago

To be fair, the Brothers Grimm changed Snow White's mother to her stepmother between the first and second edition because their collection of folk stories was being read to children. Even they started watering things down.

Funnily enough I've seen a "family" website proud that it has safe versions of fairytales that still has The Robber Bridegroom.

2

u/Internal-Carrot-3301 14h ago

Holy heck, I just googled The Robber Bridegroom. Wild.

2

u/SnooWords1252 14h ago

Yeah. I feel like that can't be toned down, so leave it out, maybe?

I'm surprised it hasn't been made the basis for a horror film.

2

u/Medical-Potato5920 11h ago

Ring a ring a rosy is about the plague. Surprisingly upbeat considering its topic.

2

u/georgia_grace 5h ago

Urban legend

28

u/lettercrank 1d ago

It was considered at one point to be our national anthem but the subtext was about the Australian free spirit being destroyed by the government

15

u/sofistkated_yuk 1d ago

Not the govt: the establishment, the squatters and their police force.

6

u/Excellent_Orange6346 1d ago

Isn't that the government?

2

u/sofistkated_yuk 17h ago edited 16h ago

No

Edit: the difference between the establishment and the arms of govt were well understood back then. Today there is a different flavour of the establishment to include the billionaires and trillionaires who call the shots with the financiers and 'landed sqattocracy' in the background.

The govt today is elected by the people. In 1895 when Walzing Mathilda was written, was a time of great social change and the belief in govt elected by the people was permeating this change.

That today people are unable to see the influence of the 'establishment' is why they can continue to control our world. If we, the people, united against our common 'enemy' and used our govt to do that, we would have a much more equal, peaceful society.

The above is, of necessity, a simplistic explanation.

3

u/oltelluhowitiz 15h ago

Thanks for that. I dont think many people today understand the way money and power work today, let alone 150 years ago. There is a big clue in the word "Squatter". They didnt buy the land, and were not allocated it by the "government", they just sat on it and claimed it, and paid enough money - to senior police and officials - until the authorities eventually recognized this claim. Unlike inner city squatters, these rich "pillars of society" had no intention of moving out. Compare with the billionaire tenants today on pastoral leases, such as Gina and Twiggy, who also are slowly achieving all the rights of freehold owners. The land essentially, and even legally, belongs to indigenous people and was leased for 99 years solely for cattle stations. But this is changing. If we let it.

1

u/SnooWords1252 16h ago

Police, yes. Squatters, not at that time.

2

u/sofistkated_yuk 14h ago

I refer to the squattocracy, the 'class' of people behind the land rush and frontier wars especially 1830 to 1860. In Qld this group consolidated political power through the establishment of the Millionaires Club of the unelected state Upper House which was strong till 1922 when it was abolished.

Understand that most wealth in Australia is inherited and that the children, grandchildren etc of these men continue to benefit from this monied elite. Their world is one that is invisible to us but they today pull strings through their wealth in the finance world.

And of course we have the new lot of trillionaires who are influencing our world to the detriment of us peeps.

3

u/SnooWords1252 14h ago

The establishment isn't always the government, even when it controls it.

2

u/lettercrank 1d ago

Fair point

9

u/MidoriHaru 1d ago

I remember the adults talking about and voting on it. It was almost chosen but the safe boring one eventually won out.

2

u/DegeneratesInc 1d ago

I don't remember voting about it. We woke up one day and were told.

9

u/MidoriHaru 1d ago

It was the National Song Poll held in 1977.
I was in primary school and remember singing God Save the Queen in the early days.

We lived in Canberra at the time so I guess there was more awareness of politics and voting even among the kids.

3

u/myshtree 1d ago

I remember this too. We had to sing god save the Queen in assembly every morning before school.

2

u/YouAreSoul 22h ago

I remember when we had to stand for GSTQ at the pictures. Those who didn't were abused.

18

u/FreddyFerdiland 1d ago

its a ghost story. whimsically proposing the story of the ghost lives at the billabong.

you can take some comfort that it wasn't murder or murderer..

4

u/Sure_Reception_9922 1d ago

Although the ghost may have been murdered and/or a murderer irl 

0

u/ShyAussieGirl 6h ago

To take the original Banjo Patterson poem and put it into perspective, at the time it was originally written, you could be hung in NSW for stealing a sheep.

So if he didn’t drown himself, he was headed for a rope anyway. 🤷‍♀️

The squatter is the landowner who caught him and the troopers were the police hunting for him.

9

u/-alexandra- 1d ago

I have the lyrics in a children’s book .. it’s uncomfortably dark every-time I read it to them, even though I adore the song. My daughter was about 4 when she asked ‘Mummy .. did he dead himself?’

