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 of the original manuscript, included in "Singer of the Bush", a collection of Paterson's works published by Lansdowne Press in 1983, the first two verses appear as follows: <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 at the old billy boiling, Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me? "Chorus:" Who'll come a waltzin' Matilda my darling, Who'll come a waltzin' Matilda with me? Waltzing Matilda and leading a water bag, Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me? Down came a jumbuck to drink