A SCENT OF EUCALYPTUS
© John Peel, 2010
Equal Winner, 2010 ABPA Victorian State Championship – Themed Section, Benalla, Victoria.
Tonight, I walk along this city street
with images of trouble in my mind.
I walk alone on tired and weary feet –
I long to see the world I left behind.
There’s a scent of eucalyptus on the air
that makes me think of where I want to be.
That scent of eucalyptus takes me there
and once again, I feel like I am free.
In my mind I see the homestead on the farm –
and once again I see my mum and dad.
That old place seems so far away from harm –
in this city I can only see the bad.
There’s a scent of eucalyptus on the air
that makes me think of where I want to be.
That scent of eucalyptus takes me there
and once again, I feel like I am free.
Work is the only thing that keeps me here –
the need to earn an honest weekly pay.
I gave up on the farm for my career
and now I wish I hadn’t moved away.
There’s a scent of eucalyptus on the air
that makes me think of where I want to be.
That scent of eucalyptus takes me there
and once again, I feel like I am free.
If gum trees stood where all the buildings stand,
if roadways were replaced by flowing streams –
I’d somehow feel connected to this land,
the same as with the farm that’s in my dreams.
There’s a scent of eucalyptus on the air
that makes me think of where I want to be.
That scent of eucalyptus takes me there
and once again, I feel like I am free.
Perhaps some day I’ll find myself back there
and leave this city somewhere in the past.
Where the eucalyptus scent on mountain air
will linger longer than I’ll ever last.
There’s a scent of eucalyptus on the air
that makes me think of where I want to be.
That scent of eucalyptus takes me there
and once again, I feel like I am free.
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