The Kampongs:
As I lived in the Geylang neighbourhood in the 50's, I first learnt this song from my many Malay friends who were in the area. I used to frequent Kampong Wak Tanjong at the vicinity of the Paya Lebar Fire Station and walk across the road from my home to Kampong Melaka where the Lion City Hotel and Shopping Mall now stand at Tanjong Katong Road.
The Wak Tanjong mosque is still there but the kampong has vanished. Some of the residents who lived along Sims Avenue and Lorong 39 near the kampong were Lim Yew Hock and his family. He was once the Chief Minister of Singapore. These residences were huge bungalows. Abdul Wahab, a merchant, lived across Lorong 39 from him and financed the band I used to sing with, The Velvetones.
Kampong Melaka was across the road where City Plaza stands today. The roads nearby are Guillemard Road, Sandy Lane, Lim Ah Woo Road with a Catholic Church nearby. And Kampong Melaka was situated right in the middle, surrounded by these roads.
The Song:
The Hari Raya song above was sung by Saloma and composed by Ahmad Ja'afar with its original lyrics by Shariff Rachman. This song was featured in a 1955 Malay movie by Cathay Kris Film Production with the same theme, Selamat Hari Raya.
The words, Dam, dam, dum, Bunyi mercun (Dam, dam, dum, sounds of fire-crackers) have not been left out in the above version. Since fire-crackers had been banned because of fire hazards in tiny Singapore these words had been replaced after newer versions of the song had been recorded.
The Hari Raya song above was sung by Saloma and composed by Ahmad Ja'afar with its original lyrics by Shariff Rachman. This song was featured in a 1955 Malay movie by Cathay Kris Film Production with the same theme, Selamat Hari Raya.
Enjoy a cool and peaceful Aidil Fitri to one and all. Andy.
Video from You Tube: http://keselambe.blogspot.com
15 comments:
This one original best lah...
wow...original!!! thanks! best part 'dam dam dum'!
Lagu ni... kalau joget Cha Cha... gelek!
Comments have been taken from You Tube: 'Saloma, Selamat Hari Raya' web page.
Thanks for yr kind thoughts
Composed by the late Ahmad Jaafar. Other compositions include "Ibu", "Bunga Tanjung" and many others.
This is the best raya song ever.
definitely an important year for me in relation to Hari Raya, as out of my 71 susbcribers on my music channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmg89jI60mI
in the past months I had a surge of new fans from Indonesia, and they make up the most active of the comments in regularity. It gives me joy because I have fond memories of the Malayu kawan kawan in Singapore, as my father's driver was like a chaperon to me as he used to bring me to the drivers' club to sit cross-legged to eat the nasi lemak on banana leaves. I forgot how to speak Malayu as it was ages ago, but now with almost a large section of my subscribers speaking and commenting in Malayu, I am motivated to remember their language so i can stop using goggle translator to reciprocate to their supportive comments each time I upload a new song I just composed.
I also have subscribers from Dubai, and Mumbai,as well as Thailand and Vietnam. It makes me feel proud that I am slowly reaching out towards my own native side of the world. As one of my biggest subscribers from India, he sings amazingly well too, encourages in his constant comment, "one day you will conquer the world with your beautiful and unique music". Personally, with one such comment, I have already felt like the world is already conquered. SELAMAT HARI RAYA, EID MUBARAK.
Best Kampong taste Hari Raya Song sung by Saloma ..macam makan ketupat dan rendang ...yammmmmmy goood
Cheers from me too .tompang Andy Young ...Smile
Hi Andy thanks for refreshing my memory with this beautiful song. 1955 the year I began my musical journey with the introduction into the finer points of the double bass by a luthier. Cheerio Selamat Hari Raya to all muslims.
THANKS ALL
John Cher
Stephen Han
Koh Sui Pang
Jennie Law
Ann Rowena Lim
Jimmy Appudurai-chua
Tan Ser Kiong
Peter Lim
Baba, ketupat and rendang. Best... must top up with soroendeng, ayam masak merah, lodeh, sambal goreng.
Thanks, guys for all the funny, wonderful comments on this post.
Andy, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Muslim friends on your blog, Selamat Hari Raya. In the olden days, there were many Malay and Chinese kampongs in SG. I heard that there is still one Malay kampong left in SG. Not sure.
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