Waltzing Matilda by Banjo Paterson has been a renowned iconic ballad of Australia composed in 1895. The ballad is often referred to as the “Unofficial National Anthem” of Australia. It has managed to capture the Australian bush as well as the plight of the working-class man. The poem has been so engraved in the cultural identity of Australia due to its folk-style melody and catchy rhythm.
The poem tells the story of a wandering bushman, or “swagman,” who camps near a waterhole and steals a sheep (referred to as a “jumbuck”) from a nearby station (a sheep farm). The police arrive to arrest him, but he jumps into the waterhole and dies. His ghost is reported to haunt the place. Although being a very simple story, the poem bears heavy undertones of social protest and challenging the authority.
Historical Background
Waltzing Matilda was written in the outback town of Winton, Queensland, where Banjo Paterson had travelled in 1895. He was staying in a sheep station belonging to the Macpherson family, where he was inspired by a tune which Christina Macpherson played. This tune is believed to have been based on a Scottish folk song and Paterson had used it as a foundation to compose the lyrics of Waltzing Matilda.
The phrase “waltzing Matilda” comes from Australian slang: “waltzing” means walking long distances, and “Matilda” is a slang term for a swag (a bedroll with belongings). Therefore, “waltzing Matilda” means moving around the country with all the possessions on the back.
The poem was influenced by the tensions in Australian country side during the economic depression of 1890s. Among the major incidents believed to have influenced the poem is the “shearers’ strike” of 1894 in Queensland where unemployed males were in protest over poor labour conditions. A striker was reportedly killed near a waterhole, and some believe this real incident partly inspired Paterson’s story of the swagman.
The poem, though it does not identify Paterson as a political radical himself, sympathises with the common man and makes the swagman a folk hero who is fighting against authority. With time, Waltzing Matilda did not remain a song only, but it became a symbol of Australian independence, defiance, and national pride.
Waltzing Matilda Summary
Stanza 1
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled,
Who’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
The poem begins with the image of a swagman camping under the shade of a coolibah tree near a billabong (a waterhole). He is boiling a “billy” (a small pot) to make tea and singing “Waltzing Matilda”.
Stanza 2
Along came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
You’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
The swagman suddenly notices a jumbuck (sheep) coming down to drink at the billabong. He grabs the jumbuck and puts it in his tucker bag (food bag). This action indicates that he is stealing the sheep because he is hungry and this can imply that he is either poor or desperate. Then he sings merrily, Waltzing Matilda, which reveals his nonchalant attitude after the theft.
Stanza 3
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
Whose is that jumbuck you’ve got in your tucker bag?
You’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
Soon after, three policemen come riding down to the billabong, accompanied by the squatter (the sheep owner). They have spotted the stolen sheep and they have arrived to arrest the swagman. The authorities are the symbols of power and control and they introduce tension to the poem.
Stanza 4
Up jumped the swagman, leapt into the billabong,
You’ll never catch me alive, said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,
Who’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
The swagman chooses to drown in the billabong instead of being caught. He does not want to be taken and this indicates his resistance to authority. Any arrest or imprisonment would be too costly to him. The swagman is also reported to haunt the waterhole even after his death. Still people say they hear his ghostly voice by the billabong, singing, Waltzing Matilda. This thrilling finale makes the swagman a legend, part of the Australian scenery.
Waltzing Matilda: Critical Appreciation
Waltzing Matilda is a simple but a misleading ballad, which incorporates folk narrative, music, and social commentary. Superficially it is a bush yarn, a light story of the Australian country. But behind the humour and the rhyme is a very serious message of poverty, injustice and revolt.
Banjo Paterson’s Australian Slang
Banjo Paterson employs powerful visual imagery and he creates vivid scenes in the Australian outback with words such as coolibah tree, billabong and tucker bag. The information grounds the poem to the distinctive landscape of the bush and provides it with a strong sense of place. The poem is written in the Australian slang which makes it sound local and natural, appealing to ordinary people.
The Swagman as a Sympathetic Character
The swagman is a sympathetic character. He steals but he is not condemned. Rather, his actions are handled in the poem as the desperate acts of a poor man who is merely trying to survive. His jovial songs even in his thefts and then his being pursued makes him look a hero and rebellious. His unwillingness to give up is transformed into some sort of rebellion, making him an embodiment of pride and liberty.
Protest Against Power Structures
It is also a slight criticism of authority in the poem. The police and the squatter are the power structures that prevail in the rural society. The fact that the swagman has committed suicide can be interpreted as a pathetic act of protest against the system that has nothing to do with the poor. In such a manner, Waltzing Matilda may be interpreted as one of the first outcries against social injustice in Australian literature a mild yet strong appeal to justice.
