Mark Holden has recorded a reworked version of Tom Waits’ Tom Traubert’s Blues as a tribute to 10-year-old Matilda Bee Britvan, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. The song appears on Holden’s new album Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine.
by Paul Cashmere
Mark Holden has recorded a new version of Tom Waits’ Tom Traubert’s Blues with subtle lyric changes inspired by the December 2025 Bondi Beach terrorist attack and the death of 10-year-old Matilda Bee Britvan. Mark discussed the recording with Noise11, explaining that he first sought the permission of Matilda’s family before releasing his interpretation, but has not yet approached Waits about the changes to his song.
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The recording forms part of Holden’s new album Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine, a collection that draws together newly recorded material with songs and recordings from different periods of his career.
Matilda was the youngest of the 15 people killed during the attack at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, while attending a Hanukkah celebration. Her middle name, Bee, has since become part of the public tributes made in her memory.
For Mark Holden, the connection with Tom Traubert’s Blues came from the emotional weight of Waits’ writing. The Melbourne songwriter and former pop performer told Noise11 that he listens to Waits extensively and that the song’s imagery led him to reinterpret it through the experience of Bondi Beach.
“I listen to Tom Waits a lot and I love Tom Waits,” Holden said. “Tom Traubert’s Blues just took me to that place. The lyric took me to Bondi Beach and I started singing it as if I was there.”
At the time, Holden has not presented the new version to Waits.
“I was afraid to make it known to Tom for fear that he would say no,” Holden said. “If he says no, we’ll deal with that then.”
He stressed that he is not claiming authorship of Waits’ composition and described his recording as a performer’s interpretation.
“I’m not claiming any authorship on it,” he said.
The changes to the lyrics are described by Holden as subtle rather than a wholesale rewriting of the song. He has also left open the possibility that the recording could be withdrawn if Waits objects.
“If he ever hears it and doesn’t like it, and we have to pull it down, we’ll pull it down,” Holden said.
Before releasing the recording, Holden approached Matilda’s family. He said he wanted to ensure the reinterpretation was undertaken with sensitivity and that it would not cause additional distress to those affected by the tragedy.
“I went to the Britvan family first and asked their permission,” Holden said. “On an emotional and cultural level, I felt the need to know that I was working in a space that was going to be welcomed and not cause further pain.”
Matilda was remembered by her family as a happy child who loved school, animals and spending time with her younger sister. Her parents later described her as a regular Australian girl whose life was brutally cut short.
The use of Tom Traubert’s Blues places Holden’s recording within the long tradition of musicians adapting established songs to respond to events and personal circumstances. In this case, the changes are intended to connect Waits’ original work with a specifically Australian tragedy while retaining the identity of the composition.
Holden’s relationship with Waits’ catalogue extends beyond this recording. During the Noise11 interview, he also mentioned Martha as another Waits song he enjoys singing and recalled seeing Waits perform in Hollywood during the 1980s.
He remembered the production as particularly striking, describing a stage built around a street lamp and a single beam of light. For Holden, the performance became part of his enduring appreciation of Waits as a songwriter and performer.
The Bondi connection gives the new recording a different significance. Public memorials for Matilda have incorporated bees, reflecting her middle name, while Waltzing Matilda was performed at a Bondi vigil in her memory.
For Holden, Tom Traubert’s Blues became another way of processing the tragedy through music. He did not set out to create a new song from Waits’ composition. Instead, he found himself responding to the existing words and reshaping them slightly to reflect the place and circumstances that the song evoked for him.
The recording sits among a broader collection of personal material on Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine. Holden has described the album as the result of an extended period of renewed songwriting and recording, bringing together work from different stages of his life.
At 72, Holden has said that his principal interest remains songwriting and studio work rather than touring. He plans one Melbourne performance with a big band to celebrate the album, after which he intends to move on to his next creative project.
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