Lyrics:

When I was a young man, I carried a pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I was my Matilda all over
Then in 1915, the country said, "Son
There's no time for rovin', there's work to be done"
And they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda"
As the ships pulled away from the quay
Amidst all the cheers, the flag-wavin' and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
When our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he'd primed himself well
Showering us with bullets, then he rained us with shell
And in ten seconds flat, he'd blown us to hell
He nearly blew us back home to Australia
The band played "Waltzing Matilda"
As we stopped to bury the slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
Those that were left, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
I saw what it done and I wished I was dead
I never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
They collected the wounded, the crippled and the maimed
And shipped us on home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane
All those brave wounded heroes of Suvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
And I looked at the place where me legs used to be
I think, "Christ, there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity"
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda"
As they carried us down the gangway
Nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
And then turned their faces away

Now every April I sit on me porch
I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
But the old men march slowly, their bones stiff and sore
Tired old men from a forgotten war
The young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question
And the band plays "Waltzing Matilda"
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, as old men disappear
Someday no one will march there at all