not 'accidentally' but 'coincidentally'. 'billabong' is countable. I don't know where you read/heard that the swagman jumped into the water with the 'sound of the billabong'.

I've never heard of it called the 'unofficial national anthem'. To me, calling it that wouldn't be a compliment, as I hate our national anthem (I'm not very patriotic either). I guess it seems kind of sadistic to sing it joyfully but Australia does have a bloody history. We generally don't believe in ghosts, nor do we have swagmen any more.

It's a song that I remember singing in assembly in primary school, and it's the kind of thing that marching bands play, but other than that, we don't hear it much. You're not going to hear it on Australian radio and you're not going to play it at home unless you do it somewhat ironically. I remember in primary school some kids used to say "Waltzing matilda, we're gonna kill ya, lying on the grass with a dagger in your arse" hahaha

You do have a point. It is unsympathetic to those less fortunate, and it requires that you agree with either the feudalist or capitalist systems. Australia is a predominantly Christian country, so if you start questioning how Christ-like our traditions and customs are then you're going to piss some people off haha

Hahaha Harry. Thanks for your detailed explanation.

ah that's not clear enough. It makes it seem like it's happening at the same time. Whereas the sound comes after he throws himself in.

http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=billabong&searchmode=none

I don't think the average English speaker would automatically think of 'billabong' as onomatopeic, but I can see where you're coming from.

Harry, the sound of 'billabong', not the sound of the billabong. I actually meant that when someone falls into a deep water, you typically hear some sound similar to the pronunciation of 'billabong'. I guess that's the reason why people call a river a 'billabong'. Do you know that in Shanghainese, we say, ‘Oh look! That poor guy falling into a river, billibanglang.’？

Waltzing Matilda is a traditional Australian folk song, known as the Australian unofficial national anthem. This song tells a story of a swagman with a matilda. As he camped by a billabong, preparing for his meal, he accidentally saw a jumbuck. It looked so cute and delicious. So he at once grabbed it and pushed it to his tucker bag. But the owner of the animal soon found him eating it. In desperation, with a sound of ‘billabong’, the swagman threw himself into the water. From then on, his song could always be heard there.

I don’t know why Australians like this song so much that they consider it the unofficial national anthem. Maybe, it’s because of the funny slang and the relaxing and rhythmic tune. Nevertheless, to me this is a tragedy of a poor tramp who was forced to commit suicide because of an unconscious and rather minor mistake. Worse still, the ghost was restless for his suffering and therefore has since then haunted the place.

What really confuses me is that it sounds to me so unsympathetic to sing so happily for such a misery.

What do you think of it? Did I misunderstand anything? Thank you.