James Barr (composer) James Barr (composer) James Barr (1779–1860) was a Scottish composer who composed the tune which inspired the tune now used for the Australian traditional song "Waltzing Matilda." Born in Tarbolton in South Ayrshire, Barr taught music and worked for a publisher in Glasgow. Barr set several poems by his friend Robert Tannahill to music. According to Christina Macpherson, "Waltzing Matilda" was created in the sitting room of Dagworth Station in January 1895 with the help of a young solicitor and poet, "Banjo" Paterson. Tannahill wrote the words in 1805 and in 1818 Barr set them to music, possibly based on
Banjo Paterson and had engaged in a scandalous romantic liaison with Macpherson. Paterson died of a heart attack in Sydney on 5 February 1941 aged 76. Paterson's grave, along with that of his wife, is in the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Sydney. The publication of The Man from Snowy River and five other ballads in "The Bulletin" made 'The Banjo' a household name. In 1895, Angus & Robertson published these poems as a collection of Australian verse. The book sold 5000 copies in the first four months of publication. In 1895, Paterson headed north to Dagworth station near Winton, Queensland.