After living in the Pacific and England for several years, in 2008 I returned to live in New Zealand. This is the view of Raroa Road from the flat I rented on a hillside above Aro Valley in Wellington.
For family and career reasons my wife continued to live in London for another 14 months. Although I had good friends in Wellington, Christmas was the hardest time to be apart – weekly Yahoo messenger calls are no substitute for the real thing! So I wrote this song.
White pillow clouds tonight
Turn grey before my very eyes
City lights are shining in the water
At the edge of my surpriseThe harbour looks like milk in the twilight
And there’s a stand of blackened pines
Headlights on Raroa Road
Go up and down where it windsI am a vagabond here in your town
Keep the doors locked when you sleep, keep the blinds downMy darling said she misses me and I believe it’s true
When I put the phone down, she was saying “I love you.”Some things I don’t say too well,
Some things I barely could
Sometimes I feel so lost
Among the loyal and the goodThe sunshine played tricks this afternoon,
It promised to never end
Above the valley floor where it sketched the farthest range
The sunshine said it was my friendI am a vagabond here in your town
Keep the doors locked when you sleep, keep the blinds down
niels gedge 