Rhyme and Rhythm
The rhyme and rhythm of the poem are melodious and catchy which makes it popular till date. Its refrain, “Who will come a-waltzing Matilda with me?” has become one of the best known lines in Australian poetry.
Australia’s Unofficial National Anthem
The poem has also been turned into a song, and has been sung at political rallies, sporting events and school assemblies over the years, engraving the poem into national memory.
Although a few critics argue that the poem either incites lawlessness in society or that it is a nationalistic song, majority holds that Waltzing Matilda is more than a folk song. It appeals to an aspect of the Australian spirit: the affection of the land, the admiration of the underdog, and the desire to live openly and proudly, in adversity.
Poetic Devices
Banjo Paterson employs numerous poetic devices in Waltzing Matilda that allow the ballad to be interesting and catchy. These devices are used to establish rhythm, emotion and overall storytelling quality of the poem.
1. Ballad Structure and Refrain
Waltzing Matilda is in the form of a ballad, a traditional narrative poem used in narrating a story in a few stanzas often accompanied by music. Each stanza in the poem typically has four lines (quatrains), following a regular rhyme scheme — usually ABCB or AABB.
The main characteristic is the refrain or the repeated chorus:
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.
Who’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?”
This chorus is used after a number of stanzas, and it provides a good rhythm and makes the poem sound as a song that can be sung. It also strengthens the main picture of the swagman who goes with his things, and contributes to the folk-tale feel of the poem.
2. Imagery
The poem is full of visual imagery and this makes the Australian bush come alive:
“Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree…”
Words like swagman, billabong, and coolibah tree create a clear picture of the rural setting. These details are uniquely Australian and help establish a strong sense of place. The use of such imagery connects the reader or listener emotionally with the land and its people.
3. Colloquial Language and Slang
In the poem, Paterson employs Australian colloquialisms and colloquial language:
- Swagman- a travelling worker who carries his things in a swag.
- Waltzing Matilda – walking the countryside with one’s swag.
- Billy- a small kettle for boiling water on the campfire.
- Jumbuck- slang word meaning sheep.
- Tucker bag- a bag that carries food.
This colloquialism roots the poem to the Australian life and culture. It also renders the voice of the poem to be true and approachable to the common human being.
4. Symbolism
There are a number of images in the poem that are symbolic:
- The swagman is a symbol of the working class who are struggling, but free-spirited. He turns out to be a sign of rebellion and liberation.
- The billabong is a symbol of nature, but it also turns into the grave of the swagman, and this is a sad one.
- The jumbuck is a symbol of survival, the swagman steals it out of need, not greed..
- The policemen and squatter are a symbol of authority and oppressive legal system.
Those symbols add more depth to a rather simple folk ballad and encourage readers to think about more global problems such as justice, freedom, and inequality.
5. Irony
The portrayal of the swagman is ironical in a way. The poem portrays him as a sympathetic figure and even as a hero despite the fact that he is technically a thief. His cheerful singing contrasts with his grim end, and the idea that his ghost continues to sing suggests a form of victory – he may have died, but his spirit lives on.
This irony makes the poem complex and heavy with emotional appeal. It also points out poem’s criticism of social injustice and unfair treatment of the poor.
6. Repetition
There is a repetition to enforce rhythm and emotional impact. The repeated line is:
-
- “You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me”
is not only catchy but also haunting, especially when it is repeated after the swagman’s death. It helps the poem remain in the reader’s or listener’s mind long after the poem is finished.
7. Personification
The poet has done some subtle personification in the refrain of the poem. The phrase “Waltzing Matilda” gives human qualities to a swag (Matilda), treating it almost as a female companion. This poetic twist adds emotional depth, as it suggests the swagman is not entirely alone – his journey is shared with “Matilda,” the symbol of his wandering life.
8. Tone
The tone of the poem transforms from the initially light and jovial to melancholic and ghostly towards the end. This tone shift reflects the journey of the swagman from joyful to tragic death.
The difference between the tone and the content, particularly the jovial refrain which repeats even after the death of the swagman, makes the poem more poignant.
Symbol of National Pride
Waltzing Matilda is one of the greatest and touching poems that takes the core of the outback of Australia and its people. By telling the tale of a single swagman and his unfortunate plight, Banjo Paterson manages to express the plight of the working poor and at the same time praise the power of independence.
More than a hundred years after, the poem is still living in the form of a song and as the symbol of national identity and pride. It is a haunting melody with simple words reminding us about the power of poetry to make ordinary people as legends, and make local tales become national treasures.