I Still Call Australia Home

I Still Call Australia Home was written, first performed and recorded by Peter Allen in 1980. In that year the song peaked on the Australian Singles Chart at number 72. But whilst its initial impact was somewhat less than stellar, it has gone on to become one of those songs that is part of the national psyche and is well-known by most Australians.

In I still Call Australia Home Peter Allen wrote of his longing, no matter where in the World he might travel, to always return home to Australia, where he could be near his family and friends once again.The song is now regarded as a heart-warming expression of  Australian patriotism and nostalgia for home.

Its adoption by Qantas in the mid 1990s as the centrepiece of a long-running advertising campaign exposed a new generation of Australians to the song and greatly boosted its popularity. The Qantas campaign became one of the top Australian television campaigns of all time. It has linked together Australians living at home with those travelling or living overseas. Beginning with a number of well-known Australian musicians, the campaign went on to become associated with the Australian Girls Choir, the National Boys Choir and the Gondwana National Indigenous Children’s Choir.

In 2018 Qantas brought back a reimagined version of  I Still Call Australia Home, this time in its in-flight safety videos. This time round, the song runs in the background of the video, which shows Australians travelling the world as they share local mannerisms including bringing Vegemite to a Chinese meal, playing cricket in Tokyo, sipping tea through a Tim Tam and saying “mate” in London.

The song has featured in television programs, benefit concerts, sporting event ceremonies, and was included in the musical, The Boy From Oz, which starred Todd McKenney as Peter Allen in the Australian production and Hugh Jackman in the title role when the musical transferred to Broadway.

This choral arrangement is available for immediate download in SATB and SSAA voicings a cappella; and in SATB, SSA, SAB and 2-Part voicings with piano accompaniment.