Introduction

One day I sat thinking that some "folk songs" may have their origins elsewhere, and thought that "Waltzing Matilda" could have originated in Northern England, eg Yorks/Lancs. So, to prove it, it wrote the following:-

Cloggin' Matilda

Once a rag 'n' bone man camped by the Ship Canal
Under the shade of an old oak tree
and he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Tha'll come a-clogging* Matilda wi' me.

Chorus:- Cloggin' Matilda, cloggin' Matilda,
Tha'll come a-clogging Matilda wi' me,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Tha'll come a-clogging Matilda wi' me.

Then down came a thirsty sheep to drink from the Ship Canal
Up jumped the rag man an' grabbed it wi' glee.
And he sang as he stuffed that sheep into his Asda bag
Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me.

Chorus:- Cloggin' Matida, cloggin' Matilda,
Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me,
And he sang as shoved that sheep into his Asda bag
Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me!

Up came the local cops, up to the canal bank,
Up came the coppers, one, two, three,
Saying wher's that thirsty sheep that you've got in that Asda bag,
You'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me.

Chorus:- Cloggin' Matilda, Cloggin' Matilda,
Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me,
And they sang as they searched for that sheep in his Asda bag,
Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me.

Up jumped the rag man and jumped into the Ship Canal,
"Tha'll niver tek me alive!" said he - but they did
And he got transported to Australia, singing
"Tha'll come a clogging Matilda wi' me"

Chorus:- Cloggin' Matilda, cloggin' Matilda
(Slowly) Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me,
And he sang as sailed off, sailed off to Australia,
"Tha'll come a cloggin' Matilda wi' me"

Now there's a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibar tree,
And he sings as he slings another prawn on the barbeque
"You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me!"

Chorus:- Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sings as he slings another prawn on the barbeque,
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me

Footnote on *Cloggin' ...i.e. Clog Dancing! Dances performed in the old
work footwear with wooden soles and leather uppers, esp. in the Industrial
areas. Not now worn as a work shoe but occasionally surfaces as a 'new'
fashion! Some Morris 'sides' wear them when performing, usually styles from
the North West of England.

My good lady (Briony) and I belong to an Appalachian dance group, "Hi Jinx".
We do have a web site. Our style is from the Appalachian mountain areas of
the southern US of A, and is developed from the traditional social and step
dances taken to The Colonies by the original settlers from the British Isles
and Europe. In the isolated communities these dances intermingled, and
influenced by steps of African slaves and local Indians, evolved in to the
style we do.

Best described as half way between Irish dancing and tap, and is performed
to old time music played on guitar, fiddle, banjo and bass, the sound of the
dancers' steps being the rhythmic accompaniment to the music.

Altho' we call it 'clogging' we wear ordinary shoes with taps on. We have
danced in Germany, France and various parts of the UK. Hope this little bit
helps. There is also a mountain of junk, er, information on the web about
Morris dancing, we come under the jurisdiction of the Morris Federation, and
there is a link to our website.

Regards, Peter.

Copyright; Pete(r) Booker
Email: PeterPAB747@aol.com