The lyrics for the song were written by Australian Poet Banjo Paterson in 1895 but later sold the rights. The first recorded version of the song 'Waltzing Matilda was recorded by John Collinson in 1926. The lyrics are based on a true story about a complicated love triangle and a murder. The lyrics are open to interpretation and can be interpreted in many ways. The Hill Billies covered the track in 1937, Peter Dawson in 1938, Josh White in 1944, Josef Marais and Miranda in 1947, Wilfrid Thomas in 1952, Trapp Family Singers in 1955 and has been covered hundreds more times.
The song has a folk-country style to it; however, its category is in Children's music. Every version of the song fits into a different category, with Josh White's version being more of a Jazz / Blues track. The first time I played this song was on a mobile music app called Yousician, and after learning how to play the song on the piano, I had to convert the notes to play it on the kalimba. Below, you will find the notes so that you can play this song on the kalimba.
Number Notes
3° 3° 3° 3° 3° 3° 6° 7° 3° 6° 6 7 6° 5 6° 3°
Letter Notes
E° E° E° E° E° E° A° B° E° A° A B A° G A° E°
This is a short preview of the song. The full Waltzing Matilda kalimba tab—cleanly formatted and printable—is included in our 17-Note Kalimba Songbook below.
Get the Complete Waltzing Matilda Kalimba Tab with Our 17-Note Kalimba Songbook
Learn to play Waltzing Matilda on the kalimba with an easy-to-read, beginner-friendly tablature PDF—available inside our 17-Note Kalimba Songbook.
