Asked 4 years, 8 months ago. Active 2 years, 11 months ago. Viewed 1k times. An excerpt: Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled: "Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me? My question is whether anyone ever naturally phrases his thoughts the way the singer does.
Improve this question. Mitch Chaim Chaim 2, 1 1 gold badge 12 12 silver badges 23 23 bronze badges. Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. You ask whether people know that Matilda means "swag". When I was in school in the US, years ago the song was sometimes taught, and generally was accompanied by an explanation of the terminology. I suspect most kids of that era were similarly exposed.
We may not remember what a "coolibah tree" is, but we understand the basics of the story. Scott - We were taught that "Matilda" means "bedroll". Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. It seems like your remark about colonization would suggest that the Australian language would be the lower-class English convicts. Perhaps that reflects some social distinction between the Walting Matilda lyricist on the one hand and Julia Gillard and Henry Savery on the other, although Savery also happens to have been a British convict.
Chaim my point about colonization is that the convict ships stopped around the time of the writing of Waltzing Matilda , so the language would have a large influence from lower-class British language. After that a more diverse range of people emmigrated there, the general Australian language in the middle s was diluted hence the fact it's so understandable now. For example here 's a collection of words some of which I wouldn't understand, even as a native english speaker yet if they were in a song, no doubt I would understand them.
Another poem to look up is Beowulf , and Cockney Rhyming Slang is an example of language that only a few people understand. PeterShor I wasn't trying to make the point that Robert Burns himself was contemporary with Waltzing Matilda , I was trying to say that the language poets uses changes over time. Corrected wording, though Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica 3, 8 8 gold badges 19 19 silver badges 34 34 bronze badges. Lindy Truss Lindy Truss 1 1 silver badge 2 2 bronze badges.
I'll note that "tuck" or "tucker", meaning "food", is a term known in some parts of the rural US. How would you explain my much greater comfort with Julia Gillard's speech than with the lyrics of Waltzing Matilda?
Is it the contrast between educated and uneducated speech? Or do politician speak in a more international style deliberately? Urban vs. It's a folk song which tends to be written using a lot of local dialect words from the area it comes from for example the "The Twa Corbies" from the UK: As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies making a mane; The tane unto the t'other say, 'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?
Neuromancer Neuromancer 1 1 silver badge 5 5 bronze badges. So the suggestion is that folk songs will generally contain more "dialect"? By contrast, I guess, to songs by professional song writers, as well as the ordinary prose that I've encountered, such as remarks by the Prime Minister in a speech? Neuromancer See previous comment. Chaim Sometimes songwriters throw in a lot of dialect words to establish a distinctive cultural identity, or so I imagine. It is a small to medium-sized tree to 20m, widespread in arid and semi-arid areas near watercourses and seasonally flooded areas in open.
It has no commercial value because of its notoriously crooked structure and does not have an inch of straight timber in the whole tree! It is found in all states except Victoria and Tasmania. The term is no longer used in Australia today. Waltzing Matilda Troopers — gold-net. In time, once governments took charge, they generally accepted the land claims of whoever was in apparent possession of the land.
The largely nomadic life of aboriginal Australians left them without land ownership recognition. The constabulary tended to work with the squatters to maintain law and order. To non-land-owners, squatters were an object of resentment. Note that the meaning of the word changed later in the twentieth century to mean a person who occupied or resided at a property illegally.
You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Waltzing Matilda by the Australian artist Pro Hart — www. Introduction — Waltzing Matilda. A life carefree and unattached, without the dragging anchors of possessions. A life of enjoying simple pleasures like having a fresh cup of billy tea while sitting in the shade of a tree on the banks of a cool reflective pond.
A life of no responsibilities apart from the need to secure your next meal. A simple life of total freedom … the life of the Aussie swagman circa. Is it any wonder then, that when faced with the loss of this free life, that the Aussie swagman would chose death over a life lived in custody. Singing this poem reminds us of the possibility of a simpler happier life as depicted by the swagman and the pertinent lesson that a life without freedom is no life at all.
As Bevan Potter says in his family blog about his German heritage:. Swagman billyswagg. Waltzing Matilda — Slim Dusty style.
So typically Australian. There were no choreographed masses, no big brass bands, no overtly nationalistic fervor, just a 73 year old man singing alone a song he has performed countless times to small audiences in his outback travels.
Still, what was unseen to the cameras that night were the 20 million proud Aussies from around the world that stood and sang along with him. The original music score was composed by Christina Macpherson who was the sister of the station owner. Slim Dusty smh. Slim Dusty — is our legendary outback songwriter and performer who died 3 years after singing the last song of the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics He was the embodiment of all that was good in the swagman.
He loved the outback and sang and waltzed his way through every tiny town. The music is lyrical, the story whimsical and irreverent, and it makes all Australians emotional…. Nothing about war, greatness, power, glory …. Love it. I loved singing it.
At the time -when at school- there was something significant going on as we had a special guest who had some real connection to this song, and he was teaching us everyday. Nice memory though and a song close to my heart. Woody Guthrie was an American troubadour of the s and beyond. The s were the years of the Great Depression which affected every economy in the world. Guthrie put the sensibility of wandering men and women to music and his style became the modern style of American folk music.
So, a song about an Australian hobo, expressing his individuality more than his homelessness, easily entered the American view of the world. It also helped that the song had a very catchy tune. To Americans, Slim Dusty is an itinerant troubadour who embodied to folk culture of the hobo and the singer-songwriter in the woody Guthrie mold.
Americans watching the final ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Sydney saw Slim Dusty play Waltzing Matilda to conclude the ceremony.
For many, that sealed Waltzing Matilda as one of the most important songs in English. In the 20 th century, the United States brought its culture across the oceans.
One major aspect of American culture is the blend of individualism, the western migration, the hobo culture of the Great Depression, and the folk song. No other nation has quite the same blend of cultural elements as does the U. Waltzing Matilda is thus a kind of Australian American song. And as the U. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Refer to the privacy policy here.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Strange Vocabulary If you then asked them to sing it, they can sing just the first few words of the refrain. Aboriginal Lament As people came to realize that there already people in Australia when the British sent their criminals to colonize the island continent, people saw in Waltzing Matilda a sort of aboriginal lament that the vast land had been taken over by outsiders.
American Hobo Lore Even in the hyper-modern 21 st century, Americans have a deep sense of movement across a vast continent. Woody Guthrie Woody Guthrie was an American troubadour of the s and beyond. Slim Dusty To Americans, Slim Dusty is an itinerant troubadour who embodied to folk culture of the hobo and the singer-songwriter in the woody Guthrie mold. America Leads the World In the 20 th century, the United States brought its culture across the oceans.
More articles by Chris ». Related: Features.
0コメント