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 at the water hole, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee, And he sang as he put him away in the tucker bag, You'll come a waltzin' Matilda with me. "Chorus": You'll come a waltzing Matilda my darling, You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda and leading a water bag, You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.</poem> Some corrections in the manuscript are evident; the verses originally read (differences in italics): <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he looked