Eric Bogle - AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA lyrics
rate me"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"<br />
- Eric Bogle<br />
<br />
Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack, and I lived the free life of a rover<br />
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback, well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.<br />
Then in 1915, my country said son, It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done.<br />
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun, and they marched me away to the war.<br />
<br />
And the band played Waltzing Matilda, as the ship pulled away from the quay<br />
And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears, we sailed off for Gallipoli<br />
And how well I remember that terrible day, how our blood stained the sand and the water<br />
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.<br />
Johnny Turk he was waiting, he'd primed himself well. He shower'd us with bullets,<br />
And he rained us with shell. And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell<br />
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.<br />
<br />
But the band played Waltzing Matilda, when we stopped to bury our slain.<br />
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs, then we started all over again.<br />
And those that were left, well we tried to survive, in that mad world of blood, death and fire<br />
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive, though around me the corpses piled higher<br />
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head, and when I woke up in my hospital bed,<br />
And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead. Never knew there was worse things than dyin'.<br />
<br />
For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda, all around the green bush far and free<br />
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs-no more waltzing Matilda for me.<br />
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed, and they shipped us back home to Australia.<br />
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane, those proud wounded heroes of Suvla<br />
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay, I looked at the place where me legs used to be.<br />
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me, to grieve, to mourn, and to pity.<br />
<br />
But the band played Waltzing Matilda, as they carried us down the gangway.<br />
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared, then they turned all their faces away<br />
And so now every April, I sit on me porch, and I watch the parades pass before me.<br />
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, reviving old dreams of past glories<br />
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore. They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war<br />
And the young people ask, what are they marching for? And I ask myself the same question.<br />
<br />
But the band plays Waltzing Matilda, and the old men still answer the call,<br />
But as year follows year, more old men disappear. Someday no one will march there at all.<br />
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?<br />
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?<br />
<br />
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NOTES:<br />
"Matilda" - the backpack and associated gear used by livestock drovers and prospecters<br />
In remote areas of the Australian outback.<br />
"Swag" - canvas sleeping bag<br />
"Billabong" - creek or estuary, generally with an outlet to the sea and containing more or less brackish water.<br />
<br />
Historical Note:<br />
The Gallipoli Campaign (April 25, 1915-January 8, 1916),<br />
A major land and sea operation of World War I, in which<br />
British, French, Australian, and New Zealand forces<br />
Unsuccessfully attempted an invasion of Turkey.<br />
The action was confined to the Dardanelles Strait<br />
And the tip of the Gallipoli (Gelibolu) Peninsula near<br />
Istanbul. The purpose of the campaign, devised by British<br />
Munitions minister David Lloyd George, first lord of the<br />
Admiralty Winston Churchill, General Herbert H. Kitchener,<br />
And Admiral Sackville H. Carden, was to open up a new<br />
Theater of war as an alternative to the stalemate in<br />
France, to relieve Turkish pressure on Russian forces<br />
In the Caucasus, and, by gaining control of Istanbul<br />
And the straits, to provide a direct link with Russia<br />
Via the Black Sea. This campaign is also significant<br />
For Australians in that it marked the first time a major<br />
Australian military force was commanded by Australian,<br />
Instead of English, officers.<br />
<br />
What initially was to be exclusively a naval operation<br />
Failed in February 1915 when several British and French<br />
Ships were damaged by floating mines. A land invasion was<br />
Then decided on, but it was not begun until late April.<br />
An amphibious landing at that time was met with heavy<br />
Resistance by the Turks. Excessive caution and timorous<br />
Leadership by the British commander, Sir Ian Hamilton,<br />
Resulted in several lost initiatives. Little headway<br />
Was made beyond the several beachheads. In early August,<br />
After three months of stalemate and stagnation on the<br />
Beaches, a new major offensive was begun. Once again,<br />
However, the excessive caution and indifferent leadership<br />
Of the British command offset the effect of heavy<br />
Reinforcements. The Turkish forces, on the other hand, were<br />
Inspired by the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk,<br />
Later president of Turkey) and the skill of their German<br />
Commander, Otto Liman von Sanders. After a few more months<br />
Of stalemate, Hamilton was replaced by Sir Charles Monro,<br />
Who was sent to evaluate the situation. Monro recommended<br />
Evacuation, and the allied forces were withdrawn in December<br />
And January. British casualties were 205,000 out of 410,000;<br />
The French sustained a rate of 47,000 out of 79,000; Turkish,<br />
250,000 to 300,000 out of 500,000. The fiasco badly<br />
Stained the reputations of Churchill, Hamilton, and Kitchener.<br />
Despite it's overall failure, however, the Gallipoli campaign<br />
Weakened the Turks enough to facilitate the British seizure<br />
Of Palestine in 1917. The action also distracted the Germans<br />
From a plan they had in 1915 to begin another offensive in France.
