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
The Fox (folk song) The Fox (folk song) The Fox is a traditional folk song (Roud 131) from England. It is also the subject of at least two picture books, "The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night: an old song", illustrated by Peter Spier and "Fox Went out on a Chilly Night", by Wendy Watson. The earliest version of the song was a Middle English poem, dating from the 15th century, found in the British Museum. Typical lyrics are as follows: In Joseph Ritson's "Gammer Gurton's Garland" (1810), the song is recorded (under the name "Dame Widdle Waddle") thus: The cover of the