Australian Bush Songs – Swag Ballads


The Jolly Swagman in “Waltzing Matilda” – Australia’s unofficial National Anthem

Jolly Swagman, sitting on his swag: A drawing illustrating the famous Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda

“Waltzing Matilda” is Australia’s most widely known bush ballad, a country folk song, and has been referred to as “the unofficial national anthem of Australia”.[1] It was even used during several Olympic ceremonies, as it is instantly identified around the world as Australian, whereas the real national anthem “Advance Australia Fair” is far less well known outside Australia itself.

The title is Australian slang for travelling by foot with one’s goods in a “Matilda” (bag) slung over one’s back.[2] The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or swagman, making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep’s ostensible owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker for the theft (a crime punishable by hanging), the worker commits suicide by drowning himself in the nearby watering hole, and then goes on to haunt the site.

The original lyrics were written in 1887 by poet and nationalist Banjo Paterson. It was first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that the song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland.

It has been widely accepted that “Waltzing Matilda” is potentially based on the following story:

In Queensland in 1891 the Great Shearers’ Strike brought the colony close to civil war and was broken only after the Premier Samuel Griffith called in the military. In September 1894, on a station called Dagworth (north of Winton), some shearers were again on strike. It turned violent with the strikers firing their rifles and pistols in the air and setting fire to the woolshed at the Dagworth Homestead, killing dozens of sheep. The owner of Dagworth Homestead and three policemen gave chase to a man named Samuel Hoffmeister – also known as “French(y)”. Rather than be captured, Hoffmeister shot and killed himself at the Combo Waterhole.

Waltzing Matlida
by Bajo Paterson

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”
And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
“Where’s that jolly jumbuck you’ve got in your tucker bag?”
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”
“Where’s that jolly jumbuck you’ve got in your tucker bag?”,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
“You’ll never take me alive”, said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me.”
“Oh, You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me.”

The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker making a crude cup of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep’s ostensible owner arrives with three policemen to arrest the worker, he drowns himself in a small lake and goes on to haunt the site. The lyrics contain many distinctively Australian English words, some now rarely used outside this song. These include:

waltzing
derived from the German term auf der Walz, which means to travel while working as a craftsman and learn new techniques from other masters before returning home after three years and one day, a custom which is still in use today among carpenters.[13]
Matilda
a romantic term for a swagman’s bundle. See below, “Waltzing Matilda.”
Waltzing Matilda
from the above terms, “to waltz Matilda” is to travel with a swag, that is, with all one’s belongings on one’s back wrapped in a blanket or cloth. The exact origins of the term “Matilda” are disputed; one fanciful derivation states that when swagmen met each other at their gatherings, there were rarely women to dance with. Nonetheless, they enjoyed a dance, and so they danced with their swags, which was given a woman’s name. However, this appears to be influenced by the word “waltz”, hence the introduction of dancing. It seems more likely that, as a swagman’s only companion, the swag came to be personified as a woman.
Another explanation is that the term also derives from German immigrants. German soldiers commonly referred to their greatcoats as “Matilda”, supposedly because the coat kept them as warm as a woman would. Early German immigrants who “went on the waltz” would wrap their belongings in their coat, and took to calling it by the same name their soldiers had used.
swagman
a man who travelled the country looking for work. The swagman’s “swag” was a bed roll that bundled his belongings.
billabong
an oxbow lake (a cut-off river bend) found alongside a meandering river.
coolibah tree
a kind of eucalyptus tree which grows near billabongs.
jumbuck
a large, difficult-to-shear sheep, not a tame sheep. Implies that the sheep was not ‘owned’ by the squatter or regularly shorn, thus not able to be stolen by the swagman.
billy
a can for boiling water in, usually 2–3 pints.
Tucker bag
a bag for carrying food (“tucker”).
troopers
policemen.
squatter
Australian squatters started as early farmers who raised livestock on land which they did not legally have the right to use; in many cases they later gained legal use of the land even though they did not have full possession, and became wealthy thanks to these large land holdings. The squatter’s claim to the land may be as uncertain as the swagman’s claim to the jumbuck.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_Waltzing_Matilda_manuscript.jpg

Orginal manuscript for Waltzing Matilda

http://nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au/%3E/Treasures/item/nla.ms-ms9065-3-s1


With a Swag Upon My Shoulder, Black Billy in my Hand….