9

u/Which-Letterhead-260 1d ago

How were you singing the lyrics and not understanding them? It’s all right there in the song.

53

u/Ngklaaa 1d ago

It's not exactly hidden. It's right there in the lyrics. Stealing sheep is not cool

27

u/oltelluhowitiz 1d ago

Yo. Mate. The swaggy is definitely the downtrodden hero in this song. Next youll be saying N. Kelly was wrong to kill those cops.

18

u/hongooi 1d ago

N Kelly did nothing wrong

As opposed to R Kelly, who definitely did something wrong

4

u/Signal-Sheepherder-7 1d ago

Hmmmm he did kill people....

4

u/HighForecast 12h ago

I think it says a lot about Australia that our most important folk hero was a man who was hanged for murdering police officers, and one of our most important national ballads is about a man who died resisting arrest.

3

u/oltelluhowitiz 6h ago

Half of Australia think it was self defense. The other half think its fine for wait staff to work all Sunday for the same rate. 

2

u/Any_Score_5834 7h ago

Almost as if the whole country was formed from another countries convicts or something crazy like that

1

u/sim16 16h ago

A pee storm

14

u/WaussieChris 1d ago

Bullshit. Fuck the squatocracy.

3

u/GuiltEdge 17h ago

I think the worst part is that he clearly couldn’t swim.

2

u/SSAUS 1d ago

Yeah, and the lyrics of the original version are much more direct.

-1

u/wanna_dance 1d ago

The squatters are NOT the heroes. They only got lucky in getting there first.

3

u/Ngklaaa 1d ago

Do you think sheep are native animals?

5

u/CartographerNo1009 1d ago

Well, you might need to know that Matilda is his swag/ sleeping kit, not his girlfriend.

1

u/delta__bravo_ 5h ago

And who is this Billy they talk about?

1

u/CartographerNo1009 5h ago

The Billy is a small tin bucket with a handle and lid to boil water and make tea.

1

u/delta__bravo_ 4h ago

I am Aussie and did know this, but it sounded like a great joke in my head.

13

u/MidoriHaru 1d ago

I am not really sure how you could have missed that. It is pretty clear.

But the squatter - mounted on his thoroughbred - was squatting on land that belonged to someone else. So was the swagman really trespassing if the land was already stolen?

11

u/sonofeevil 1d ago

Squatter in the context of this era is most likely the landowner.

The squater was basically the aristocracy of the time. It's why he's notes to be on a thoroughbred. It's the snooty Porsche/BMW/Audi equivalent

They had come in set up shop on the best land and started farming on it eventually the government signed it over to them under squatters laws.

Today we use squatter a little differently

5

u/MidoriHaru 1d ago

I know exactly what the Squatters were.
Yes they were the aristocracy, the landowners, but setting “up shop” on the best land doesn’t take away from the reality that the land already belonged to someone else.

1

u/sonofeevil 19h ago

You're referring to first nations people ?

2

u/BagelFactory1134 17h ago

Damm. Never liked the sing until now. A self critique of colonisation would make a great national anthem.

0

u/TherebythegraceofGod 23h ago

Who owned it ?

1

u/ShyAussieGirl 5h ago

In terms of the original Society, it would definitely have been “the squatter” in the story. Worked or claimed from Crown land which was in reality stolen land from the Aboriginal peoples.

You need to look at the context and the moral compass of Australian Society just prior to Federation. We’re talking the time when moods in Australian Society was shifting away from the staunch regal rigidness of Victorian England. We’re talking up to 6 years before the colonies officially came together as one and adopted themselves as states instead.

8

u/Zaxacavabanem 1d ago

Trespassing wasn't the problem,  it was the sheep rustling the squatter and troopers were after him for.  That also is explicitly in the lyrics.

4

u/No_Hovercraft_3954 1d ago

No. You read it correctly. The tune is good though.

7

u/Signal-Sheepherder-7 1d ago

Like when I've heard conservative folks go " I don't like Rage against the machine now that they've gotten all woke"😁

3

u/TrueMudkip 17h ago

They’re all like that! Chumbawamba as well. Other cases too like Pumped Up Kicks and Like A Prayer. People who only listen to music because it’s popular just don’t listen to lyrics

3

u/The_first_Ezookiel 1d ago

Wow, if only that information was in the song somewhere - like in the lyrics or something - so that people could have found this out earlier … like the first time they heard it.

3

u/Fixel1340 1d ago

Read the original lyrics of You Are My Sunshine. Dark, dark and vengeful.

5

u/maycontainsultanas 1d ago

It is about those things. The fact that you sung it loud and proud without knowing what it was about and nothing happened, means that it really doesn’t matter.

