SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY's POP MUSIC INFLUENCE IS A PERSONAL MUSIC, MEMORY TRAIL. BLOGGER DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO VIDEOS, AUDIO TRACKS AND IMAGES. THEY ARE UPLOADED FOR FUN, EDUCATIONAL, ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND HAVE BEEN CREDITED. BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED NOR ADVERTORIAL IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. INFORM BLOGGER OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND POST WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT COPY THE POSTS; GET PERMISSION N CREDIT ME IF YOU DO. ANDY LIM LA (NOVEMBER, 2008) -
(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力), SUDI MAMPIR !
Firstly, A Happy Mother's Day to your Mrs., yesterday, today and everyday!
Frankly the only human being on earth that deserves mankind's respect for her sacrifices & selflessness is our mother. She can assume others' roles but no one can assume her roles.
On our visit to this mall one day I saw this poster on the wall inside.
A man was once asked what was the greatest gift her mother gave him.
His answer? "My life" he replied without any hesitation. It is always sung, "世上只有妈妈好..." A child is only safe in the mother's embrace.
May I salute to all mothers and all those would be & will be too !🙋♂️
(1) I have known Merlin Lim for about 50 years now, a pleasant, honest and sincere young man who joined the Silver Strings and played rhythm guitar with us since the mid-60s. Merlin was involved in all the 12 Philips vinyl recordings done. This guy has no agenda with you. He's a good friend, period. Merlin has always been supportive of this blog and wrote a note two years ago with so much feel about his mum I thought I'd repeat it on an individual posting; it deserves the honour. (2) FL is my unknown supporter and even to this day, I don't know who he or she is. FL remains anonymous, a person who has written so many comments for this blog, recommends a song which I think is a sincere dedication to a lady that we all love so much. Thanks again to both Merlin and FL.
(1) Merlin Lim Musician:
My Dearest Mum, Has since departed about 10 years ago and up to this minute, I still miss her very much. She is a gentle lady, strangely though, I don't ever remember her saying harsh words or swearing at anyone.
Her life may be tough but her living is simple. Cooking for the family, watching soap operas, cowboy and Native American Indian movies on TV.
When you talk about religion, her reply will always be, "As long as I don't harm others... I'm fine." It's simple but effective.
I knew we will part one day and I work on preparing towards that goal. So when the time came, I was prepared, physically and mentally. Mum also did her preparations. She had a list of what to do, by whom, up to where her ashes should be kept.
Well, a mother is not one day in a year. Mother is ever present, in life, death and beyond. Mother is and will always be part of our existence. Without my mother, I would be...
Love you, mum, always. Rest In Peace.
Mother of Mine (1971) by Neil Reid: A song with meaningful lyrics by a young man who's 12. Above YouTube version by Florence Aguilar. (2) F.L. Blog Supporter:
Hi Andy,
Although my mom is longer around, I still think of her and memories of her keep coming back. I remember one beautiful song "Mother of Mine" with meaningful lyrics first made popular by a young boy of 12 years called Neil Reid in 1971.
May I dedicate this song to all mothers on this Mother's Day. If you have songs to recommend on Mother's Day, please do so and I shall list them below, a space for your song and your name. Images from Google and Merlin Lim's Facebook.
Irene Hoe, who needs no introduction, is from the University of Singapore. She is a writer, editor, coach, and editorial consultant and was with SPH from 1978 to 2004. She has written and contributed to a number of books.
She agreed to share her current Facebook story about her mum.
Thank you, Irene.
UP TO 6,400 VIEWS,
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It's been 13 years since my last Mother's Day with Mum. It was in January 2014, that her qigong therapist told my sister Annie and me that we could lose her at any time. "The tide comes in, and the tide goes out. For your mother, the tide is going out," he said. "In her condition, anything can happen at any time."
It was then that I decided that for however long more I had with Mum, I would try to be the best daughter I could be. And every day would be Mother's Day. It was the best decision I have ever made.
That "however long" turned out to be about four months. In that time, I composed a farewell message that friends helped me to translate and transliterate into Cantonese, and to coach me in reading it aloud to Mum (image below).
