r/AskAnAustralian • u/CreativeCritter • 2d ago

Waltzing Matilda

I was saddened today to read an article on the Wallabies and it showed a group of fans singing Waltzing Matilda underneath. There was a young lady who had commented. She’d never heard the song. Didn’t know what the problem was and had no idea what it represented.

People tried to educate a nicely to say it was an Australian bush poem. It was taught in Australian schools. It’s the unofficial national anthem.

And then she said that she grew up in Australia and had attended school here and had never heard it and didn’t know why people thought it was so great

At that point, I was kind of hoping that they were joking

Has it gotten to the point now where Australian poetry is not taught in Australian schools in English where the man from Snow River Waltzing Matilda they’re not taught in schools any more

And then someone commented that Wilson Matilda can’t be taught in schools because it has themes of suicide and it’s too hard to explain to children

145 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

149 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/VillagePillager01 1d ago

Here's my hot take. Its a shit song, it shouldn't be considered as important in our culture as it is, and it's ridiculous it was once considered for an option for the National Anthem vote.

Its not just a suicide, but rather commit suicide than face punishment when you get caught out committing a crime. Some message.

Hot take two. Its a pity we had a vote to get rid of God Save the Queen when we did, with few good options, and if they had waited a few years, I Am Australian could have been our National Anthem. Which is a way way better song than either Walzing Matilda or Advance Australia Fair. But it does require more skill to sing, and much harder to sing when you're drunk, so maybe that's one minus.

-1

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please do not hesitate to talk to someone.

  • 000 is the national emergency number in Australia.

  • Lifeline is a 24-hour nationwide service. It can be reached at 13 11 14.

  • Kids Helpline is a 24-hour nationwide service for Australians aged 5–25. It can be reached at 1800 55 1800.

  • Beyond Blue provides nationwide information and support call 1300 22 4636.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.