22 April - Day 70

I'm surprised by the number of differences between the US and Australia when it comes to nursery rhymes, children's songs and folklore. My Stepmother ("T") is familiar with Waltzing Matilda but I don't know that many Americans would be. Maybe it's just that I wasn't? 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 title is Australian slang for travelling by foot with your goods in a "Matilda" (bag) slung over your back - a bit like a hobo. The song narrates the story of a swagman making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker for the theft (a crime punishable by hanging), the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole and goes on to haunt the site. The original lyrics to Waltzing Matilda were written in 1887. The song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland. The pictures are of a swagman and the original manuscript of Waltzing Matilda. "M" and I bought "T" a Waltzing Matilda book last year to start her Australian book collection.