Melbourne

The highs and lows I have come to know

Summers chorus, winters blow

all in one day, a change is always in tow

all tolled out in our ebbs and flows

I wish sometimes that Melbourne would let me grow

Bask in the sun, turn from the shade

To break out from the haze of the staid

Your wonders no longer seem to make the grade

When memories of gigs at the corner all fade

of footy fans leaving down wellington parade

of the tattooed underbelly grunge of Fitzroy

of mums in sydney road Spotlight as a boy

kids parties in Collingwood with red saveloys

of Myer on Bourke Street, and choosing just one toy

something a little bigger was always the ploy

balancing the pocket money to get that prize

that would bring envy to a best friends eyes

that far off in the distance, those wanting cries

have you come to the end, time to cut ties

China town dumplings now fill my mind

Back streets and alley ways, trying to find

a bar you think you went to one time

I was tipsy but in control, maybe thats too kind

'its just round this corner', you say, hoping you're right

or when you laughed at Arj Barker into the night

and Paul Kelly sang about the old Nylex sign

I remember, I remember, that was the line

I will, I will, my mind starts to reply

That night I drove from Coffs just to be here

Warm and in Melbourne, even if it was mid year

All of those north beaches for that one grand old pier

Jamming with mates, then to the pub that was near

Nights at the Espy sipping on beer

No smoking now but just as queer

Driving out East to catch up with friends

almost too far but means worth the ends

gigs at the arthouse were a godsend

home before witching, meant sure to attend

followed round australia as well to record

still a little project time could not afford

one day the guys will watch and applaud

cinemas in moonlight the memory returns

gardens and sunlight and the legs that would burn

fruit bats or seagulls, left for others to discern

if your company is squeamish, I'm sure you will learn

The arts centre spire, geometric and grand

one time it burnt and it was my sister at hand

it seems fireworks cannot be meticulously planned

Rialto and Eureka reaches out into the sky

Monuments to wanting to be like the bigger guy

'We're a city where businessmen fly'

We have the big wheel, hmm not quite London Eye

Now here are the parts of Melbourne to which I am split

the times our ideas and ideals really don't fit

where the money tried to buy those complex knits

of culture, of atmosphere, of Melbourne's best bits

the places they built to try and control

they built a Docklands, stadium with a city life goal

Such a tribute to 'modern' but where is the soul

Chadstone and Highpoint massive Cathedrals to behold

but worshipping retail is not something to extol

but being East and in the burbs is the place to be

garden state gone and on the move are we

sometimes forgetting what we came from was free
we built a big square of bricks and no shade
in summer the will of the strong begins to fade
while the unique mix of swanston buskers entertain
Then for every Melbourne central there is always a royal arcade
Then there's that hirsute man in a gown
the casino on the water that is named as the crown
like most thing royal they just keep people down
you go in, its night, and its night, and its night all year round

Now back to the good because that's what mostly I see
Poly woodside sitting majestic and free

then the sport, oh the sport, and that glorious MCG

build it and they will come was Batman's decree
I'm sure I read what he said in the books of history

from footy to soccer and even ice hockey

we turn up and support 'all of the teams'

and then there's the gigs and festival scene

Fleminton or show grounds' the summer place to be

Bands and horses all get their turn

Bust just try get a taxi that the high heeled ladies yearn

now back home into Kensington the place where I grew

the westies, then the families, then the gentrified youth

there is a calm and a familiar space that stays true

But it hasn't been the same since the time that I flew.