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

[Pre-chorus 1]
        E  B     D              A
Then in 1915, my country said, "Son,
        E             B              D                 A
there's no time for roamin', there's work to be done."
         A                D          A           F#m
And they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
         A         E          A
And they sent me away to the war.

[Chorus 1]
        A            D          A
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
       A             D           E
As the ship pulled away from the quay.
     D                              A            F#m
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
       A          E    A
We set off for Gallipoli.

[Verse 2]
    A        D            A
How well I remember that terrible day,
         A                 E              A
When our blood stained the sand and the water;
    A            D              A
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
        A              E              A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.

[Pre-chorus 2]
       E            B           D              A
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
   E                B               D              A
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shells –
        A               D         A          F#m
And in five minutes flat, well he blew us to hell,
          A             E          A
He nearly blew us right back to Australia.

[Chorus 2]
        A            D          A
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
      A          D        E
As we stopped to bury our slain.
D                         A            F#m
  We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
        A           E     A
Then we started all over again.

[Verse 3]
   A                 D        A
So those who were left, just tried to survive
     A             E                 A
In a mad world of blood, death and fire.
        A          D           A
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive,
       A        E              A
As the corpses around me piled higher.

[Pre-chorus 3]
       E           B                 D         A
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
E            B          D            A
 And when I awoke in my hospital bed
      A               D       A              F#m
I saw what it had done, and I wished I was dead –
       A               E                 A
Then I knew there were worse things than dying.

[Chorus 3]
         A           D          A
And I'll go no more "Waltzing Matilda,"
    A                 D             E
All through the green bush far and free –
         D                    A               F#m
Cause to hunt and tent peg, a man needs both legs,
         A          E          A
No more "Waltzing Matilda" for me.

[Verse 4]
        A          D             A
They collected the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
A              E          A
Shipped us all back to Australia.
    A            D            A
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane,
    A              E         A
The brave wounded heroes of Suvla.

[Pre-chorus 4]
    E           B            D            A
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay,
   E             B             D             A
I looked at the place where my legs used to be,
         A          D                A            F#m
And I thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me,
   A            E             A
To mourn and to grieve and to pity.

[Chorus 4]
        A            D          A
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
        A          D            E
As they carried us down the gangway.
D                      A              F#m
Nobody cheered, they just stood and stared,
     A                E      A
Then turned all their faces away.

[Verse 5]
    A          D        A
And now every April, I sit on my porch
     A            E             A
As I watch the parade pass before me.
  A              D         A
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
    A        E               A
Reviving old dreams and past glories.

[Pre-chorus 5]
        E             B       D               A
But the old men march slowly, bones stiff and sore
E         B          D         A
Tired old men from a tired old war.
        A               D          A                  F#m
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
    A         E           A
And I ask myself the same question.

[Chorus 5]
        A           D          A
And the band plays "Waltzing Matilda,"
       A             D          E
As the old men still answer the call.
    D                         A         F#m
And year after year, more old men disappear
     A                 E              A
Soon none of them will march there at all.