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Waltzing Matilda uses many uniquely Australian words referred to as Strine. They are explained below.

Jolly – means happy.
Swagman – a hobo, an itinerant worker, who travelled from place to place in search of work. A swagman was usually extremely poor and carried all his belongings wrapped up in a blanket slung over his shoulder called a swag.
Billabong – a waterhole or pond. It is an aboriginal word meaning little or no water.
Coolibah Tree – a eucalyptus tree which usually grows near water. Derived from the aboriginal word gulabaa.
Billy – a tin can with a wire handle used to boil water.
Jumbuck – a sheep. It is most likely derived from the two words jumping buck.
Waltzing Matilda – see detailed explaination below.
Tucker Bag – a bag for storing food (tucker). It was usually an old sugar or flour sack.
Squatter – a wealthy landowner, a rancher.
Thoroughbred – An expensive pedigreed horse. The Mercedes Benz equivalent of its day.
Trooper – a policeman, a mounted militia-man.

Words to the Waltzing Matilda Song
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?

Along came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
Whose is that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled, Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?

Up jumped the swagman, leapt into the billabong,
You'll never catch me alive, said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?

Waltzing is from the German term 'auf der walz' which meant to travel while learning a trade. Young German apprentices in those days travelled from place to place working under a master craftsman earning a living as they went and sleeping wherever they could. The German word 'walz' became 'waltz' in Australia. The waltz was a fashionable dance at the time and Australians were familiar with it.
Matilda has German origins too and means Mighty Battle Maiden. It is believed to have been given to females who accompanied soldiers during the Thirty Year Wars in Europe. This came to mean "to be kept warm at night" and later to mean the great army coats or blankets that soldiers wrapped themselves with. These were rolled into a swag and carried behind their shoulders while marching.
So 'Waltzing the Matilda' came to mean to travel from place to place in search of work with all your belongings on your back, wrapped in a blanket. When the song was written the word "the" was dropped from the title becoming Waltzing Matilda.
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