Roger King may have left Cobram, but his heart will always be with the town by the Murray River.
Mr King’s love for the town is so great that he has written a song about it: Forever My Home.
“I lived in Cobram from 1964 to ’69, my best childhood years,” he said.
“Went to St Joseph’s primary school. Everything about Cobram was just perfect.”
Mr King only realised how much Cobram meant to him after he left, as he endured bullying at several schools following his departure.
Music and song have always been in Mr King’s heart, but in 2020, during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, he took a big creative step.
“I have always wanted to do it (write a song), but I have never done it,” he said.
“But one day, everything fell into place, and I decided to do it.”
Before beginning his songwriting journey, Mr King was apprehensive and doubted his ability to see it through.
However, luckily for him and the town of Cobram, Mr King turned out to be quite good at songwriting.
“Once you get started, it’s like opening up another world,” he said.
“You start writing stuff you never thought you would. Your imagination just opens up.”
When discussing his song, Mr King pointed out that he wasn’t a music writer or performer but a lyricist.
Forever My Home is performed by Charlie Cooper from Tennessee, with music composed by Larry Magee from San Antonio, Texas.
“I tried desperately to find Australian singers or vocalists to perform it, but I couldn’t find any willing to take on the project,” Mr King said.
Mr King said the response to the song had been overwhelming.
“I have been told to promote it through Travel Victoria and Moira Shire ... I tried to make the song nostalgic, fun, sentimental and descriptive,” he said.
Mr King ultimately hopes his labour of love makes Cobram residents proud of their town.
“The song is really for the people of the town, and I hope it makes them proud of where they live, and there are elements to the song which children and adults when they grow up can relate back to the song,” he said.