There are songs that leap national boundaries and speak to the human condition. One such song is "Lili Marlene"which began as a hit song in Rommel's Africa Corps in 1942, but soon became a favorite song in the Allied armies because it spoke of the undying love of a soldier for his woman; a soldier who is being shipped off overseas and almost certain to be killed. "Lili Marlene" implies that though individuals will die love is eternal, and that somewhere in the universe Lili Marlene will wait patiently for her soldier to return.
Another such song is Australia's unofficial national anthem,"Waltzing Matilda" that features as a hero a very independent wanderer who asks nothing from the world except to left alone. This happy wanderer is the metaphor of an idealist who is disappointed that the human condition goes not measure up to his high standards. He sets up camp near a deep stream and prepares his meal of tea and a stolen sheep. The wanderer has broken the letter of the law in regards to the sheep, but likely thinks that the rich landowner won't miss one sheep. The landowner does miss the sheep and shows up on a fine horse with three policemen to arrest the wanderer who, rather than submit to injustice, kills himself by jumping into the deep stream, and the place of his death is forever cursed.
"Waltzing Matilda" is a great song on many levels. The most obvious being a Christian message on the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. Clearly the landowner has the letter of the law in his favor and recourse to the authorities who back him up; however, he does not stop to ask himself, "What would Jesus do?" In the spirit of the law, Christ would have had no problem with giving a poor old man a decent meal. What is one sheep when you have thousands? But instead the greedy landowner calls the law and the tragedy is set in motion.
This Christian message is the framework in which the heart of the message of individual liberty is contained. The wanderer is a radical idealist; an individual who was so extreme in his beliefs that he has been cast out of the community and disowned by his family. The great mass of humankind learns to compromise their beliefs in order to "get along" with the majority and live in peace. The community say they honor and love the idealist, but all too often, as was the case with Christ, they allow them to be nailed to the cross, or more commonly, simply pushed out of the community and forgotten. In fact the majority of the human race hates idealists and feel threatened by them because the idealist stands for change.
The last lines of "Waltzing Matilda" are indeed an ode to liberty and the triumph for the idealist -- rather than submit to injustice the wanderer leaps into the deep water and dies. How many times and in how many nations has this scene been done? The idealists know that if everyone submits to injustice then tyranny triumphs. No doubt many will view the wanderer's action as extreme, after all what would be his penalty for stealing a sheep? A small fine? A few days in jail? But to the wanderer-idealist it’s the principle of the matter: To surrender to the law over an injustice threatens the rights of humankind, so his response is to die rather than bend a knee to tyranny.
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
....................
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
.....................
Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Down came the troopers One Two Three
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
......................
Up jumped the swagman sprang in to the billabong
You'll never catch me alive said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
.......................
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