Actually one of my favorite songs of Josh White is his cover of the traditional Australian anthem Waltzing Matilda. I couldn’t find it online(it’s a rare song I pulled of Napster ages ago) but in it’s place I’ll give you a few different versions of this song.
Waltzing Matilda by Slim Dusty – this version is the traditional one that the the old Australians know and is also the version Josh White covers.
And the Band Played Waltzing Mathilda by the Pogues – Eric Bogle wrote this war narative version of the song in the early 70s and it was made famous by the Pogues.
Tom Traubert’s Blues (Waltzing Mathilda) by Tom Waits – Here is Tom Wait’s version. It has less in common with the other two but he does seem to borrow a little bit from the Bogle version.
The Tom Waits version is one of my favorites. You may be asking yourself, “Mason – is it one of your favorite Tom Waits songs, one of your favorite Waltzing Matilda renditions, or is it just one of your favorite songs overall?” I would tell you but I’d rather you stew in the thin taupe broth of your own indecision.