Paraphrasing Banjo Paterson's ballad 'Waltzing Matillda'

The word 'paraphrasing' means writing or saying something in a different way, with words that make the meaning clearer or easier to understand.

Words from Waltzing Matilda                     meaning

jolly                                          happy

swagman                                 traveler / man who travels around the countryside

                                                with a backpack on his back.

billabong                                 waterhole

coolibah tree                          a type of Australian eucalyptus 

                                              tree

billy                                        small cooking pot l

                                              meta tin with a handle used for 

                                              boiling water and heating food.

waltzing                                 walking around the country side

                                              (looking for work or farms etc)

matilda                                a backpack

                                           (containing all personal possessions)

a jumbuck                       a sheep

tuckerbag                       food bag or sack for carrying food

the squatter                    the farmer who owned the  sheep

thoroughbred                  expensive horse

troopers                          policemen

ghost                               spirit of a dead person