What is "waltzing matilda"

vb. (present participle of waltz Matilda English)

"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's best-known bush ballad, and has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".

The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing, derived from the German auf der Walz) with one's belongings in a "matilda" ( swag) slung over one's back. The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or " swagman", making a drink of billy tea at a bush camp and capturing a jumbuck (sheep) to eat. When the jumbuck's owner, a squatter (wealthy landowner), and three mounted policemen pursue the swagman, he commits suicide by drowning himself in a nearby billabong (watering hole), after which his ghost haunts the site.

The original lyrics were written in 1895 by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, and were first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that it has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland, where Paterson wrote the lyrics. In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance.

The song was first recorded in 1926 as performed by John Collinson and Russell Callow. In 2008, this recording of "Waltzing Matilda" was added to the Sounds of Australia registry in the National Film and Sound Archive which says that there are more recordings of "Waltzing Matilda" than any other Australian song.

Waltzing Matilda is a studio album by Dutch violinist André Rieu and Australian soprano Mirusia, released on 28 April 2008 in Australia. The album includes several Australian traditional songs sung by Mirusia. Rieu and Mirusia performed the tracks in their worldwide tour late in 2008. The album debuted at number two on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. It reached number one in its second week on the chart in the lead up to Mother's Day, selling 17,560 units.

Waltzing Matilda is a 1933 Australian film starring and directed by Pat Hanna. It features Coral Browne in an early role.

Waltzing Matilda is an 1895 Australian bush ballad written by Banjo Patterson.

Waltzing Matilda may also refer to:

• Waltzing Matilda (film), a 1933 Australian film
• Waltzing Matilda (album), a 2008 album by André Rieu and Mirusia
• " Tom Traubert's Blues", a 1976 song by Tom Waits commonly mistitled as "Waltzing Matilda"
• " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", a 1971 song by Eric Bogle