The Lyrics!!!
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# GOD'S OWN BACKYARD
## A Strauss-inspired New Zealand Waltz Duet
### LYRICS
[INTRO – ORCHESTRAL VIENNESE WALTZ]
[VERSE 1 – MALE]
We came down the long road where the green hills rise,
With wonder in our footsteps and wide-open skies.
Through rain-soaked forests where silver rivers run,
The mountains kept appearing, one after another, in the sun.
Glaciers caught the light like frozen rivers of blue,
And every turning road revealed another view.
There were clouds upon the mountains, mist across the trees,
And the great Southern landscape stretching out before the breeze.
[FEMALE]
We laughed at the weather, we shivered in the cold,
And watched the mountains change their colours as the day unfolded.
Somewhere beneath those peaks the ancient ice lay still —
A world made long before us, and beautiful still.
[TOGETHER – FIRST REFRAIN]
Oh, this is God's own backyard,
A garden wild and wide,
Where mountains touch the heavens
And oceans meet the tide.
From forest green to glacier blue,
From river, rock and sea —
Oh, what a wonderful world He made,
And what a place to be.
[INSTRUMENTAL WALTZ – STRINGS AND WOODWINDS]
[VERSE 2 – FEMALE]
There are lakes beneath the mountains,
Turquoise in the sun,
And roads that seem to wander
Just to see where they will run.
At Tekapo the evening
Turns the mountains gold,
And the little church grows quiet
As the changing light takes hold.
[MALE]
Then somewhere beyond the mountains
The southern lakes unfold,
With Queenstown shining brightly
And stories waiting to be told.
A gondola above us,
The river rushing free,
And every road and hillside
Becoming memory.
[FEMALE]
Then further south the landscape
Grows wilder, deep and green,
Where waterfalls come tumbling
Through places rarely seen.
And down among the forests
The tiny stars appear —
A thousand little glow-worms
Shining in the dark below us here.
[TOGETHER – SECOND REFRAIN]
Oh, this is God's own backyard,
A garden wild and wide,
Where mountains touch the heavens
And oceans meet the tide.
From alpine snow to rainforest,
From lake to southern sea —
Oh, what a wonderful world He made,
And gave these sights to us to see.
[INSTRUMENTAL WALTZ – BROAD ORCHESTRAL PASSAGE]
[BRIDGE – MALE]
And then the road runs onward
To the place where land runs out,
To Bluff and the southern ocean,
With Antarctica beyond.
[FEMALE]
And Catlins holds old forests
Where time seems to stand still,
Petrified trees remembering
A world beyond our will.
[MALE]
The sea keeps changing colour,
The waterfalls keep falling...
[FEMALE]
The birds keep singing softly,
And somewhere life is calling.
[MALE]
Dunedin by the harbour,
With echoes from Scotland by the sea...
[FEMALE]
And Moeraki's ancient stones
Lie waiting patiently.
[QUIETER – REFLECTIVE DUET]
[FEMALE]
And when the road grows quiet,
There is a little church beside the lake...
[MALE]
Where mountains fill the window
And the silence lets the heart awake.
[TOGETHER – SOFTLY]
No need for many words here,
No need to understand —
Sometimes beauty says enough
Without a human hand.
A mountain...
A river...
A lake beneath the sky...
And for a little moment
We simply wonder why
We were given eyes to see it,
And hearts to hold it dear.
[INSTRUMENTAL – WALTZ BUILDS GENTLY]
[FINAL REFRAIN – FULL DUET, BUILDING]
Oh, this is God's own backyard,
A garden wild and wide,
Where mountains touch the heavens
And oceans meet the tide.
From glacier white to rainforest green,
From alpine lake to sea,
From towering peaks to southern shores —
What a world He gave to see.
Oh, this is God's own backyard,
And every road we roam
May carry us beyond the horizon,
Yet somehow lead us home.
[ORCHESTRAL REPRISE – RETURN TO MAIN WALTZ THEME]
[CODA – MALE / FEMALE]
[MALE]
So raise a glass to mountains...
[FEMALE]
And rivers running free...
[MALE]
To friends who crossed an ocean...
[FEMALE]
And shared the road with me.
[MALE]
From Salzburg to the Southern Sea...
[FEMALE]
From there and back again...
[TOGETHER – SLOWING]
The road may end at Bluff,
But the memories never end.
God's own backyard...
God's own backyard...
[SOFTLY TOGETHER]
What a wonderful world.
[ORCHESTRA – FINAL WALTZ CADENCE]
Have fun!
