Editing Waltzing Matilda (section)

===Glossary===
[[File:Elderly swagman.jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of a [[swagman]], c. 1901, holding a billy and carrying a swag on his back]]
[[File:Gordon Coutts Landscape with Swagman.jpg|thumb|Painting of a swagman camped by a billabong, Gordon Coutts, 1889, [[Art Gallery of New South Wales]]]]
The lyrics contain many distinctively [[Australian English]] words, some now rarely used outside the song. These include:

; Waltzing : derived from the German term ''[[Journeyman years#Germany|auf der Walz]]'', which means to travel while working as a [[artisan|craftsman]] and learn new techniques from other masters.<ref>{{cite book|author=Harry Hastings Pearce|title=On the Origins of Waltzing Matilda (expression, lyric, melody)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rThLAAAAYAAJ|year=1971|publisher=Hawthorn Press|page=13|isbn=9780725600303}}</ref>
; Matilda: a romantic term for a swagman's bundle. See below, "Waltzing Matilda".
; Waltzing Matilda: from the above terms, "to waltz Matilda" is to travel with a swag, that is, with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a blanket or cloth. The exact origins of the term "Matilda" are disputed; one fanciful derivation states that when swagmen met each other at their gatherings, there were rarely women to dance with. Nonetheless, they enjoyed a dance and so danced with their swags, which was given a woman's name. However, this appears to be influenced by the word "waltz", hence the introduction of dancing. It seems more likely that, as a swagman's only companion, the swag came to be personified as a female.

:The [[National Library of Australia]] states:
::Matilda is an old Teutonic female name meaning "mighty battle maid". This may have informed the use of "Matilda" as a slang term to mean a ''de facto'' wife who accompanied a wanderer. In the Australian bush a man's swag was regarded as a sleeping partner, hence his "Matilda". (Letter to Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Churchill, KG from Harry Hastings Pearce, 19 February 1958. Harry Pearce Papers, NLA Manuscript Collection, MS2765){{Failed verification|date=August 2023}}<ref name=NLA>{{Citation|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/epubs/waltzingmatilda/index.php?p=glossary|via=National Library of Australia|title=Glossary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614211545/http://www.nla.gov.au/epubs/waltzingmatilda/index.php?p=glossary|archive-date=14 June 2011}}</ref>

:In Germany the terms "Waltzing Matilda" have a very specific meaning:
::It refers to the tradition where craftsmen, after having completed their apprenticeship, spend 3 years away from their hometown, travelling on minimal budget, working in many places in order to acquire experience and master their craft. See [[Journeyman years|Journeyman Years]] for a detailed description. In this context, (''Walz'') or (''auf der Walz'') refers to this activity. And (''Mathilda'') is the patron saint of the road, looking after the men (and women), helping them but sometimes dealing harsh lessons.
::Hence (''Waltzing Matilda'') would refer to the activity of a journey man traveling the road, only carrying a simple swag.
{{blockquote
|text={{lang|de| "Weiter zogen wir durch die Schweiz, um uns in der Genfer Gegend neue Arbeit zu suchen. Aber Mathilda, unsere Straßengöttin, meinte es dieses Mal nicht gut mit uns. Wenn es regnete, wenn es kalt war, wenn man keinen Lift fand, kein Bett und auch keine Arbeit, dann hieß es bei uns: Kann man nichts machen, das will die Mathilda jetzt so." }}
We kept travelling through Switzerland, to look for work around Geneva. But Mathilda, our patron saint of the road, was not kind to us this time. When it rains, it is icy cold, or when we couldn't find a ride, a bed for the night or even no work, then we used to say: 'no can do, this is what Mathilda wants it to be'
|multiline=yes
|source=''Franz im Glück, Meine Wanderjahre auf der Walz (2015)''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdRYBQAAQBAJ&dq=auf+der+waltz+%22mathilda%22&pg=PT166|title=Franz im Glück: Meine Wanderjahre auf der Walz|isbn=9783732506064|last1=Zschornack|first1=Franz|date=16 April 2015|publisher=Bastei Lübbe}}</ref>
}}

{{Blockquote
|text={{ lang|de| "Aktuell ist also Mathilda meine beste Freundin – so nennen wir die Straße. Mathilda ist unsere Schutzpatronin, sie hilft uns, wenn wir etwas brauchen. Wenn ich mir ein warmes Bett wünsche oder an ein weit entferntes Ziel mitgenommen werden möchte, hat Mathilda bisher immer dafür gesorgt, dass es klappt."}}
Currently Mathilda is my best friend – this is what we call the road. Mathilda is our patron saint. She helps us when we are in need. If I really long for a warm bed or look for a ride for a distant destination, I always found that Mathilda helped to make it work.
|multiline=yes
|title="Jeder Tag ist ein neues Abenteuer"
|source=''Spiegel.de "Mein erstes Jahr im Job" (2021)''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/start/auf-die-walz-gehen-eine-tischlerin-berichtet-von-ihrer-wanderschaft-a-b9ab5369-5fd8-4190-b36a-cad1ef3318c7|title=Als junge Frau auf der Walz: »Jeder Tag ist ein neues Abenteuer«|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=24 March 2022|last1=Maas|first1=Sebastian}}</ref>
}}

; [[swagman]]: a man who travelled the country looking for work. The swagman's "[[Swag (bedroll)|swag]]" was a bed roll that bundled his belongings.
; [[billabong]]: an [[oxbow lake]] (a cut-off river bend) found alongside a meandering river
; [[Eucalyptus coolabah|coolibah tree]]: a kind of [[eucalyptus]] tree which grows near billabongs
; [[jumbuck]]: a sheep<ref name=NLA />
; [[billycan|billy]]: a can for boiling water, usually 1–1.5 litres (2–3 pints)
; [[tucker bag]]: a bag for carrying food
; [[Trooper (police rank)|troopers]]: mounted policemen
; [[Squatting (Australian history)|squatter]]: Australian squatters started as early farmers who raised livestock on land which they did not have the legal title to use; in many cases they later gained legal use of the land even though they did not have full possession, and became wealthy thanks to these large land holdings. The squatter's claim to the land may be as unfounded as is the swagman's claim to the jumbuck.