Home

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Babe I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
'Cause I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
That this is not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

by Michael Buble

Most of the time, I hate the Netherlands - it's old-fashioned, inconvenient, rainy, flat and soul-destroying. And I could go on. Half the time we're there is spent thinking of our next trip away. But in some sense I'm looking forward to going back there. Like IT said, it's not great, but it's home. At least for now.

I've been away for almost five months and I'm coming back home.


NB - Michael Buble plays an awesome live show. He can sing live, of course, but he's also got lots of showmanship. Within a few minutes he's got the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Great fun.

Chasing cars by Snow Patrol

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's burstin’ into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
It’s here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things
Will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

This one's for you, love.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

The third verse always brings a lump to my throat.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

It's particularly applicable as our mini-reunion continues. We're missing one or two of our gang, but they're here in spirit.

Traditional folk songs

Again revisiting my childhood to dredge memories of songs to sing to J. Today was traditional folk song day:

Chan Mali Chan
Di mana dia, anak kambing saya
Anak kambing saya main di tepi bendang
Di mana dia, cinta hati saya
Cinta hati saya yang berjalan lenggang

Chan mali chan, chan mali chan,
Chan mali chan, ketipung payung.

Geylang sipaku geylang

Geylang, sipaku geylang,
Geylang, si rama rama.

Pulang, marilah pulang, marilah pulang,
Pulang bersama-sama.

Burung kakak tua

Burung kakak tua,
mencok di jendela.
Nenek sudah tua,
giginya tinggal dua.

Letrum, letrum, letrum ooh la la,
Letrum, letrum, letrum ooh la la,
Letrum, letrum, letrum ooh la la,
Burung kakak tua.

Rasa sayang

Rasa sayang, eh rasa sayang, sayang eh,
Hei lihat Nona jauh rasa sayang, sayang eh.

Dua tiga kucing berlari,
Mana sama si kucing belang.
Dua tiga boleh dicari,
Mana sama adik seorang

Trek tek tek

Kalau tidak kerana bintang, trek-tek-tek,
Takkan bulan terbit tinggi, trek-tek-tek,
Kalau tidak kerana abang,
Takkan saya datang kemari, trek-tek-tek.

Many happy memories here. Do Malaysian kids still sing these songs?

月亮代表我的心 (The moon represents my heart)

月亮代表我的心 (yue4 liang4 dai4 biao3 wo de4 xin) is the title of a karaoke-staple Mandarin song first sung by Teresa Teng. It also happens to be fairly easy to learn phonetically and as such is popular among non-Mandarin speakers trying to sing in Mandarin, eg someone like me. I sang this to J this morning. It's one of the few Mandarin songs in my repertoire. I know snatches of a few other songs but never the full versions, but sometimes I feel like singing to her in languages other than English. Mum will sing her Cantonese nursery rhymes and I may also sing Malay songs and Italian arias ... all in the effort to inculcate an ear for different languages.

About this song... I had a dream once when I was sitting for the SPM exams in Form Five - I dreamt that the biology paper's essay question was to draw and describe the human heart. In my dream I drew a big round circle and under it I wrote 月亮代表我的心.

And yes, in case you're wondering, I did ultimately get an A1 in Biology.

你问我爱你有多深
我爱你有几分
我的情也真
我的爱也真
月亮代表我的心
你问我爱你有多深
我爱你有几分
我的情不移
我的爱不变
月亮代表我的心
轻轻的一个吻
已经打动我的心
深深的一段情
教我思念到如今
你问我爱你有多深
我爱你有几分
你去想一想
你去看一看
月亮代表我的心

You'll never walk alone

This is another favourite song to sing to J - the tune flows naturally from 'You raise me up' to make up an 'inspirational' medley. Yet somehow I never can get the beginning of the second verse in tune.

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

(by Rodgers, Hammerstein)

This song is also the anthem of the Liverpool Football Club, which happens to be my brother's favourite club. When I was very small I had the impression that Liverpool was a swimming pool that was full of barnacles. If that isn't odd enough, it appears that my brother's daughter, who is almost 3, also thinks along the same lines. Her favourite club is 'swimming pool'.

I glimpse eternity

And I sing to Baby J. I sing nursery rhymes and nonsense songs. I sing snatches of pop songs, Italian arias, musical medleys, you name it. But I have one particular favourite. I like it because it's got a simple, traditional tune and it's easy to sing. But most of all I like it because when I look at J, the lyrics have meaning for me. I am filled with wonder, and I think I glimpse eternity.

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

Copyright Lovland, Graham.