Waltzing Matilde is considered the unofficial hymn of Australia. It was written in 1895 by Banjo Peterson. It tells the story of a swagman (vagabond) who camps by a billabong (stream) next to a coolabah tree (type of Euculyptus). While he is boiling some water in his billy (saucepan), a jumpbuck (sheep) comes by. The swagman captures him and puts him in his tucker bag (food bag). Then the squatter (rancher) comes on his thoroughbred (horse), along with some troopers (police),and accuses the swagman of stealing his jumpbuck. To avoid getting arrested, the swagman jumps into the billabong and drowns[1]. From then on, the spirit of the swagman haunts[2] that place. So what does the title Waltzing Matilda mean? A matilda is like a backpack, and waltzing, I suppose refers to wandering, not dancing!
[1] se ahoga, [2] se aparece en, [3] letra
1 comment:
I'm sure that it refers to wandering, because the song isn't a waltz. A waltz is composed on three-four time and this song is on four-four time.
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