First Time Caller (v1)

The home page for the musical can be found here. The human-authored lyrics and dramatic structure by Gareth Watkins are licensed under the CC BY 4.0 licence; reuse and adaptation with attribution are permitted and encouraged. See the full licensing statement.

Karen Hertz:

[Verse 1]
It’s just coming up to nine-fifty-three
And you’re on late night Radio Talk
and it’s time to talk law reform
So, are you there caller?

And he said
I’m a first-time caller
And for the first time in 65 years
For the very first time

[Verse 2]
As I was walking home
A 65-year-old man
On a Sunday afternoon
Hurting no one

And as I walked
In the park, on a Sunday
I was assaulted and
Called a, called a, called a

[Bridge]
And as the caller talked
I held my breath
And then silence
(silence)

[Verse 3]
He slowly started telling me how
Someone with clenched hands
Pointed their index fingers at him
like a weapon

And he said
He pointed at me and called out
Called me out
And shouted: head shot, head shot

[Verse 4]
And caller, you said you are 65 years old?
But he didn’t answer my question
He replied, I never asked for this
I never asked for this

And he said
I don’t want this
I don’t want this
I don’t want this

[Verse 5]
And I asked if it had happened before?
And he said only recently
Only since this
Gay law reform

So do you support this reform?
And he said
I don’t want to be in the spotlight
Leave me out of your spotlight

[Verse 6]
And then he said
I just want to live my life quietly
As I have done for 65 years
Just quietly

And I said
What message do you have for the politicians?
And he said
Tell Fran

[Bridge]
I don’t want this
I don’t want this
I don’t want this

[Verse 7]
And what do you want to tell my listeners?
He said,
Just leave me out of this
Leave me out of your spotlight

This from a first-time caller
A first-time gay caller
Aged 65, that’s what he said

A first-time caller talking back.