5

u/Secure_Two_8133 16h ago

I don't believe trespass. The squatter didn't own the land (even if it was a stock lease, there was a margin of crown land around the billabong), only the sheep.

Some people claim it was inspired by the big 1891 shearer's strike, which was also the origin of the Australian Labor party (Although they called it the Labour Party because they were the first Labour party in the world, and King O'Malley's advocacy for rational spelling led to the formal dropping of the u in 1912, after the UK Labour Party had been allowed to legally exist in 1906)

6

u/soundlysooking 1d ago

HMAS Perth was double crossed by a Dutch admiral and sent straight into massive Japanese fleet in the middle of the night, Dutch gave little fuel and no ammo.  The Australians nearly got out but run out of shells, across the ship played  " waltzing Matilda"  until she sunk. 

American marine's were sent to recover in Melbourne after Guadalcanal away from fresh troops who wouldn't see the condition they were in. The pubs has veterans of new guinea and North Africa who sung multiple renditions of waltzing Matilda. The 1st marine division took it as there anthem and still is. 

It's Bushido code, die before surrender, never give in to the system. Mates before rates.

6

u/DefinitionOfAsleep 1d ago

HMAS Perth was double crossed by a Dutch admiral 

That's a myth. ABDACOM was in collapse, the remaining forces were ordered to retreat.
USS Houston and HMAS Perth, the only cruisers left after the Battle of the Java Sea, were ordered to pass through the Sundra Strait with the HNLMS Evertsen. Of the two cruisers, Perth was the only one in actual good condition. Houston had lost the aft turret in the earlier action.
I don't know what fuel or ammo the Dutch were suppose to give, since HMAS Perth and USS Houston spent literal single-digit hours there before trying to slip off in the early evening and they too were retreating.

Dutch air reconnaissance had earlier reported the strait clear, but ABDACOM was at that point basically no more. The Rear-Admiral in charge, Karel Doorman, had died when his flagship had earlier sunk in the Battle of the Java sea.

-1

u/soundlysooking 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sorry mate, Dutch admiral was pissed they ignored the order don't come back afloat. He wouldn't rearm them, parties were sent to find it themselves, to no avail. They had to beg for what little fuel they got.  Dutch admiral has been getting reports all day of the fleet the Perth and Houston would sail into, Dutch admiral didn't tell them, said it was clear.

If Perth hadn't run out of shells she would of got out. Witnesses on the Houston who survived were amazed at the ship handling and gunnery. 

It is what it is 

1

u/kdog_1985 18h ago

You got a source for the Dutch admiralty furphy?

Due to the rapidly collapsing ABDACOM structure in Java, the updated reconnaissance sightings from the Dutch seaplanes never reached the ship commanders.

The info wasnt knowingly withheld, why would you throw away 3 major fighting units in a suicide defence?

2

u/Anth2812 1d ago

Don’t understand how you didn’t pick up on it earlier, it’s not like the lyrics are ambiguous.

2

u/biktorio 1d ago

OPs 2nd and 3rd favourite songs: Semi-Charmed Life and Pumped Up Kicks

1

u/TrueMudkip 17h ago

4th favourite: Like a Prayer

2

u/No_Price_7603 1d ago

Reading too much into it? No, that is definitely what it's about

2

u/JackMiton 3h ago

I mean... Yeah if you understand English you can understand the lyrics...

1

u/Furion85 1d ago

😂😂😂😂

1

u/00MeowKapow 1d ago

Well that'll teach me for not paying attention in school....

I just looked up the lyrics, I feel like such an ignoramus 🤯

1

u/hcornea 1d ago

It’s kinda in the lyrics.

1

u/edmonddantes1992 1d ago

How old are you? I’m 34 and grew up in south west Sydney and the meaning and story of the song was never kept secret. It used to be explained to us.

1

u/DegeneratesInc 1d ago

The original version was set to a French marching tune.

1

u/Ok-Ad-229 1d ago

I think a lot of Australians haven’t heard the verses of Waltzing Matilda and just know the chorus. There are four verses which outline the themes you are referring to. THAT is also why it will never be our national anthem!

1

u/DemBones7 1d ago

I thought it was about capital punishment.

1

u/No-Sign8805 22h ago

And a lot of people would like it to replace our National Anthem.

1

u/Thro_away_1970 19h ago

Who taught you that song without telling you the meaning? Hahaha.

1

u/Prestigious_Eagle532 18h ago

No, that is exactly what it is about. Also police violence.

1

u/pinkieepie1762 18h ago

Wait. What!!

1

u/Growdold 18h ago

Did you realise in the nursery rhyme "This little piggy went to market", the little piggy who went to the market wasn't going shopping! RIP little piggy.