Another folk song featuring the swag is “With a Swag Upon My Shoulder” the tune being a variant of the Irish tune ‘Boys of Wexford’.

http://folkstream.com/100.html

With my Swag upon my Shoulder

When first I left Old England’s shore
Such yarns as we were told
As how folks in Australia
Could pick up lumps of gold
So, when we got to Melbourne town
We were ready soon to slip
And get even with the captain
All hands scuttled from the ship

Chorus
With my swag all on my shoulder
Black billy in my hand
I travelled the bush of Australia
Like a true-born Irish man

We steered our course for Geelong town
Then north west to Ballarat
Where some of us got mighty thin
And some got sleek and fat
Some tried their luck at Bendigo
And some at Fiery Creek
I made a fortune in a day
And blew it in a week

Chorus
With my swag all on my shoulder
Black billy in my hand
I travelled the bush of Australia
Like a true-born Irish man

For many years I wandered round
As each new rush broke out
And always had of gold a pound
Till alluvial petered out
‘Twas then we took the bush to cruise
Glad to get a bite to eat
The squatters treated us so well
We made a regular beat

Chorus
With my swag all on my shoulder
Black billy in my hand
I travelled the bush of Australia
Like a true-born Irish man

So round the lighthouse now I tramp
Nor leave it out of sight
I take it on my left shoulder
And then upon my right
And then I take it on my back
And oft upon it lie
It is the best of tucker tracks
So I’ll stay here till I die

Chorus
With my swag all on my shoulder
Black billy in my hand
I travelled the bush of Australia
Like a true-born Irish man

Notes: In the bush the Southern Cross constellation is also known as The Lighthouse, so tramping round this continent is in effect tramping round the lighthouse. This song, the tune of which is a variant of ‘The Boys of Wexford’, was collected by John Manifold from Father P.P.Kehoe of Kyabram, Victoria in the 1950’s.

May on the River

We just got back from a great overnight wild-camping trip on the River Wye. Weather was good, but very windy on day one which made the mailes hard going at times, but it cleared beautifully in the evening for our camp. We knew heavy rain was coming early the next morning so set about getting good tarp-rigs up for some protection, which worked great. Here’s some photos from the trip.

…

Tribal Journeys…

Inspiring short film on the ‘revival of cedar canoe culture’ among indigenous North Americans:

“The revival of cedar canoe culture and Tribal Journeys is one of the most significant cultural movements of our time. It serves as an example of healing through tradition for indigenous cultures throughout the world. Knowledge of the earth and sea, customs, language, and spiritual practices nearly erased from our human experience are triumphantly reestablished and celebrated through the canoe pulling and ceremonies of each Tribal Journey. Coastal natives, reconnect with the ancestors, with the traditions, with each other, with the water.

We are taking our canoes out of the museums and putting them back in the water ­ and showing the world our culture is alive.”

New! The Poppin Storm Kettle

A new product from the Eydon Kettle company, makers of the famous STORM Kettles we use on this site, the POPPIN is a unique smaller, taller STORM Kettle, specially designed to “Pop-in” your rucksack or whatever else you use to carry gear around. It look a beautiful object from the photos we’ve seen and we’re hoping to get to try one out very soon and will of course report back on it’s usage here if we do. It’s slimmer shape would be a great advantage as of course the traditional shape kettles have to be quite broad for the way the flames will shoot up the chimney, so having a higher chimney allows a full 1.5 pint capacity in a much slimmer product, we’d expect that is a real advantage even just for storing your kettles – I’ve got 4 different ones and they do take up a bit of space! But the proof of any pudding is in the eating of course, but so far this looks like Eydon have done it again after our previous favourite the “Popular” model (see video here) and like that the Poppin comes in a gorgeous and very practical matt black heat resistant paint coating, and they really look the business – the true “Black Billy” of Australian legend, from the old folk song based on the Irish tune The Boys of Wexford song: “With a swag on my shoulder, black billy in my hand, I travel the bush of Australia, like a true-born Irishman” – A classic bit of Irish irony in there I think – a wandering Irishman, in a dusty land, far away from his lush green homeland (see our post “The History and Romance of the Australian Swag“) Some pictures of the new product below – and it’s available from the website here

