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Who'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me? Swagies
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Unofficial Anthem

Does a simple song about a jolly swagman rebelling against squatters and troopers, whose ghost lives on by a billabong, have the makings of a national anthem? Perhaps the controversial features of 'Waltzing Matilda' mitigated against its adoption by the Australian people as the official national anthem. At times, the song had come to represent anti-establishment sentiments. The colloquial tone of the words gave it an informal style and their original meaning was often little understood. Some thought that the music was possibly too rollicking to lend the required amount of dignity to a national anthem.

Waltzing Matilda: a national anthem? >

 

Geoffrey Pryor drawing

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