Expat Blues

The Problem with Being a Long-Term Expat, BBC - reverse culture shock, adjustment and identity problems - and "Third Culture Kids"

And a 1970's satirical "Happy Valley" song from the archives (lyrics below)

Expat blues - Ethiopia, Bermuda, Corfu, Prague, Clarksdale-Mississippi, Visby-Gotland

Expat Blues (“Are you married, or do you live in Kenya?”)



Well, I came to live in Kenya,

I thought it would be fun,

Hunting lions and married women,

And lying in the sun –



I’ve got the expat blues,

Those low-down expat blues.



Well, my house is like a palace,

And my garden’s like Hyde Park,

When the settlers throw a party

They swap partners after dark.



I’ve got the expat blues,

Those low-down expat blues.



My wife gives coffee mornings

For the diplomatic wives;

They cut their men to pieces

‘Cos they’ve all got tongues like knives-



I’ve got the expat blues,

Those low-down expat blues.



I couldn’t settle in Old England,

That would be a dismal fate,

The lions live in the zoo there

And the golf-club’s so sedate-



I’ve got the expat blues,

Those low-down expat blues.



So I came to live in Kenya,

I thought it would be fun,

Hunting lions and married women,

And lying in the sun –



I’ve got the expat blues,

Those low-down expat blues.



(Suggested tune: Aussie Doghouse Blues)


Another song written in Kenya- "The Nomad" (YouTube)

A song recorded in Nairobi, Kenya - "Hello Stranger"