The tall, slim Poppin STORM Kettle


The new Poppin Kettle with Cooking Kit and Carry Bag

History & Romance of the Australian Swag

I’m a huge fan of “bedroll camping” – camping out under the stars around the camp fire in a traditional canvas Australian-style “swag” or bedroll – see my previous post here. I’ve been fascinated by these and have gradually been delving deeper into the history to this unique way of camping, that seems more or less unknown as such outside Australia, although North America has it’s “cowboy bedroll”, and the British army during WWII had the officer’s bedroll and now of course we have the modern “bivvy bag”, but it’s not quite the same thing. So my research has come up with some fantastic historical details which I have compiled in this feature, covering the origins of the word, of the Australian swag in 19th Century Australia, and use of the swag in the 20th Century and up to the present day modern swags used in Australia.

The Swag in use on a frosty UK Canoe Camp trip

In Australian historical terms, a swag is basically a waterproof bedroll. In the 1800s and first half of the 20th century a swagman was an itinerant rural worker – usually but not always sheep shearers – who carried their bedroll ‘swag’ with their belongings wrapped in them on their back. Most modern swags however are only used for bedding, but they are typically made with a waterproof outer section – traditionally canvas but more recent swags use more modern materials. Before motor transport was common, foot travel over long distances was essential to workers who were travelling in the Australian bush and who could not afford a horse. Itinerant workers who travelled from farm to farm sheep shearing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were called “swagmen” because they carried all their possessions in a swag. This image was immortalised in Australian culture by the song Waltzing Matilda.

A swag is also referred to as a “Matilda”, “Drum” or “Bluey” and hence “Waltzing matilda”, “walking along with my swag” (from the German auf der Walz, which means to travel while working as a craftsman) “humping bluey”. Bluey refers to the favoured blue color of cloth blankets used in the bedrolls. The word Swag itself appears to come from old norse word for “swing” or thing that “swings or sways”, can also be applied to a person’s gait as they carry something, swaying along. This word can be found in recored use back as far at the 11th century.

The most detailed 19th Century Australian description of the swag is found in Henry Lawson’s The Romance of the Swag:


The Jolly Swagman in “Waltzing Matilda” – Australia’s unofficial National Anthem

Jolly Swagman, sitting on his swag: A drawing illustrating the famous Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda

“Waltzing Matilda” is Australia’s most widely known bush ballad, a country folk song, and has been referred to as “the unofficial national anthem of Australia”. The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or swagman, making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep’s ostensible owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker for the theft (a crime punishable by hanging), the worker commits suicide by drowning himself in the nearby watering hole, and then goes on to haunt the site.

Waltzing Matlida
by Bajo Paterson

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolabah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”

Full lyrics and background info here.


With a Swag Upon My Shoulder, Black Billy in my Hand….


Another folk song featuring the swag is “With a Swag Upon My Shoulder” (the tune being a variant of the Irish tune ‘Boys of Wexford’).

http://folkstream.com/100.html

With my Swag upon my Shoulder

When first I left Old England’s shore
Such yarns as we were told
As how folks in Australia
Could pick up lumps of gold
So, when we got to Melbourne town
We were ready soon to slip
And get even with the captain
All hands scuttled from the ship

Chorus
With my swag all on my shoulder
Black billy in my hand
I travelled the bush of Australia
Like a true-born Irish man

And so on, the full lyrics are here, a great bush song.


Use of Swags – late 20th Century


From http://www.our-camping-site.com/swags.html

Swag rolled up on top of an old Bedford truck - photo c1979

This photo from 1979 from www.our-camping-site.com shows a swag rolled up on the back of an old Bedford truck, way out in the bush, where the driver pictured had slept out in the swag right on the road itself – the author notes that you could do that back in the days when there was less trafic in these remote areas, but suggests ‘Of course, camping on any road today would not be a sensible thing to do’!


