And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

244222 F#m 543123
020100 E7 543234
022100 E 643234
xx4432 Bm 432123
xx0230 Dsus2

separate picking pattern for the last verse in 4/4

[Intro]
A A

each verse & chorus
A D A F#m
A E7 A A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A

E E D A
E E D A
A D A F#m
A E7 A A

A D A A
A D E7 E7
D Bm A D
A E7 A A

ive deliberately broken it into 3 sections to make the patterns stand out
and make it easy to remember, its almost like a sonnet in its symmetry

[Intro]
A   A

[Verse 1]
         A       D           A          F#m
Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
      A              E7        A       A
And I lived the free life of a rover
         A              D            A         F#m
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Out-back
  A            E7        A       A
I waltzed my Matilda all over

        E            E       D             A
Then in nineteen fif-teen me country said, Son
     E            E                D       A
It's time to stop rambling there's work to be done
        A         D                 A         F#m
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
         A       E7          A     A
And they sent me away to the war

[Chorus 1]
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
         A           E7            A    A
When the ship pulled away from the quay
      D           Bm          A          D
And a-mid all the tears, flag-waving and cheers
   A              E7        A   A
We sailed off for Ga-llip-o-li

[verse 2]
    A        D           A        F#m
And how I re-member that terrible day
         A                 E7           A       A
When our blood stained the sand and the water
    A           D              A          F#m
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
        A              E7           A          A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

       E           E           D              A
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
   E              E               D                A
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shells
       A            D            A            F#m
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
       A            E7         A       A
Nearly blew us back home to Au-stralia

[Chorus 2]
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
        A          E7       A    A
When we stopped to bury our slain
D         Bm            A            D
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
        A           E7     A   A
Then we started all over a-gain

[Verse 3]
    A               D          A            F#m
And those that were left, just tried to sur-vive
        A            E7               A       A
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
        A         D            A        F#m
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself a-live
        A            E7            A       A
While a-round me the corpses piled higher

       E           E                D         A
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
    E        E          D        A
And when I a-woke in me hospital bed
    A               D             A            F#m
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
      A              E7                A       A
Never knew there was worse things than dying

[Chorus 3]
      A            D           A     A
So no more I'll go Waltzing Ma-tilda
      A               E7           A    A
All a-round the green bush far and near
       D             Bm     A              D
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
        A           E7        A   A
No more Waltzing Ma-tilda for me

[Verse 4]
        A            D            A             F#m
So they gathered the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
         A               E7         A       A
And they shipped us back home to Au-stralia
    A            D            A             F#m
The armless, the legless, the blind, the in-sane
      A             E7        A       A
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

    E             E           D        A
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
  E             E              D            A
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
            A                D            A           F#m
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
   A             E7           A       A
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

[Chorus 4]
        A           D           A     A
And the band played Waltzing Ma-tilda
          A          E7       A       A
When they carried us down the gangway
    D      Bm                 A               D
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
          A                E7      A   A
Then they turned all their faces a-way

[Verse 5]
   A         D       A         F#m
So now every April I sit on my porch
      A             E7          A       A
And I watch the par-ade pass be-fore me
  A          D            A            F#m
I see my old comrades how proudly they march
   A          E7             A       A
Re-newing old dreams of past glory

  E           E        D                A
I see the old men, all tired, stiff and sore
    E         E             D         A
The weary old heroes from a forgotten war
        A            D              A             F#m
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
    A        E7            A       A
And I ask my-self the same question

[Chorus 5]
        A          D           A     A
And the band plays Waltzing Ma-tilda
        A             E7         A    A
And the old men still answer the call
    D          Bm         A           D
But year after year their numbers get fewer
        A           E7             A   A
Someday no one will march there at all

[Verse 6] - 4/4 timing
A        A        D        D
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
A             D           A          E7
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?
          A             E7       F#m               D
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong
A             Dsus2       E7         A
Who'll come a-Waltzing Ma-tilda with me?