Dancing in the Eye

The homes and buildings of the first settlers at Cossack and Roebourne were destroyed by powerful cyclones and ever since then every year between November and April the residents of the Pilbara keep one eye on the barometer. Nowadays homes are built to withstand cyclones but a good cyclone still causes havoc throughout the region. It is an awesome experience to sit through a large cyclone especially if you can actually experience the eye of the cyclone passing over head. For a short period of time the powerful wind stops and all is very still. Then suddenly it starts again and the wind blows from a different direction. This song describes the arrival and passing of a cyclone over a town along the Pilbara coast and the customary desire of the people in its path to come out of their homes and ‘dance’ as the eye passes over.