And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda chords
by Liam ClancySong Key: A Major
Key Signature: 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)
Time Signature: 3/4 (♩)
Tempo: 126 bpm (Moderately)
Vocal Range: A4 - B5
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner
Chords: A, Asus4, Asus2, D, Dsus2, E, Eadd9, F#m, F#m7
Beginners: See chord charts below for easy versions of F#m and F#m7.
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key A D A F#m
Intro: 3/4 ‖ | | | ‖
A D A F#m
1. Now when I was a young man I car-ried me pack
A E A Asus4 A
And I lived the free life of the ro-ver | |
A D A F#m
From the Mur-ray's green ba-sin to the dus-ty out-back
A E A Asus4 A
I waltzed my Ma-til-da all | o-ver | |
E D A
Then in nine-teen fif-teen my coun-try said son
E D A
It's time to stop ramb-ling there's work to be done
A D A F#m F#m7 F#m
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun | |
A E A Asus4 A
And they sent me a-way to the war | |
A D A Asus4 A
Chorus: And the band played Walt-zing Ma-til-da | |
A D E Eadd9 E
As the ship pulled a-way from the quay | |
D E A D Dsus2 D
And a-mid all the tears the flag-wav-ing and cheers | |
A E A Asus4 A
We sailed off for Gal-li-po-li | |
A D A F#m
2. Well I re-mem-ber that ter-ri-ble day
A E A Asus4 A
How our blood stained the sand and the wa-ter | |
A D A F#m
And how in that hell that they called Su-vla Bay
A E A Asus4 A
We were butch-ered like lambs at the slaugh-ter | |
E D A
John-ny Turk he was rea-dy he'd primed him-self well
E D A
He rained us with bul-lets and he shower'd us with shell
A D A F#m
And in five min-utes flat we were all blown to | hell | 𝄎 |
A E A Asus4 A
Near-ly blew us back home to Aust-ra-lia | |
A D A Asus4 A
Chorus: And the band played Walt-zing Ma-til-da | |
A D E Eadd9 E
When we stopped to bu-ry our slain | |
D E A D Dsus2 D
We bur-ied ours and the Turks bur-ied theirs | |
A E A Asus4 A
Then it start-ed all o-ver a-gain | |
A D A F#m
3. Those who were liv-ing just tried to sur-vive
A E A Asus4 A
In that mad world of blood death and fire | |
A D A F#m
And for ten wea-ry weeks I kept my-self a-live
A E A Asus4 A
Though a-round me the corp-ses piled high-er | |
E D A
Then a big Tur-kish shell knocked me arse o-ver head
E D A
And when I a-woke in me hos-pi-tal bed
A D A F#m F#m7 F#m
And saw what it had done then I wished I were dead | |
A E A Asus4 A
I ne-ve knew there were worse things than dy-in' | |
A D A Asus4 A
Chorus: For no more I'll go walt-zing Ma-til-da | |
A D E Eadd9 E
All a-round the green bush far and near | |
D E A D Dsus2 D
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs | |
A E A Asus4 | A Asus2 A
No more Walt-zing Ma-til-da for me | | | 𝄎 |
A D A F#m
4. They col-lec-ted the woun-ded the crip-pled the maimed
A E A Asus4 A
And they ship-ped us back home to Aus-tra-lia | |
A D A F#m
The arm-less the leg-less the blind the in-sane
A E A Asus4 A
Those proud wound-ed her-oes of Suv-la | |
E D A
And when the ship pulled in-to Cir-cu-lar Quay
E D A
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
A D A F#m F#m7 F#m
And thank Christ there was no-one there wait-ing for me | |
A E A Asus4 A
To grieve and to mourn and to pi-ty | |
A D A Asus4 A
Chorus: And the band played Walt-zing Ma-til-da | |
A D E Eadd9 E
As they car-ried us down the gang-way | |
D E A D Dsus2 D
But no-bo-dy cheered they just stood there and stared | |
A E A Asus4 A Asus2 A Asus4
Then they turned all their fa-ces a-way | | | |
A D A F#m
5. So now ev’-ry Ap-ril I sit on me porch
A E A Asus4 A
And I watch the pa-rade pass be-fore me | |
A D A F#m
And I see my old com-rades how proud-ly they march
A E A Asus4 A
Re-new-ing their dreams of past glo-ry | |
E D A
I see the old men all tired stiff and sore
E D A
The wea-ry old he-roes of a for-got-ten war
A D A F#m F#m7 F#m
And the young peo-ple ask what are they march-ing for | |
A E A Asus4 A
And I ask my-self the same quest-ion | |
A D A Asus4 A
Chorus: And the band plays Waltz-ing Ma-til-da | |
A D E Eadd9 E
And the old men still an-swer the call | |
D E A D Dsus2 D
But as year fol-lows year more old men dis-ap-pear | |
A E A Asus4 A
Some-day no one will march there at all... | |
[Time Signature change from 3/4 to 4/4]
A D
Outro: Waltz-ing Ma-til-da Waltz-ing Ma-til-da
A D A E
Who'll come a-walt-zing Ma-til-da with me
A E F#m D
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the bil-la-bong
A E A
Who'll come a-waltz-ing Ma-til-da with me...Notes:
- Liam uses a a capo on the 2nd fret and plays in the key of G Major. He may have done this to avoid the F#m as a barre chord... when you are fingerpicking, it is always preferable to play open chords as they tend to sound a lot crisper and cleaner.
- Apart from F#m and F#m7, playing in the key of A Major is easier, as the Asus4, Dsus2, Eadd9 etc, are all very easy to play without altering the position of the root chord.
- The alternative versions of F#m and F#m7 are very easy. When playing F#m you can cover the first 4 strings on the 2nd fret as the note played by the 3rd finger covers the 4th string. This way the transition from F#m to F#m7 and back to F#m is super easy with just removing the 3rd finger to play F#m7, and adding it again to play F#m.
- You don't have to play all the chord extensions such as Asus4, Dsus2, Eadd9 etc. They are there for color and interest. Liam plays the chords without extensions, while the other guitarist adds extensions and other welcome extras. I have tried to combine the two as simply as possible without causing too much confusion. Try some things for yourself... you may be pleasantly surprised.
Liam Clancy
Born: William Clancy on 2nd September 1935 in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Occupation: Singer - musician - actor
Died: 4th December 2009 (aged 74) in Cork, Ireland
Active Years: 1955 - 2009
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, concertina
Associations: The Clancy Brothers, Makem and Clancy
The Clancy Brothers recorded about 50 albums and sold millions of albums worldwide. They played to concerts in some of the world's best venues including, The Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Liam's active years spanned decades, from 1955 - 2009. He was the group’s most dominant singer and was generally regarded as the best Ballad singer ever. Liam was the lead vocalist in the band and also played guitar and concertina.
Song Details:- Songwriter: Eric Bogle
- Date: 1971
- Lyrics Begin: Now when I was a young man I carried me pack, and I lived the free life of the rover.
- Performing Artist: Liam Clancy
- Album: Liam Clancy's Favourites 1 & 2
- Released: August 24, 2005
- The song was named one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time by APRA in May, 2001 as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations.
- And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
- The Parting Glass
