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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Banjo' Paterson's 'Waltzing Matilda' is the one song that has been bringing people together spontaneously since 1895, and the one song that belongs to all Australians. Generations of experts have argued about the original story that Paterson immortalised, about the origins of the tune, and about what Paterson meant by his almost parodic over-use of Australian colloquialisms. Once a Jolly Swagman takes readers off the score sheet into the story of the song, and tells of its evolution up until the twenty-first century. It tries to answer the riddles within the song, and unpick its inherent contradictions: where's the heroism in a suicidal thief? What was jolly about the jumbuck? Is 'Waltzing Matilda' the key to Australian values? What does it mean that a beloved song about Australia's pioneering past is written by a city lawyer?' (Publisher's blurb)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Reviews in Australian Studies , vol. 1 no. 10 2006;
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 November vol. 124 no. 6546 2006; (p. 78)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda with Our History?
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 November 2006; (p. 18)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Exploring a Legend
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 14 - 15 October 2006; (p. 25)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Dancing with the Past
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 7 October 2006; (p. 16)
-
Exploring a Legend
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 14 - 15 October 2006; (p. 25)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda with Our History?
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 November 2006; (p. 18)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 November vol. 124 no. 6546 2006; (p. 78)
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Reviews in Australian Studies , vol. 1 no. 10 2006;
— Review of Once a Jolly Swagman : : The Ballad of Waltzing Matilda 2006 single work criticism -
Dancing with the Past
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 7 October 2006; (p. 16)
Last amended 31 Jul 2007 10:25:57