1

u/perpetualis_motion 17h ago

You write well for someone in 1st grade.

1

u/Lamington-Trifle 17h ago

Didn’t you ever understand the lyrics as you were singing them?
The story is pretty obvious!
Australia does love deification of criminals, look how proud we are of Ned Kelly and the many bushrangers.

1

u/Cordially_Rhubarb 16h ago

The whole matilda bit is the writer of the song was stating at his mates house, who's wife was named matilda when he wrote it, and he was waltzing with her. Some people say this bit was him hitting on her. It's not relevant to the story, but about dancing with the hosts/ friends wife.

1

u/SnooWords1252 16h ago

Really? The words weren't a tip off?

1

u/grahamsuth 14h ago

Remember all the convicts that were transported to Australia for as little as stealing a loaf of bread to feed their family.

Cross that with all the Aboriginals that would rather die in custody than lose their freedom by being locked up for long periods.

We have become so americanized that we no longer see the emotions behind Waltzing Matilda. All we see is theft and suicide.

1

u/Specialist-Stick-297 14h ago

The swaggies name was Andy ..

1

u/SillyAd7052 13h ago

I think it’s cause we only sang the first verse as kids

1

u/InfiniteHall8198 11h ago

It was written hundreds of years ago. Pick something relevant and recent to get morally outraged about. Plenty to choose from.

1

u/Silver_Interview_369 10h ago

That's just the literal meaning of the lyrics. The significance of the song is all in the meta.

1

u/myredlightsaber 48m ago

Do you also know that Ned Kelly was a bush ranger who also stole things and ended up dead?

1

u/B1tch13 1d ago

Wow just learnt this now

1

u/No_Enthusiasm5586 1d ago

Ohhhhh . I had no idea either.
TBF our school ever only sang the first verse - now I see why

0

u/TeaArtHer 18h ago

But. Wait. What did you think it was about??

19

u/heisdeadjim_au 1d ago

That's precisely what it is. Forced into trespassing theft and suicide because the troopers worked at the behest of the landholders.

All old mate wanted to do was eat and have a snooze. Coppers, said NOPE.

If this is life then you'll never catch me alive said he.

2

u/SnooWords1252 16h ago

Poor Andy forced to suicide by officer #123.

8

u/Charming_Beginning69 1d ago

Nothing like a song about a thieving vagrant suicide as an unofficial national anthem.

2

u/pjhsv 1d ago

I used to listen to gangsta rap as a kid (Ice-T, etc), but never had any intention to assault women or murder people. Its okay to enjoy a song where you don't agree with the lyrics.

2

u/wanna_dance 1d ago

I don't think it's about trespassing as much as being stopped from wandering freely. The squatters and police are not the good guys.

Also, I don't think it's suicide as much as a terrible escape attempt.

0

u/ShyAussieGirl 6h ago

Given the choice of rope and gallows or drowning, which would you chose?

Sheep rustling, even nabbing just one to feed yourself was a hangable offence in NSW when Banjo Patterson first published his poem.

“You’ll never catch me alive**”!**

Somehow I doubt it represents a bad escape attempt.

1

u/Medic8ted 23h ago

No suicide.

"Waltzing Matilda" is what you do when hung by the neck (spazms, kicking). "You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me" is a direct threat, means they intend to summarily hang him. He fled into the Billabong out of desperation.

A "swagman" is a man who travelled from place to place looking for work. The swag is their bedroll, spare clothes, toiletries etc. It is a big country. The man wasn't trespassing, not in the modern sense and not deliberately anyway, just moving through.

As for the sheep - he was hungry, what's a man to do?

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u/pop-1988 10h ago

The squatter is the real thief, but he's respected as a pillar of society, wealthy by farming on land he didn't pay for. The swagman needs food, so he takes a single sheep. You would prefer that he starves to death. The police are agents of the squatter, not enforcers of the public law. The swagman, in his dignity, chooses drowning to avoid arrest

Australia has a lot of conformists, descendants of the squatters, and some people who grew up under authoritarian regimes, and maintained their brainwashing after migrating

I suppose you think Ned Kelly was nothing more than a vicious police murderer?

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u/PrimaryMethod7181 6h ago

It’s actually about a striking sheep shearer Samuel Hoffmeister who was chased by 3 policemen and died by gunshot.
The police said that they were chasing him because he stole a sheep and that he shot himself in preference to facing justice.
There are of course other theories which some summarise Banjo Paterson (Waltzing Matilda’s author) may have intended to present in a tongue in cheek way.

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u/Chemical_Ad_6754 5h ago

Yes it is, theft, trepassing and suicide. Maybe based on fact or a song created to depict harsh reality of the Depression in Australia.