{"id":2283,"date":"2013-09-13T10:40:39","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T02:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.com\/?p=2283"},"modified":"2013-09-13T10:40:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-13T02:40:55","slug":"the-songs-my-dad-gave-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/?p=2283","title":{"rendered":"The Songs My Dad Gave Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

I came across this article The Songs Our Parents Gave Us <\/a>on The Guardian<\/em>, where the paper invited readers to\u00a0tell\u00a0about the songs that took them back to their childhood homes.\u00a0I then\u00a0thought I’d write\u00a0my own\u00a0account on my blog.<\/p>\n

From the time I was a baby to when I was six, my younger sister and I used to be ferried every morning to\u00a0our granduncle and grandauntie’s\u00a0home in Geylang\u00a0every weekday where\u00a0my parents would drop us off\u00a0and then head to work.\u00a0Us two girls would spend the day there\u00a0– from three to six years old I spent part of the day at a\u00a0nursery and kindergarten\u00a0in Geylang –\u00a0and in the evening my parents would\u00a0come\u00a0back to Geylang, have dinner\u00a0there and we would head home together as a family.<\/p>\n

During the drive to and from Geylang, my dad always put on music that he enjoyed; he is more of the music fan compared to my mum.\u00a0As\u00a0someone from the baby boomer generation,\u00a0the music he likes\u00a0are 50s and\u00a060s classics which\u00a0usually had melodies and lyrics that were\u00a0unique and\u00a0easy to remember and sing\u00a0along to. He had several cassette tapes (yes,\u00a0I grew up in the era of cassette tapes) which were rotated in the play\u00a0list or sometimes the radio would be switched on.\u00a0On weekends when we went out as a family, these tunes would be playing in the car too. After listening to the songs\u00a0repeatedly, my sister and I could\u00a0– and would – sing along happily to the tunes.\u00a0These are the ones I remember most:<\/p>\n

1. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – The Platters<\/a>\u00a0(1958)<\/p>\n

Obviously I knew nothing of true love and heartache back then, but the song’s\u00a0distinctive melody,\u00a0simple\u00a0lyrics,\u00a0slow\u00a0cadence and short duration made it easy for my sister and me to commit this song to memory.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: When a lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. (How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window – Lita Roza<\/a>\u00a0(1953)<\/p>\n

Any kid would love this song with its cute ‘arf arf’ sound effects.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: How much is that doggie in the window \/ I do hope that doggie’s for sale.<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Brian Hyland<\/a>\u00a0(1960)<\/p>\n

The song tells of a shy girl wearing a yellow polka dot bikini at the beach. Oh, those were the days when people were still so modest about revealing their bodies! But of course, this song stuck with me as a child because its tune was so catchy.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini \/\u00a0That she wore for the first time today.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>4. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers<\/a> (1955)<\/p>\n

I swear I\u00a0knew this song by heart long\u00a0before it enjoyed its second round of fame in the movie Ghost<\/em> (1990).<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: Oh, my love, my darling \/ I’ve hungered for your touch \/ A long, lonely time<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Sugar Sugar – The Archies<\/a> (1969)<\/p>\n

Another catchy tune that would definitely stick in anyone’s mind upon listening to it – an easy one for a child to remember.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: Sugar, ah, honey, honey \/ You are my candy girl \/\u00a0And you got me wanting you.<\/em><\/p>\n

6. My Girl – The Temptations<\/a> (1964)<\/p>\n

A Motown classic that is instantly recognisable from its first few bars.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day \/ With my girl \/ I’ve even got the month\u00a0of May \/\u00a0With my girl\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

7. Can’t\u00a0Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley<\/a>\u00a0(1961)<\/p>\n

No 60s hit play list is complete without the King featuring in it. I knew zilch about romantic love – maybe I still don’t – back then, but I had heard the song being played so many times that I would know\u00a0it when I heard it. Listening to it now though, I have a new appreciation for the song’s simplicity and Elvis Presley’s rich,\u00a0soulful vocals that would almost make you weep with its tenderness.<\/p>\n

Takeaway line: Wise men say only fools rush in \/\u00a0But I can’t help falling in love with you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came across this article The Songs Our Parents Gave Us on The Guardian, where the paper invited readers to\u00a0tell\u00a0about the songs that took them back to their childhood homes.\u00a0I then\u00a0thought I’d write\u00a0my own\u00a0account on my blog. From the time … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[119,274],"class_list":["post-2283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-days-of-my-life","category-music","tag-childhood","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2283"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2296,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283\/revisions\/2296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}