"I'm a lonely cowboy, far away from home . . ."
As he hits the chorus, the words seep beyond his hotel room walls and along the hall a wee way.
Though it is doubtful they make it to the nearby Hokonui Hills, it is a forlorn echo nonetheless.
"Carry me back to the old prairie, where the coyotes howl, and the wind blows free."
A few hours later, the refrain returns; this time during the New Zealand Country Music Awards at the St James Theatre in Gore.
The person responsible for the words, New Zealand-born legend Tex Morton, is long gone, but his songs are in good hands.
Striding on to a stage recently vacated by Tami Neilson and Jess Chambers, recipients of a Tui and Apra award respectively, Mitchell Smith has put a country-rock slant on Morton's work that is slick enough to earn him a place in the final of the Freeze Ya Bits Off busking final the following day.
Mitchell, as it transpires, is the owner of the voice in the room next door.
The Otago Boys High School pupil won the intermediate section of the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards last year.
However, because he is 17, he is unable to contest the senior event, the finals of which went into the small hours of this morning.
And because he won last year, he is unable to defend his title, though he does make a special appearance during the intermediate and junior finals, held at the Gore Town and Country Club on Saturday night.
There, in front of a backdrop of twinkling stars, others have come to shine.
Junior winner Kaitlyn Watene, of Auckland, adds some soul to the genre before fellow entrant Brianna Anglesay, all pigtails and sassy attitude from Lower Hutt, heralds a procession of struts, pouts and high notes that bounce off the auditorium's iron roof for the next four hours.
Teisha Seymour, of Milton, lets rip with a glorious and powerful gospel number; Cameron Luxton (intermediate runner-up) breaks the female dominance with finger-picked dexterity; Georgie Daniell covers as many styles as she does costume changes, but saves her best for last when she claims the country rock prize; and the cool class of Arianna Baker, of Nelson, is recognised by the judges, who name her overall winner of the highly competitive intermediate section.
Results aside, Tokanui teen Kristin MacDonald's original composition about the Victorian bushfires resonates as strongly as the southwesterly gathering force outside, yet the boy sitting in the front row, swinging his skinny legs in time to the song, seems not to notice the lyrics.
Perhaps his ice cream is too much of a distraction.
Or perhaps he is contemplating his own inner tunes.
Junior and intermediate results:
Junior: Highest-scoring Gore Country Music Club member, Jenny Mitchell (Dunedin).
Gospel, Bridget Collins (Dunedin).
Duet, Paige and Amelia (Milton).
Vocal solo, Kaitlyn Watene (Auckland).
NZ Gold Guitar overall junior winner: Kaitlyn Watene (Auckland).
Intermediate: Highest-scoring Gore club member, Jaimee Evans (Dunedin).
Gospel, Cameron Luxton (Methven).
Duet, Just Kiddin' (Auckland).
Vocal solo, Arianne Baker (Nelson).
NZ composition, Arianne Baker. Group, Chelsea, Holly and Brianna (Upper Hutt).
Instrumental, Ryan Hanna (Gore). Traditional, Kylie Price (Dunedin).
Country rock, Georgie Daniell (Mosgiel).
NZ Gold Guitar overall intermediate winner, Arianne Baker (Nelson); runner-up, Cameron Luxton (Methven).
