Another walk through musical history: Waltzing Matilda
I don't know about anyone else, but some of my favorite posts over the years have been the YouTube round-ups of a single song. It's interesting to me because surveying the music always seems to involve learning a little bit about some hidden and unexpected snippets from many areas of history. Some previous examples of these posts include:
Pixabay license from lisaleo
Yesterday, while I was reviewing Thoth output, I came across a @cmp2020 post from 2020, here. And I noticed his mention of Waltzing Matilda in that post.
At first I thought this is a love song about a woman named Matilda. Upon googling it, my father and I learned that it is a ghost story about a man who kills himself in a body of water after he steals a sheep, and the landlord and police confront him. Often times we forget that even traditional music can have dark (and edgy stories).
So, while watching the Thoth logs scroll past, I thought I'd do another walk through musical history. As you'll see in the videos below, Waltzing Matilda started its musical life as an Australian Folk song. It later transformed into a sort-of a patriotic song. So much so, in fact, that it has been described as Australia's unofficial national anthem.
In plain English, the story is that a migrant worker is camping beside a waterhole boiling tea when he steals a farmer's sheep for his dinner, but he gets caught in the act. In an effort to evade the sheep's owner and the police, he jumps into the watering hole where he drowns. Now, his ghost lingers at that watering hole inviting passersby to go wandering with a sack of supplies in the outback (i.e. "a waltzing matilda").
The song was composed by the Australian, poet, author, and journalist, Banjo Peterson, and it was inspired by true events. Similar to the American folk song, Casey Jones, which was inspired by the death of a railroad engineer, Waltzing Matilda was apparently inspired by the death of German-born Samuel Hoffmeister, who was a migrant worker during the 1894 Australian Sheep Shearer's Strike.
I've probably listened to maybe 20 different versions in the last couple hours, and I whittled them down to the 10 below. For a song with its roots in the folk music of the 19th century labor struggles, it's interesting to see how it has been redone in so many different styles. Which style do you prefer?
Rolf Harris (with explanations of the lyrics)
Rolf Harris was an Australian musician and TV personality from the 1950s until 2014, when a scandal and legal convictions ended his career. In this 2010 recording, from before his legal troubles, he explains the uniquely Australian jargon that's used in the song.
John Collinson and Russel Callow
The first known recording was in 1926 by John Collinson and Russell Callow and the song has become so popular that it now has its own museum. I presume this is that first recording, although it doesn't list Callow's name. (Side note: I'm old enough to have listened to 78 rpm records as a child. ;-)
Wendy Matthews, John Schumann, & Brian Cadd
John Schumann and Brian Cadd are both Australian singers who began their music careers in the '60s and '70s. Wendy Matthews was born in Canada and relocated to Australia sometime in the 1980s. She has recorded with Cher and with members of bands like INXS and The Little River Band.
Rather than "folk" in style, I'd say this rendition has sort of a soft rock ballad sound. The recording is from the 2009 Australia Day. Which marks the January 26, 1788 landing of the First Fleet in Sydney.
Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty was an Australian country music singer from the 1940s through the early 2000s. This rendition is definitely in the classic country style, complete with steel guitar.
Johnny Cash
Of course, the country legend Johnny Cash needs no write-up. This rendition is typical of his deep-voiced and distinct style. Like Harris, he explains some of the jargon, but it seems that he got some of the terms wrong.
This version is somewhere between folk and country, but it also includes some orchestration and backing vocals that seem to reflect the American entertainment industry at the time. June Carter Cash makes a brief appearance at the end.
Celtic Thunder
Unsurprisingly, given the name, Celtic Thunder is an Irish band that has been active since 2007. This 2012 recording sounds more like the folk style that I would have normally expected for this song.
Delta Goodrem
We're back in Australia with Delta Goodrem, who has been singing since 1999, when she was 15 years old. This is more of a formal and slower style with backing from a grand piano and a violin.
The Seekers
The Seekers were active from 1962 through 2022. They were a pop music group who drew on folk influences. This video (along with the next two) gives us a really good sense of how this folk song transformed into a patriotic piece.
Australian troops singing and marching during WWII (location not specified).
Not much to say about this. The officer who led the march was apparently identified as VX38996 Lieutenant Colonel Ron Hone ED of the 8th Division, but it's not clear where or when it was recorded. Obviously, this is in the style of a march, and the patriotic style comes through loud and clear.
US Marines 1st Marine Division Band
It seems that the 1st Marine Division was stationed in Australia for a while, and they adopted Waltzing Matilda as their division song. This is also arranged as a march. My only complaint is that it's too short.
Conclusion
From its beginning as a dark song to commemorate the Australian sheep shearers' strikes to today's patriotic and formal continuations all around the globe, it's fascinating to me to see how songs like Waltzing Matilda evolve over time. As anticipated, these round-up posts are always my favorites, because they take so many surprising twist and turns through history.
One of the unique things about the song Waltzing Matilda is the way that it brings forward multiple meanings. It's a silly children's ghost story, it's a labor movement protest song, a patriotic Australian anthem, and a lasting reflection of Australia's unique culture all wrapped into one.
In the end, I'd say that my top-3 favorite renditions are:
- Slim Dusty
- Celtic Thunder
- The 1st Division Marine Corp. band (if only it were longer... ;-))
What are your favorites?
#play