One afternoon, as she lay in bed half dozing, I sat down on her bed and began to read my farewell. When I started, she was startled into opening her eyes. She hadn't ever heard me articulate such good Cantonese before. A tear escaped one eye. Then another. Then the other eye. And pretty soon both of us were pretty much awash with tears and I was all choked up, and her pillow was sodden. I told her that I loved her and that it didn't matter if she couldn't say those words back to me because I knew she loved me. Every time she'd call me to tell me to come home for dinner because she'd made one — or many —of my favourite dishes. Every time she'd come home late at night after working for at least 12 hours at her restaurant and despite being dead tired, she'd always place a hand on my forehead to check if I had a fever. She did that for all of us before she could finally have her bath and go to sleep.
'Mama' Single Version=Connie Francis Video by doowopAmon. Thank you. She had slipped and fallen at home in November 2003 and though X-rays uncovered no broken bones, she had grown steadily weaker. The last meal she prepared for us was lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year 2004. She apologised that it wasn't up to standard — her standard — although of course, it was delicious as usual. I think she somehow knew it would be the last time she would cook for us.
Cooking and feeding family and friends had been her life (mahjong was an enjoyable sideline) since she closed her restaurant and retired. And not long after Chinese New Year, she couldn't even walk unaided. She found her new dentures — an idiot dentist had encouraged her to have her remaining teeth extracted — very uncomfortable, so she refused to use them and was reduced to eating soft foods. I could tell she was ready to go.
So, that afternoon when I sat by her side, I told her that I knew she was finding so little pleasure in life. "You have worked so hard. I know you are tired. You have done your job. You brought us all up and we will be all right. We will be sad but we don't want you to suffer. If you feel you want to go, I won't hold you back. I don't want you to suffer."
Not long after that, she went into the hospital for the last time. Her blood pressure which had always been low inexplicably kept sliding lower and lower. Until the inevitable happened.
Songs I Love: One of the most pleasant songs about mothers is My Mother's Eyes by Abel Baer and L. Wolfe Gilbert. It is from a film, Lucky Boy, screened in 1929. The lyrics are easy to remember with its rhyming couplet: One bright and guiding light, That taught me wrong from right I found in my mother's eyes Those baby tales she told That road all paved with gold I found in my mother's eyes Then the form changes with the chorus:
My Mother's Eyes by Russ Hamilton. YouTube Video by Li-Moh Chuah. Thank you. Chorus: Just like a wandering sparrow, One lonely soul, I walk the straight and narrow, To reach my goal. God's gift sent from above, A real unselfish love, I found in my mother's eyes.
Depending on who is carrying the song, the vocabulary varies a little. The present lyrics was Russ Hamilton's recording, ingrained a long time ago.There's also an introductory verse to the song, somehow not used by many singers, and it goes like this: Back in childhood days, I can remember loving caresses showered on me. Mother's eyes would gaze at me so tender, What was their meaning? Now I can see.
Don't forget to check out the jazz clip below by Kenny Ball. Exactly halfway through his Jazzmen take over and you won't believe it could be the same lullaby. You just wanna swing with them! Singers and Instrumentalists who recorded, My Mother's Eyes: The first lot includes Frankie Valli, Tom Jones, Russ Hamilton, George Jessel, Ella Fitzgerald, The Mills Brothers, Etta Jones, Tab Smith, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, Lonnie Johnson, Kevin Coyne, Nellie Lutcher, Sydney Devine and David Newton.
It is a simple tune and should be taught to the children. Tom Jones puts more soul in his voice and gives the song a new life. It's a personal choice. There's also Nancy Sinatra, Roland Stone, Christine Tyrrell, Karl Denver, Linda Hopkins, The Royal Teens and many others.
Folks, what gives. Does this one bring back memories? It was played everywhere in Singapore 60's. Yes, but mostly the Russ Hamilton pressing. Come on give us your take on this lullaby. Or is it a lullaby? This posting is for all mums. A Happy Mother's Day!
My Mother's Eyes by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen. YouTube Video by Images: Google.
