Eric Bogle - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
November 11 - Remembrance Day, 2007
“Waltzing Matilda” is a very famous Australian folk song and a “Matilda” was the name given to the pack that Australian farm workers carried on their backs.
To “Waltz Matilda” meant to carry your pack of belongings through the bush.
The song “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” by Eric Bogle is about 50,000 Australian soldiers who fought against Turkish troops and died in the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I.
Mixed with pictures from Gallipoli are pictures of past and present Canadian troops because this song and slideshow was played during a Remembrance Day assembly at a Canadian public school.
Information about this song was taken from this web page that talks about Eric Bogle’s performance of this song:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/matilda.html
You are correct, and the hell of it is, the stupid Politicos still have not learned. We have technology to make us all well or blow us to hell. We choose weapons.
fuck war
fuck soldiers
Not sure where you got your figure of 50,000 Australians who died at Gallipoli.
The actual figure was around 8,000.
I’m dutch, and it does the same to me.
“never knew there were worse things than dying.”
These photos haunt me. I just wonder how many of these boys got home to their girls and families, how many got back to their jobs, how many had lives and careers … this is one of the great australian songs …
damn is it just me or does this song send a shiver down anyone elses back every time you listen to it?
does anyone know what happened to the live version on youtube?
Also have a listen to “The Grave” by Don McLean
Benny, with all due respect you don’t know what your talking about.
“All” Australian WW1 servicemen were “volunteers”…every last one of them.
There was no conscription in Australia.
Winston Churchill may have been a great statesman, but I cannot forgive him his ultra-stupid military strategies, and his inability to learn from them. I’ll have to find out how many died in Italy during WWII. Italy was supposed to be another “soft underbelly,” Cripes, couldn’t the man look at a map and see the mountains.
BTW this may be the best anti-war song ever. For more on the same line, find “Get Up Jimmy Newman.”
I disagree with your PS, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Turks, Vietnamese, Arabs, Germans, Russians, French, Belgians, Americans… have all fought and suffered and died needlessly. Kurt Vonnegut said it best, When we remember war let it not be with parades and thriling shows. It would be more appropriate to paint ourselves blue and roll in mud.
I mean no disrespect to the ANZACS or French or Turks, war makes me angry, and Gallipolli had to be one of the most profoundly stupid action of WWI.
Not only ANZACS and French died. My grandfather Jack Davies was killed at Suvla Bay on 10th August 1915, leaving a wife and 4 children to an uncaring nation.
Without the aid of friends and the management of his employer (the local steelwork) she would have ended in the poorshouse.
For this reason I find this song very emotional, and I cant accept the flag wavers who invariably staid behind and profited.
On the other hand - I don’t blame the ANZAC soldiers for not enlisting voluntarily - it was a war far, far away in Europe. They merely supported their European brothers (the British).
I think you lost the point of the song. You cannot die bravely. When you are dead - you are dead. There is nothing brave about that. You need wars to create heroes, and thank God that there are some people that defend our freedoms, but I doubt that those ANZAC soldiers enlisted voluntarily.
a wonderful presentation and very moving
excellent video check out another good live war tribute song and video at
/watch?v=pJ7B5MgPEAA
nah there are tonnes more than in this video
Fantastic and very sad song,brought tears to my eyes.
Probably the most pointless battle in a pointless war. Why do we still listen to the sociopaths whole “hold office” and deign to rule over us? I guess men will never learn. War sucks.
Dr. Bean (Historian) gives Anzac casualties as: Australian 26,094 (7594 killed), New Zealand 7571 (2431 killed). The Australian War Memorial at Canberra gives the Australian casualties as 8709 killed and 19,000 wounded.
Still a waste whatever the number, and its still going on…….except it’s for OIL this time UK government sucks
Aussies and Kiwi’s forged the folklore of Gallipoli. And although it was a lost battle. It created a legend. I am very proud of my fellow aussies who fought and died so bravely.
But i also acknowledge “Johnny Turk” For being such a formiddable and compassionate foe. from stories i have heard and from what i have read, if it was up to the turks and the anzacs it would have all been settled with something like a drinking comp.
“lest we forget”
PS take that Cannuck crap out.
They died in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war without having to fight the length and breadth of the middle east first. If they had succeeded modern day Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Turkey would bear far fewer scars. Anyone who dies for the betterment of someone else is a hero in my books or are you saying that heroes are only those who die in your own selfish interests?
And to this day Australian soldiers serve beside those Canadian troops, my unit the 12/16th light horse was at Galipoli and today they fight in Afghanistan with the support of Canadian and Dutch troops and choppas.
They will not be forgotten by me my Grandfather was a Petty Officer on HMS Goliath in that battle, and they were sunk but he survived, and the Naval action is always forgotten. Gallipoli will always be connected with ANZACS, they go together.
Although used by a aged Empire and forgotten by most, those Young boys of Anzac will not be forgotten by me, nor by any of you after to listening this wonderful song.