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Sound recordings, oral history and folklore

There are more sound recordings of 'Waltzing Matilda' than any other Australian song. The discographer Peter Burgis claims ‘Waltzing Matilda’ has been recorded by over 500 artists. Over 600 entries for ‘Waltzing Matilda’ appear in the catalogue of ScreenSound Australia.

The song was first recorded in London by the Queensland tenor John Collinson in 1927.

Sales were abysmal. The next recording, by Colin Crane in Sydney in 1930, fared better and an April 1937 recording by a British group, the Hill Billies, was moderately successful; but it was [Peter] Dawson who guaranteed world wide popularity of ‘Waltzing Matilda’. [listen to audio]

Since then, styles have ranged from a huge array of popular renditions to full orchestral sets of variations, bluegrass, jazz improvisations, honky tonk piano party hits, foxtrots, brass bands, military bands, bush bands in woolsheds, music hall tunes, parodies (listen to audio).

‘Waltzing Matilda’ has been the subject of promotional jingles, sound sampling for advertising, sound effects CDs, electronic and computer generated soundscapes. EvenAustralia AdLib’, produced by the ABC’s Listening Room program, now documented as an interactive guide to the wild, the weird and the vernacular in Australian music, includes an item ‘Mavis Sings Waltzing Matilda’.

The National Library of Australia’s Oral History and Folklore collections include multiple versions of the song by numerous performers or interviewees, recorded in the field, at folk festivals or in the professional recording studios of the Library. In addition, there are some surprising revelations and interpretations: perhaps the most exotic is this rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ on gum leaf, performed in bravura style at the National Gumleaf Championships (listen to audio).

Many of the interviews for the social history oral collection contain reminiscences about ‘Waltzing Matilda’. Especially poignant are the many references to the importance of the song in wartime or as part of post-war memories (listen to audio). The incorporation of the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ music and imagery into Eric Bogle's 1970s lament ‘And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda’ underlines the long association of ‘Matilda’ with wartime Australia (listen to audio). The implied ‘Waltzing Matilda’ nostalgia and comfort zone is juxtaposed with the harsh realities of war and its aftermath depicted in each verse. This underlines the extent to which Australians have variously taken the original song to heart as a wartime symbol closely allied to the status and function of a national flag.

Dance >

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Dawson sings 'Waltzing Matilda'

 

George Travare's Jazz Group performs 'Waltzing Matilda'

 

Virgil Reutens plays 'Waltzing Matilda' on gumleaf

Interview with Ron Stanton

 

Eric Bogle sings 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda'

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