Contemporary Swag Stories

A party travelling through outback Australia describe the experience of renting a swag for the trip: Extract from: http://www.kia-sorento.org/swag.html “The swag, during those four days of driving along the Mereenie loop road, has been a staple of fun and tease among us. A swag is quite a comfortable bed that can be rolled and carried fairly easily. But the swag proved to have a couple of drawbacks, such as its renting price (150 Australian dollars apiece for 4 days), and its size, making it a bit bulky. However, facing the difficulty of accommodating everyone’s comfort needs, one swag was rented for one of us, while two would sleep in the tent, and the remaining two would sleep on a sleeping mat.

The swag being rolled up after a nights stop

The cold (and mosquitoes) of the first night forced the two mat-sleepers to seek refuge into the Kia, and the two tent-sleepers to hug each other even closer (the next day sleeping bags were bought for those four unfortunate), while the swag-sleeper enjoyed a cold-free and almost mosquito-free night, and awoke with morale at its highest.


Tourist Swag camping – Swag Safaris & The Ghost of the Jolly Swagman…

A tourist enjoying a true Australian experience, a swag camp

Many tour companies now offer a nights swag camp in the Australain desert as a way to experience ‘the real Australian outback’ offered alongside snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef and other popular Australian tourist experiences:

“Sleep in a bush swag near Ayers Rock, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and spot dolphins in the Wild West. Our friendly travel specialists will help you build a completely personal Australia trip with our unique bite-sized experiences, including ‘Coral Sea Meets Rainforest’, ‘Rock to Croc Safari’ and ‘Put Your Feet Up At Mission Beach’. Simply choose the mini-adventures that catch your eye and we’ll string them together using a mix of local and private transport.”

From: Australia Travel Plan

A Boutique luxury swag camp!

There’s even boutique hotel “swag” experiences available, such as this Blue Mountain Private Safaris Luxury Swag Camp although that comes at some cost, a world away from the original “swagman” experience! I imagine the ghost of the jolly Swagman of “Waltzing Matilda” roaming around humping his drum, and wearily wandering into one of these luxury swag hotel-camps! I reckon he’d set about making him self right at home, feasting on $200 bottles of wine and asking for more fresh towels – after a few days rest and gourmet tucker, our ghost would have to grab his old swag he left at the door, and head off into the bush again of course, perhaps with a bunch of miniature whisky bottles from the mini bar in his swag!


Ray Mears, Bushcraft & the Swag


Someone who has travelled and wild-camped all over the world is the UK bushcraft expert, writer and TV presenter Ray Mears. A proponent of swag camping and it’s benefits, Ray has featured swags in several of his programmes. Here’s Ray in a swag in the desert.

Ray Mears, the bushcraft swagman...

Beautiful desert swag camp scene


Modern Design Australian Swags

A modern Australian canvas 'dome' swag

Often made with PVC base, witha lot of features like mozzie nets, vecro, storm flaps and comfortable mattresses, these come in many designs and colours and shapes, most now being offered with a hooped ‘dome’ design, such as the Waratah from Burke & Wills. Here’s a video of me from LandRoverExplorer.co.uk of the Waratah swag being set up:


Swags used on Path Of The Paddle


The Razorback swag used on many canoeing and wild-camping trips featured on this website

Wild camping with a swag in the U.K.

Camp set up, fire going and the Swag ready to be unrolled for the night...

Camp set up, fire going and the Swag ready to be unrolled for the night…

Frost on the swag - sleeping bag and a wool mexican blanket in the swag let's you sleep out in sub-zero temperatures with no problem

Waiting for the Billy to Boil... Swag next to the camp fire

Talking some old lead.... around the camp fire...


Got a Swag Story?


Got your own Swag camp stories? Or know of any more historical background we could add here? Let us know using the form here. Thanks!

October on the River Wye

We just returned from a short but fantastic wild-camp and canoe trip on the River Wye – very cold at night, a few degress below zero in a sudden cold snap, but it was a magical experience – the river never disappoints…. full video coming soon, but here’s a snapshot.

