Waltzing Matilda nearby billabong (watering hole), after which his ghost haunts the site. The original lyrics were written in 1895 by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, and were first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that it has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, in the Queensland outback, where Paterson wrote the lyrics. In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance. The song was first recorded
Waltzing Matilda mounted on his thoroughbred. Down came the troopers, one, two, and three. "Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me." "(Chorus)" Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong. "You'll never catch me alive!" said he And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong: "You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me." "(Chorus)"</poem> The lyrics contain many distinctively Australian English words, some now rarely used outside the song. These include: The lyrics of "Waltzing Matilda" have been changed since it was written. In a facsimile of the first part