Down came a Jumbuck.

Once a jolly swagman (Swagman - a roving person who carries his bedroll (swag) with him where he roams)
Camped by a Billabong (Billabong - oxbow lake, cut off from river)
Under the shade of a Coolabah Tree (Coolabah tree - A species of Eucalyptus, gum trees.)
And he sang as he watched
and waited till his billy boiled (Billy - can with holes for a wire handle punched into the sides for boiling tea water)
"Who'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me?" (Waltzing Matilda - humping the swag on the long track.)

Down came a jumbuck (Jumbuck - a sheep, half wild and generally unshorn)
To drink at the waterhole,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag - (food sack - tucker = food) (shoved - shuved - pushed)
"Oh, you'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me."

Down came the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred, (squatter - wealthy land owner, generally sheep stations)
Down came the troopers, one, two and three (troopers - state police)
"Whose is that jumbuck you have in your tucker bag?
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me!"

Up jumped the swag man and leapt into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive" cried he,
and his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me..."

I was whistling the tune to Waltzing Matilda today as I took these photos of some sheep among the scrub and gums lining the river bank above the pool they had just been drinking at. It was pretty warm, low 30s, mid maybe, and they were heading for the shade of the gum trees.

It occurred to me that many people not of this nation would not know the song, only know of it, and if they did hear it, it would be nothing less than gooblygook to them with a number of pretty much uniquely Australian words and phrases. Written by Andrew Patterson (Banjo).

I hope this helps you to decipher the story behind an itinerant wanderer, who stole a sheep, got caught by the owner of the sheep, resisted arrest, commited suicide, and became Australia's National Hero of Greatest Importance through is actions. Yep. We come from Convict stock all right. Just look at some of our other "heroes" - Ben Hall, Ned Kelly and Breaker Morant among others.

England's biggest problem is they sent all the real men out here and kept all the Gentle men at home. ;) Just kidding, if you did not know the Aussies love to take the piss (give a hard time) to our whinging Pommie (they got the name Pommie from how red they turn on a mild winter day from our sun, red as a pomegranate. Summer kills them.) forefathers. Just like any good family, we don't really mean it and God help anybody else who picks on them. Same with our little sibling the Kiwis.