Australian country music link Australia's vast distances. Isolation and loneliness of life in the Australian bush has been another theme. For much of its history, Australia's bush music belonged to an oral and folkloric tradition, and was only later published in print in volumes such as Banjo Paterson's "Old Bush Songs", in the 1890s. Waltzing Matilda, often regarded as Australia's unofficial National anthem, is a quintessential early Australian country song, influenced more by Celtic folk ballads than by American Country and Western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. This strain of Australian country music, with lyrics focusing
Australian English a greeting. "Dinkum", or "fair dinkum" means "true" or "is that true?", among other things, depending on context and inflection. The derivative "dinky-di" means "true" or devoted: a "dinky-di Aussie" is a "true Australian". Australian poetry, such as "The Man from Snowy River", as well as folk songs such as "Waltzing Matilda", contain many historical Australian words and phrases that are understood by Australians even though some are not in common usage today. Australian English, in common with several British English dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse, Glaswegian and Geordie), uses the word "mate". Many words used by Australians were at