One Man, One Street (v1)

Also at the activist press conference on 8 March 1985 is Jim Hertz - a man aged in his mid-twenties. Jim grew up in a small town. In June 1978, during Pride events being held around the world, he undertook a solo march down the town’s main street in solidarity. It was the first time he had publicly declared that he was queer.

Thanks to his sister Karen, now a talkback radio host, a television news crew was there to capture the moment, and Jim suddenly found himself featured on the national nightly news. The attention that followed was intense, and before long he left New Zealand for Sydney, Australia. Karen later recalls it as his proudest moment, and her deepest regret.

Now, at the press conference, Jim stands to speak. He remembers that day and the feeling that drove him into the street alone, reminding those gathered that Pride sometimes begins with just one person, and one street.

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.

Jim Hertz:

[Verse 1]
There’s no one out this early
Curtains closed, the doors shut tight
But today
Today it’s my day

Even the road feels like it’s waiting
Like it’s watching what I’ll do next
And I don’t know
I don’t know

[Pre-Chorus]
I don’t know anyone like me here
Not by name, not by face
But I know I’m not the only one
They’re just in a different place

[Chorus]
Some streets here are dead ends
Some just turn back on themselves
But this one’s different
This is different

If I stop now
No one will have noticed
But if I keep walking
I’ll be a rumour, a headline, but I’ll be alive

[Verse 2]
So I walk this street
Not because I’m brave
But because it’s the only way to stay

So I walk this street
For myself, no banner, no crowd, no sound
But I know there are others
Not here, not now, but beside me
all around

[Chorus]
Some streets here are dead ends
Some just turn back on themselves
But this one’s different
I know this is different

If I stop now
No one will have noticed
But if I keep walking
I’ll be a rumour, a headline, but I’ll be alive

[Verse 3]
It takes me past the station
Past the shop to the corner
Where I’ll turn and turn and turn

And somewhere it joins to
Another street
And another street
And another street

[Verse 4]
They’re marching in cities I’ve never seen
They’re shouting out loud who I am
They’re standing where I’m not standing yet
And that means something
It means everything

[Quiet Bridge]
So remember this
One man
One street
One town
June 1978

[Outro]
And I walk
And I walk
And I won’t turn back
And I won’t be turned back

And I walk
And I walk
And I won’t turn back.