And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the song by the account of a young Australian soldier who is maimed at the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War.

The song incorporates, at its conclusion, the melody and a few lines of lyrics of the 1895 song "Waltzing Matilda" by Australian poet Banjo Paterson. Many cover versions of the song have been performed and recorded.

The song has been praised for its imagery, evoking the devastation at the Gallipoli Landings. The protagonist, who had travelled across rural Australia before the war, is emotionally devastated by the loss of his legs in battle. As the years pass he notes the death of other veterans, while the younger generation becomes apathetic to the veterans and their cause.

The song is an account of the memories of an old Australian man who, as a youngster had travelled across rural Australia with a swag (the so-called "Matilda" of the title) and tent. In 1915 he had been recruited into the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and sent to Gallipoli. For "ten weary weeks," he kept himself alive as "around [him] the corpses piled higher". He recalls "that terrible day" ... "in the hell that they called Suvla Bay [they] were butchered like lambs at the slaughter" ... "in that mad world of blood, death and fire". He is ultimately hit by a shell and awakens in hospital to learn that he has lost both his legs.

When the ship carrying the young soldiers departs from Australia the band plays Waltzing Matilda while crowds wave flags and cheer. However, when the crippled narrator returns and "the legless, the armless, the blind, the insane" are carried down the gangway to the same popular music, the crowd watches in silence and turn their faces away.

The song contains elements that are inaccurate. The line that states "they gave me a tin hat" is anachronistic, as the British and Imperial armies were not issued steel helmets until 1916, the year after Gallipoli. The ANZAC landings were virtually unopposed. Furthermore, the sole Australian unit at Suvla, the Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train, landed early in the first day, but was left without orders until late in the afternoon, when they were set to building piers to receive the men and supplies of the later stages of the landing.

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Wikipedia