Eric Bogle – And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda chords

Chords:
Transpose:
G C G Em When I was a young man I carried me pack
G D GAnd I lived the free life of a rover
C G Em From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Outback
G D GI waltzed my Matilda all over
D C GThen in 1915 me country said, Son
D C GIt's time you stopped rambling there's work to be done
C G EmSo they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
G D GAnd they marched me away to the war
G C G And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D Dsus4 D When the ship pulled away from the quay
C Am G Em And amidst all the tears, flag-waving and cheers
G D G Gsus4 G We sailed off for Gallipoli
G C G EmAnd how well I remember that terrible day
G D GWhen our blood stained the sand and the water
C G EmAnd how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
G D GWe were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
D C GJohnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
D C GHe rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells
C G EmAnd in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
G D GNearly blew us back home to Australia
G C G And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D Dsus4 D When we stopped to bury our slain
C Am G Em We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
G D G Gsus4 G Then we started all over again
G C G Em And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
G D GIn that mad world of blood, death and fire
C G Em And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
G D GWhile around me the corpses piled higher
D C GThen a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
D C GAnd when I awoke in me hospital bed
C G EmAnd saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
G D GNever knew there was worse things than dying
G C G So no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
C D Dsus4 D All around the green bush far and near
C Am G Em To hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
G D G Gsus4 G No more Waltzing Matilda for me
G C G Em So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
G D GAnd they shipped us back home to Australia
C G Em The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
G D GThose proud wounded heroes of Suvla
D C GAnd when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
D C GI looked at the place where me legs used to be
C G EmAnd thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
G D GTo grieve and to mourn and to pity
G C G And the band played Waltzing Matilda
C D Dsus4 D When they carried us down the gangway
C Am G Em But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
G D G Gsus4 G Then they turned all their faces away
G C G Em So now every April I sit on my porch
G D GAnd I watch the parade pass before me
C G Em I see my old comrades how proudly they march
G D GRenewing old dreams of past glory
D C GAnd the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore
D C GThey're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
C G EmAnd the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
G D GAnd I ask myself the same question
G C G And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
C D Dsus4 D And the old men still answer the call
C Am G Em But year after year their numbers are fewer
G D G Gsus4 G Someday no one will march there at all
G CWaltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
G DWho'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
G D Em CAnd their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong
C G D7 GWho'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
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