And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Lambert's Anzac, the landing 1915, depicting the landing at Anzac Cove.

"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song, written by Eric Bogle in 1972, describing the futility,gruesome reality and the destruction of war, while criticising those who seek to glorify or promote war.This is exemplified in the song by the account of a young conscript soldier of the battle of Gallipoli between Australian, New Zealand (Allies) and Turkish (Central Powers) forces during the First World War. The song is a vivid recount of the memories of a young Australian man who, in World War I, had been sent to Gallipoli -- who "for ten weary weeks" kept himself alive as "around me the corpses piled higher". He recalls "that terrible day" ... "in the hell that they called Suvla Bay we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter" ... "in that mad world of blood, death and fire". In its clear and stark retelling of the events of the battle and its aftermath, it is a passionate indictment of war in general.

The song incorporates the melody and a few lines of "Waltzing Matilda's" lyrics at its conclusion. Cover versions of the song have been performed and recorded by the Clancy Brothers, June Tabor, Slim Dusty, John Williamson, The Dubliners, Joan Baez, Skids, Christy Moore, Mike Harding, John McDermitt, The Fenians, Jolie Holland, and the Pogues. Midnight Oil has a live version of the song which has circulated on the Internet. The Pogues cover is perhaps the best-known version; critic Robert Christgau wrote that Pogues vocalist Shane McGowan "never lets go of it for a second: he tests the flavor of each word before spitting it out." [1]

The song is often praised for its haunting imagery of the devastation at Gallipoli. The protagonist in the story loses his legs in the battle, and after the war notes the passing of other veterans with time, as younger generations become apathetic to the veterans and their cause. The song, written in 1972, has also been interpreted as paralleling with the Vietnam War. The song rails against jingoism and the romanticising of war. As the old man sits on his porch, and watches the veterans march past every ANZAC Day: "The young people ask what are they marching for, and I ask myself the same question".

American Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor winner Senator Bob Kerrey sang the song to his supporters at the end of his Presidential campaign in 1992, and borrowed the first line for the title of his autobiography, When I Was A Young Man: A Memoir.

Larrikin Publishing is the copyright holder of the song.

[edit] Factual Inaccuracy

The second verse of the song describes an amphibious assault by Australian troops at Suvla Bay. The landing at Suvla was actually carried out entirely by British soldiers and was only lightly opposed. Bogle has said that he included the reference to Suvla partly because most Australians connect it with Gallipoli, and partly because it made for an easier rhyme. [2] Additionally, the reference to tin hats is anachronistic - they were in fact not issued until 1916.