Waltzing Matilda Ukulele tab

	  
          A                D                  A          F#m    
When I was a young man I carried my pack 
               A                E           A 
And I lived the free life of a rover. 
                                           D               A        F#m   
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback 
           A                 E        A 
I waltzed my Matilda all over. 

                   E             D              A 
Then in 1915 me country said, “Son 
              E                                                D            A 
It's time to stop rambling ‘cause there’s work to be done.â€� 
                                   D                      A          F#m 
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun 
                    A           E             A 
And they sent me away to the war. 

                       A                   D            A 
     And the band played "Waltzing Matilda" 
                                  D                   E  
     When we sailed away from the quay, 
                      D            Bm                   A            F#m 
     And amidst all the tears and the shouts and cheers 
                   A              E   A   
     We sailed off for Gallipoli. 

                 A            D                A      F#m 
And how well I remember that terrible day 
                     A                      E                 A 
When our blood stained the sand and the water 
                             D                 A            F#m 
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay 
                        A              E                    A 
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter. 

                  E                                   D                A 
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he'd primed himself well. 
            E                                       D                 A 
He shot us with bullets, and he rained us with shells, 
                                 D                 A           F#m 
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell, 
                A                 E              A 
Nearly blew us right back to Australia. 

                         A                   D           A 
     And the band played “Waltzing Matildaâ€� 
                                    D           E    
     As we stopped to bury our slain. 
                 D          Bm                  A               F#m 
     And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs. 
                        A          E      A 
     Then it started all over again. 

                  A                 D                   A         F#m    
Now, those who were living did their best to survive 
                A                 E                   A 
In that mad world of guts, blood and fire, 
                                    D                A      F#m   
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive 
                         A         E                   A 
While the corpses around me piled higher. 

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

                       A                D          A 
     And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda 
                             A                D               E    
     Through the green bushes so far and near, 
                       D               Bm       A                   F#m 
     For to hang tents and pegs a man needs two legs. 
                            A        E         A  
     No more waltzing Matilda for me. 

(Instrumental break: verse) 

                     A                      D                   A              F#m    
So they collected the the crippled, the wounded and maimed 
                       A                   E               A 
And they shipped us back home to Australia, 
                  A                 D              A             F#m   
The the legless, the armless, the blind and insane� 
               A                        E          A 
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla. 

              E                                  D         A 
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay 
            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                  E              A 
To grieve and to mourn and to pity. 

                      A                      D          A 
     And the band played "Waltzing Matilda" 
                        A           D                  E  
     As they carried us down the gangway, 
                  D          Bm               A                  F#m 
     But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared 
                           A                 E     A 
     And they turned all their faces away. 

              A           D        A          F#m    
And now every April I sit on my porch 
               A                  E                 A 
And I watch the parade pass before me. 
        A                    D                 A              F#m   
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, 
           A             E                  A 
Reliving the dreams of past glory. 

        E                           D            A 
I see the old men all twisted and torn, 
               E                           D        A 
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war, 
               A                    D                         A                 F#m 
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?" 
          A             E                     A 
And I ask myself the same question. 

                       A                   D          A 
     And the band plays “Waltzing Matilda,â€� 
                                            D          E  
     And the old men still answer the call, 
                 D          Bm               A            F#m 
     But year after year their numbers are fewer. 
                            A             E               A 
     Someday no one will march there at all. 

         A                       D         Bm 
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, 
                     A              F#m      E 
Who'll go a-waltzing Matilda with me? 

                      A                   E                  F#m                   D 
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong: 
      D                        A            D7        A 
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?