Verse 1) The midday sun was burning on the Western Queensland plain Old Bluey wiped the red dust off and eased his shoulder’s strain He dropped his heavy swag beside a ghost gum’s silver shade And watched the dancing heat-haze where the desert mirage played He set his billy boiling and he waited for the tea The king of all the outback, just as lonely and as free. (Chorus) Oh, he’s waltzing Matilda, he’s waltzing Matilda The ghost of the track and the king of the plain With a tucker bag full and a billy to fill He’s waltzing Matilda again. (Verse 2) A stray and heavy jumbuck came to drink beside the bank The swagman didn't hesitate, he grabbed it by the flank "A gift from God," he whispered as he stowed it in his bag He didn't see the dust-cloud or the horses' heavy brag Until the squatter shouted from a thoroughbred so high With three troopers at his shoulder and a fire in his eye. (Verse 3) "You’ve got my sheep, you scoundrel, and you’ll face the iron gate The law has come to claim you and you cannot fly from fate" But Bluey looked at water where the shadows lay so deep He’d rather join the river than a cell where old men weep "You’ll never catch me living!" was the defiant cry he gave And he plunged into the billabong to find a watery grave. (Chorus) Oh, he’s waltzing Matilda, he’s waltzing Matilda The ghost of the track and the king of the plain With a tucker bag full and a billy to fill He’s waltzing Matilda again. (Outro) Now if you camp at Dagworth when the moon is rising high You’ll hear a ghostly whistling beneath the starlit sky It’s the man who chose the river, still wandering the track With his Matilda on his shoulder and the wind against his back.
