I Still Call Australia Home
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"I Still Call Australia Home" is a song written by Peter Allen in 1980. In it, Allen sings of Australian expatriates' longing for home.


Significance to Australian culture

It has been used to signify Australian patriotism and
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...
for home. An example is the series of
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
television commercials where it was sung either by individual Australian musicians or one of several Australian youth choirs. This is also remade in their 2020 safety video, where various covers of the song were made accompanying a 100-year history visualization. In the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
' ''Opening Gala'' TV special (in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
),
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
performed this song from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
with the choir in a medley with "
Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...
." Later, both songs were used in the musical about Allen's life, '' The Boy from Oz,'' in which Hugh Jackman starred as Allen. "I Still Call Australia Home" was added to the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...
's
Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...
registry in 2013. In
Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no of ...
speech of earlier generations, "home" referred to Britain. Thus by contrast, "calling Australia home" became for a period a particularly piquant expression of Australian identity.


Charts

"I Still Call Australia Home" peaked at number 72 on the
Australian singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
in June 1980 when it was originally released, but re-entered the charts and peaked at number 60 in September 2015 following the screening of the mini-series '' Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door''.


Use

* The song was used as the closing for Australia Day celebrations at
Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 1994; it was performed and arranged by Noel Elmowy, and sung by Chris Lloyds and Andrew Oh, with
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
in attendance. *The song was used in the evening closing sequence for
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
n television station TNT and later by TVT. * In one version of the song popularly used by Qantas, "Rio" is replaced by "
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
" as Qantas does not operate flights to
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, but flew to the Italian capital at the time the video was made. ** The version of the song used by Qantas in its 2009 advertisement replaces the entire first verse with one sung in '' Kala Lagaw Ya'', a dialect of the
Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their tot ...
. This version was performed by the Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir and the Sydney Children's Choir as well as the Australian Girls Choir and National Boys Choir. ** Qantas later reused the song as part of safety videos since 2018, with the 2018 safety video recorded in many parts around the world, including New York and London. In addition, "Rio" was used in this version of the song instead of "Rome". When Qantas was celebrating the centennial anniversary of its foundation, the instrumental version of the song tailored to each time period portrayed in the safety video (with a children's choir singing at the end). * The song is a popular inclusion in the repertoire of several Welsh male voice choirs, including the Australian Welsh Male Choir and Morriston Orpheus Choir. The Welsh version replaces "
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
" in the line "from New York, to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, and old London town", with "
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
". * Australian comedy team The Chaser composed a parody of the Qantas version of the song, called "I Still Call Australia 51 per cent Home" in response to Qantas outsourcing some of its engineering services to
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
and
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. * At the
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
2002 Australian Grand Prix, Australian driver Mark Webber finished an impressive 5th place on his F1 debut for the underfunded and struggling Minardi team, scoring valuable points for the team which helped them finish 9th of 11 in that season's constructors championship. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation's chairman Ron Walker convinced Webber and Minardi team owner and fellow Australian Paul Stoddart to celebrate their achievement with an impromptu ceremony on the podium, where ''I Still Call Australia Home'' was played in place of the Australian national anthem. * The song was performed by Chris Lilley in episodes one and two of " We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year" (2005). * The song was performed by singer
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
in the Sound Relief concert in benefit of the victims of the Australian Bushfires on 14 March 2009. * The song featured as pre-game entertainment at the 2009 AFL Grand Final, performed by the 'Qantas choir' and the Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir. * The song was performed by
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...
,
Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...
, Hugh Jackman,
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
and
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...
to close
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
's Australian Adventure during her final season on broadcast television. This performance originally aired on US television on Friday, 21 January 2011. * The naming ceremony for Qantas' A380, VH-OQA, the Nancy Bird Walton, the flagship of their fleet, features a choir singing this song *The song was adapted and translated into French by Sylvie Boisel. The title is L'Australie est ma patrie. She performed it at Sydney Town Hall for the
Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
John Howard and the Wallabies in 2007. *The song was performed by a choir at the opening ceremonies of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. *Australian comedian and musician
Tim Minchin Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...
uploaded a parody of the song called "I Still Call Australia Homophobic" to his Facebook page in reference to the
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
debate and proposed 2017 survey in Australia. *The Australian hip hop group TLK used the song as the inspiration for their 2006 song "I still call Australia home" which referenced historical violence against Aboriginal people. *The Australian vocal group The Ten Tenors regularly performs "I Still Call Australia Home" in their concerts. *Australian tenor Stuart Skelton performed the song at the Last Night of the Proms 2021 at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
.


References


External links


''I Still Call Australia Home''
TVC (2004) * Lyrics
Peter Allen - ''I Still Call Australia Home''

''I Still Call Australia Home''
performed in French by Sylvie Boisel {{Authority control 1980 songs Australian patriotic songs Songs about Australia Songs about nostalgia