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The song has the same basic chord structure through the whole song.
THere are 3 chords - E, A, and D.
It goes like this.
Intro A A A
D A
When I was a young man, I carried my pack.
E A
And I lived the free life, of a rover.
E D
From the Murray's green basin,
A
To the dusty outback,
E A
I waltzed my matilda all over.
E D A
Then in 1915, my country said "son"
E D
"It's time to stop rambling,"
A
"Cos there's work to be done."
D
So they gave me a tin hat,
A
And they gave me a gun,
E A
And they sent me away to the war.
D A
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
D E
As we sailed away from the quay.
D
And amidst all the cheers,
A
And the shouts and the tears,
E A
We sailed off for Galipoli
D A
How well I remember that terrible day,
E A
when the blood stained the sand and the water.
E D
And how in that hell
A
that they called Souvla Bay
E A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
E D A
Johnny Turkey was ready, He'd primed himself well.
E D
He showered us with bullets,
A
And he rained us with shells.
D
And in five minutes flat,
A
he'd blown us all to hell.
E A
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
D A
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
D E
As we stopped to bury our slain.
D
And we buried ours
A
and the Turks buried theirs,
E A
And it started all over again.
D A
Now those who were living, Did their best to survive,
E A
In that mad world of guts, blood, and fire.
E D
And for seven long weeks,
A
I kept myself alive,
E A
As the corpses around me piled higher.
E D A
Then a big Turkish shell, Knocked me arse over tit.
E D
And when I awoke
A
in my hospital bed,
D
And saw what it had done,
A
Christ I wished I was dead.
E A
Never knew there were worse things than dying.
D A
And no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda,
D E
To the green bushes so far and near.
D
For to hang tent and pegs
A
A man needs two legs.
E A
No more Waltzing Matilda for me.
D A
So they collected the crippled, The wounded and maimed,
E A
And they sent us back home to Australia.
E D
The legless, the armless,
A
the blind and insane.
E A
Those proud wounded heroes of Souvla
E D A
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
E D
I looked at the place
A
where my legs used to be.
D
And thank Christ, there was nobody
A
waiting for me,
E A
To grieve and to mourn and to pity.
D A
And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
D E
As they carried us down the gangway.
D
But nobody cheered,
A
They just stood and stared,
E A
And they turned their faces away.
D A
And now every April, I sit on my porch,
E A
And I watch the parades pass before me.
E D
I see my old comrades,
A
How proudly they march.
E A
Reliving the dreams of past glory.
E D A
I see the old men, all twisted and torn.
E D
The forgotten heroes
A
of a forgotten war.
D
And the young people ask me,
A
What are they marching for?
E A
And I ask my self the same question.
D A
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda,
D E
And the old men still answer the call.
D
But year after year,
A
Their numbers get fewer,
E A
Someday no-one will march there at all.
A D
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
A E
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me?
Outro: A A E A
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