8am on the river, paddling through the mist...

Luxury Swag! Australian style outdoors comfort…

[Update: new Wynnchester Canvas Australian Swags will soon be available to buy online – see latest post.

A "Canvas Hotel Bed"! Luxury Australian swag

Australia is the home of the canvas “swag” of course, and the best place to look out for the range of different styles and prices available down under is the Australian Ebay site. This one above from Ebay is the height of luxury in a swag: a one person canvas hotel room! It’s an an Onland Woodland CDK Canvas KING SIZE Dome Swag with FREE bag & Stubby Holder! An extensive set of features includes:

  • Fibreglass poles at head,centre and foot for easy entry and comfortable space
  • Heavy duty PVC waterproofed base
  • External window with roll up flap
  • Zippered mozzie net in top section for ventilation
  • Made from 14oz waterproofed cotton canvas
  • Stainless steel “D” rings
  • Heavy duty #10 coil zip
  • 2″ High density foam mattress with removable cotton cover

Now that’s luxury 😉 Here’s the Ebay link – worth a look at some of the other Australian swags for sale on there too.

Bushcraft Show 2011

Held at the YMCA National Centre Lakeside (the largest outdoor centre in Europe) in the Lake District next year’s Bushcraft Show should be worth a look, especially if you live over that way. Weekend tickets include camping and bushcraft activities, and are a bit of an ‘investment’, but the day tickets seem good value at £20/adult, you could always wild-camp somewhere nearby!

Some of the activities at the show will be:

Bush Tucker
Axe throwing
Woodcrafts
Leatherwork
Archery
Bushcraft on Horseback
4×4 Off roading
Forge a knife or axe
Open Canoeing on Lake Windermere
Falconry
Raft and Coracle Building
Fishing
Wild Food
Camping
Tracking
Specialist Instructors and Expert Speakers

and apparently “much much more”!

The event takes place June 3rd-5th 2011. See the website or email tickets@thebushcraftshow.co.uk.

Bushcraft Course: Island Bushcraft!

Local bushcraft and survival expert Nick Gough of Woodlanders Bushcraft is running an island “Castaways Survival” 2 day bushcraft weekend course in early October on Flatholm Island in the Severn Estuary, where the mighty Atlantic flows into the wide mouth of one of Britain’s great rivers. With the second highest tidal range in the world this enormous estuary has several small islands in it, including Flat Holm, Steep Holm, and Lundy Island (the UKs first Marine Nature Reserve and established wildlife area including a significant Puffin Colony). For a look at Flatholm Island try this ‘virtual tour’, looks really beautiful.

Foraging on the shore of Flatholm Island for sea food.

Nick will be leading a group, taken on a fast boat from Bristol out to Flatholm for a weekend of instruction and discovery. This will be the fourth and final such event of the year, before the weather gets a bit more ‘challenging’ during Winter.

Woodlanders run a range of excellent courses in the South West, as well as tuition to Schools and Scout groups. From their website:

“Our Bushcraft Courses are designed to allow you to be at one with your environment. Using ancient techniques we will show you the many key areas of general bushcraft, perfecting them as we go.

At the end of the course you will have a greater understanding of the natural world around you and be able to use your new skills and natural resources to survive in the wilderness.

Our courses range from one day basic bushcraft course, two day weekend course, castaway course, bow making course, shelter building course, firelighting course, parties and forest schools

N.B. There’s still places for the October course available at the time of writing, so get in touch via the Woodlanders website if you’re interested in experiencing a weekend of Island Survival! It promises to be a very special experience, and a rare opportunity in southern UK to get out onto a wild and remote island, camping and practicing island-based bushcraft skills.

Fungi Season

Mid way through September and the Fungi season is well under way. A walk in your local woodland should reveal some fantastic shapes and colours as the ‘mushrooms’ pop up all over the place. Here’s a fantastic ‘Fly Argaric’ the classic ‘toadstool’ – Thanks to Jorge for sending this photo in.

Beautiful (but deadly!) Fly Agaric