My Lovely Island Home

by Desmond Kelly ‘the Star of eLanka’

This song was written by “yours truly”, in Australia many years ago. Lately, there seems to be a renewed interest in the song, a lot of it coming from Lanka itself.

This “article” is being written to “clear-up” a few facts about the “song” that, I feel, is steadily becoming just as popular as my “Original Hit”of the “fifties”, called “Dream-World”. Especially for the Lankans out there, who are hopefully now “progressing with the times”, getting rid of their mosquito, fishing, & hairnets and “dabbling with the Internet”, I would now like to say to them, firstly, the “Philips” recording my song was simply titled “Dream-World”, NOT “I’m living in a Dreamworld” (which is simply the first “line” of it).

This song (a “single 45 rpm) Vinyl disc., recorded very nearly 60 years ago, is still being “requested” via the S.L.B.C. Radio Station in Lanka, plus many other “versions” of the song which is on “You-Tube” right now. This is, in fact, where the.problems arise.

Because this writer has written over a hundred original songs, which are gradually being featured on the eLanka Website in Australia, together with a few hundred MORE popular songs “Especially for you”, it now becomes a question of which “version” sounds and feels “the best”.

Although many folk feel that the original Dream-World recording was the best, my preference is the version featured on my “Ultimate DVD” under the “Dream-World” (revisited) caption. Being a newer version, it sounds clearer & better to me, but thank you for loving the song, anyway.

Now we come to “My Lovely Island Hone”. Firstly, to give credit where credit is due, which ai always do, the “music” comes from Clarence Wijewardena, one of my own favourite Lankan Composers who wrote the song named “Dilhani”, in Lanka, in the “sixties”. Shortly after arriving in Australia, I heard this song, was fascinated by the beautiful tune which immediately brought back memories of the Land I had just left, wrote to Clarence and.personally got his.permission to “write” English Lyrics, which eventually became “My Lovely Island Home”. Now, my dear readers, there are several versions of this song, as well on “You-Tube”, but please don’t listen to any of them, because, I feel that the “song” has not been “YOU-TUBED” to my satisfaction, one or two of MY OWN Home-Recordings carelessly inserted on Y.T.(sounding terrible). The ONLY version that I prefer is “My Lovely Island Home”
You-Tubed by Jude Gooneawardane in London.

Many of our good folk have contacted me, asking for the correct lyrics that I have written for this beautiful song, so, here they are, Ladies & Gentlemen.

“MY LOVELY ISLAND HOME”
LYRICS BY DESMOND KELLY
MUSIC BY CLARENCE WIJEWARDENA.

“BACK, ON MY LOVELY ISLAND HOME,
WHERE, AS A BOY, I WOULD ROAM
YES, THIS IS WHERE MY HEART WILL,FOREVER BELONG
BACK, ON MY LOVELY ISLAND HOME

ONE DAY, I’M GOING THERE, THIS IS.MY ONE PRAYER,
SOMEDAY, I’LL SEE HER SHORES AGAIN
THIS IS MY ONE AMBITION, BUT, UNTIL THEN,
I’LL JUST KEEP SINGING THIS REFRAIN

FREE FROM ALL WORRIES AND CARE
IN MY SRI LANKA SO FAIR
THE MEMORIES I CHERISH, ARE IN THIS SONG
I’M PROUD TO SING IT FOR CEYLON.

YES, THE MEMORIES I CHERISH, ARE IN THIS SONG
I’M PROUD TO SING IT FOR CEYLON”

Desmond Kelly
Star of eLanka.