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"Waltzing Matilda" - Banjo Patterson's famous song/story of frontier justice in Australia. Arranged for dulcimer.

The following song is in ABC music format and it should be cut and pasted into an ABC converter program like the "abcConverter" on Mandolintab.net. Once you submit your ABC file, the converter will produce a quick and dirty image of your musical score which is then displayed on screen. Above the music, in the center of the screen, you should be able to see these three links:

[MIDI music file] [PDF Sheet Music] [ABC source]

The first link will allow you to hear your music as played on a midi player, which is great for learning what a new song is supposed to (kind of) sound like. It's great if you are not sure of the timing of the music. The second link converts the ABC source into a .pdf image of your music which you can then save and/or print to yield prettier sheet music. Then, if you want to view the ABC source again, you can click on the third link. However, to edit your ABC source, you best click on your browser's back arrow to take you back to the original text box holding your ABC source.

Well, I like this song, and I hope you do as well. Enjoy:

============================================================================

X:1
T:Waltzing Matilda
C:A.B."Banjo" Patterson (words) & Marie Cowen (music)
L:1/8
M:4/4
K:G
BBBB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~Once a jol-ly swag-man camp-ed by a bil-la-bong,
w:~5 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 dd | d2 dd d2
w:~Un-der the shade of a coo-li-bah tree,
w:~0 3 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And he sang as he watched and wait-ed till his bil-ly boiled.
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:~Chorus:
d2 dd d2 B2 | g2 gg f2 e2 |
w:~Waltz-ing ma-til-da, Waltz-ing ma-til-da,
w:~7 7 7 7 5 10 10 10 9 8
w:~
d2 dd e2 dd | d2 cB A2
w:~Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?
w:~7 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 4
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And he sang as he watched and wait-ed till his bil-ly boiled.
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:Verse~2:
BBBB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And down came a jum-buck to drink at the bil-la-bong,
w:~5 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 dd | d2 dd d2
w:~Up jumped the swag-man and grabed him with glee,
w:~0 3 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And he sang as he stowed that jum-buck in his tuck-er-bag,
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:~Chorus~2:
d2 dd d2 B2 | g2 gg f2 e2 |
w:~Waltz-ing ma-til-da, Waltz-ing ma-til-da,
w:~7 7 7 7 5 10 10 10 9 8
w:~
d2 dd e2 dd | d2 cB A2
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~7 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 4
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And he sang as he stowed that jum-buck in his tuck-er-bag,
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:Verse~3:
BBBB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~Up rode the squat-ter, mount-ed on his tho-rough-bred,
w:~5 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 d2 | d2 d2 d2
w:~Up rode three troo-pers, one, two, three.
w:~0 3 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~"Now where's that jol-ly jum-buck you've got in your tuck-er-bag?"
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:~Chorus~3:
d2 dd d2 B2 | g2 gg f2 e2 |
w:~Waltz-ing ma-til-da, Waltz-ing ma-til-da,
w:~7 7 7 7 5 10 10 10 9 8
w:~
d2 dd e2 dd | d2 cB A2
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~7 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 4
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~"Now where's that jol-ly jum-buck you've got in your tuck-er-bag?"
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~You'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me!
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:Verse~4:
BBBB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~But the swag-man upped and jumped in-to the bil-la-bong,
w:~5 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 d2 | d2 dd d2
w:~"You'll nev-er take me a-live!", cried he.
w:~0 3 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that bil-la-bong,
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~"Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?"
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
w:~
w:~Chorus~4:
d2 dd d2 B2 | g2 gg f2 e2 |
w:~Waltz-ing ma-til-da, Waltz-ing ma-til-da,
w:~7 7 7 7 5 10 10 10 9 8
w:~
d2 dd e2 dd | d2 cB A2
w:~Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?
w:~7 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 4
w:~
GA | B2 BB A2 A2 | GABG EF G2 |
w:~And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that bil-la-bong,
w:~3 4 5 5 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 2 3
w:~
D2 GB d2 cB | A2 AA G2 z2 |
w:~"Who'll come a waltz-ing ma-til-da with me?"
w:~0 3 5 7 6 5 4 4 4 3

============================================================================

Here's a link to download a .pdf version of this song suitable for 1-5-8 tuned diatonic instruments

like most stick dulcimers: Waltzing%20Matilda.pdf

Enjoy.

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Comment by c# merle on October 17, 2012 at 8:55am: so it's apparently copyright free everywhere now, except america.

wikipedia:

Ownership

In 1903 the song was used by the Billy Tea company for use as an advertising jingle, making it nationally famous.^[14] A third variation on the song, with a slightly different chorus, was published in 1907. Paterson sold the rights to "Waltzing Matilda" and "some other pieces" to Angus & Robertson Publishers for five pounds (the currency of the time).

The song was copyrighted by an American publisher, Carl Fischer Music, in 1941 as an original composition. Although no copyright applies to the song in Australia and many other countries, the Australian Olympic organisers had to pay royalties to Carl Fischer Music following the song being played at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.^[15]^[16] Carl Fischer's copyright hold ended in 2011. Arrangements such as those claimed by Roger D. Magoffin remain in copyright in America.^[17]

Comment by The Phrygian Kid on October 16, 2012 at 6:51am: Yeah the issue was not the lyrics which are undeniably banjo pattersons, but the melody and tune

Comment by Rand Moore on October 16, 2012 at 5:11am: That's one of the reason I try to stick with pre-1920's tunes; and even then, from what you say, that's not protection enough. Of course, I've never record anything. Everyone in the States recognizes this as a Banjo Paterson song, so I doubt it would have stood up in court. But, then fighting it in court would have cost you too much. I'm wondering if you got scammed? If he was in his 20's in "early 20th century", he's probably over 80 and dead by now. So, did he will his copyright to his descendents or sell it to a corporation? I think the copyright laws all should have a mechanism built in that says something like after 100 years, the song (music & lyrics) becomes public domain. Otherwise it will just all end up in the pockets of corporations, and the folk tradition of music will continue to be strangled off.

-Rand

Comment by The Phrygian Kid on October 15, 2012 at 11:21pm: Fyi2 I had a stinkin cover of this on my second steel guitar record (1994?) and ran into all manor of copyright issues...

Some dodgy American jazz musician visited Australia in the early 20th century, heard the tune, took it home and claimed it as his own in USA copyright law. I do not remember the guys name. But it cost me US distribution, was a nightmare.

Comment by Bad Finger (Eric) on October 15, 2012 at 3:17am: Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Rand Moore on October 12, 2012 at 11:49am: Just an FYI: As the chorus in this song changes with each verse, I decided to write out each chorus separately rather than try to bundle up the different versions into a single chorus. So, if you see "Chorus~3", its the chorus associated with verse 3.

In my opinion, this song is about a sting operation designed to eliminate a bothersome hobo, The penalty for stealing livestock was death, but taking a wild sheep that belonged to no one wasn't a crime. The sudden appearance of the law with the knowledge of where the sheep was stashed indicated in my mind one thing: sting operation. But then, what do I know?