I HOPE YOU SING: IT'S NOW OR NEVER

'It’s Now or Never': This is one of my favorite songs sung by Elvis Presley. When I bought the SP (Single Play) record way back to my schooling days in Clifford School, Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Malaysia, my old buddy Tan Jing Ming used to request me playing this song over and over again in my late father’s shop (Bakauwali Tailor) after we were back from school. Well, I don’t have Elvis Presley’s voice but I did sing this song quite often during karaoke sessions with my ex-colleagues after ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. And I enjoyed singing this song together with Pak Ferry.

In plantation management, at times we have to make decision on the spot as we need to solve problems on site. Just like this Elvis’ song, we got to make decision ‘It’s Now or Never' as we have always been reminded, ‘A decision made is better than no decision made’. Since we are in top management, we cannot be indecisive at all. We have to make a wise decision at the right time. And the right time is NOW because ‘Tomorrow will be too late'.

Append below is Elvis Presley lyrics ‘It’s Now or Never’. Relax and sing along, my friends.

It's now or never, come hold me tight

Kiss me my darling, be mine tonight

Tomorrow will be too late,

It's now or never, my love won't wait.

When I first saw you, with your smile so tender

My heart was captured, my soul surrendered

I'd spend a lifetime, waiting for the right time

Now that your near, the time is here at last.

It's now or never, come hold me tight

Kiss me my darling, be mine tonight

Tomorrow will be too late,

It's now or never, my love won't wait.

Just like a willow, we would cry an ocean

If we lost true love, and sweet devotion

Your lips excite me, let your arms invite me

For who knows when, we'll meet again this way

It's now or never, come hold me tight

Kiss me my darling, be mine tonight

Tomorrow will be too late,

It's now or never, my love won't wait.

It's now or never, my love won't wait

It's now or never, my love won't wait

It's now or never, my love won't wait.

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtFN6YQOhj0 to watch and listen to Elvis Presley singing 'It's Now or Never’ on YouTube.

I Hope You Sing - You've Got A Friend

These few days as I travelled from Jl. Kartini (where I stay in Medan) to Tembung (where I work) in the early mornings and back from office after working hours in late afternoons, the familiar song “You’ve Got A friend” was on the air every now and then as my driver tuned on the car radio. Suddenly it seems that the Medanese (listeners of English songs) are fanatical and passionate of this beautiful song originally sung by Carole King.

This reminded me the 1st time I heard of this song was when I'd enrolled myself into Wye College, University of London, in Kent County, England in the Fall Semester of 1971/1972. There were only 6 of us, all foreign students, attending the M.Sc. course in Applied Plant Sciences. Beside me from Malaysia, there were one from Thailand, one from Egypt, one from Nigeria and two from Ethiopia. I was staying in the “Old Flying Horse” hostel. There were another three Malaysian students but doing different courses. Coincidently, there were three other Thai students too. Since we were of small number, we got quite close together and became friends. But the one most close to me was Richard Yip from Hong Kong. He was on OGS’s scholarship (OGS: On Government Service) whereas I was on MAPA’s scholarship. (MAPA: Mama & Papa).

Once Richard Yip got acquainted with me, as I could speak Cantonese dialect, we started to cook and share our foods for dinners. It was quite convenient for us since he had brought along a rice cooker and he could afford to travel to London more often than me during weekends. Thus, he did the buying of most food stuff and ingredients from the grocery shops in Chinatown. I did more cooking than him and he used to wash the plates and bowls after meals. But he was only in Wye College for a semester. Soon he returned to Hong Kong to resume his duty as Senior Agriculture Officer.

True enough for us that we had come a long way to a foreign country to further our studies and we wanted more friends to keep us company and care after each other. We spent about a year in Wye College, and then we were parted and returned to our home countries after completed our courses and obtained our degrees. Even though our time of togetherness was short, but I had treasured the friendship we had in Wye College. These friends had indeed added sweet memories and richness to my life.

Coming back to Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend”, I liked it because the lyrics were so meaningful and touching. A true friend will never hesitate to tell you, “I’ll be there for you.” Now will you be there when your friend is down with troubles and needs a helping hand?

I wish to share the lyrics with you and I hope you sing along:

When you're down and troubled

and you need a helping hand

and nothing, whoa nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me

and soon I will be there

to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,

and you know wherever I am

I'll come running, oh yeah baby

to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer, or fall,

all you got to do is call

and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You've got a friend.

If the sky above you

should turn dark and full of clouds

and that old north wind should begin to blow

Keep your head together and call my name out loud

and soon I will be knocking upon your door.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am

I'll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer or fall

all you got to do is call

and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?

People can be so cold.

They'll hurt you and desert you.

Well they'll take your soul if you let them.

Oh yeah, but don't you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am

I'll come running to see you again.

Oh babe, don't you know that,

Winter spring summer or fall,

Hey now, all you've got to do is call.

Lord, I'll be there,

yes I will. You've got a friend.

You've got a friend.

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.

You've got a friend.

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_L4epGowZU to watch and listen to Carol King singing 'You've Got A Friend' on YouTube.

I Hope You Sing - Poetry In Motion

I and Vun Thien Ngan became buddies after we got acquainted in National Overseas Chinese University, Luzhou, Taipei, in 1966. We were there doing our pre-university course. He came from Sabah, a Hakka-speaking province in East Malaysia. Since I am also a Hakka, we mixed well as we spoke the same dialect. Later, I was enrolled into National Taiwan University and he got into 師範大學（Shi Fan University）

Nevertheless, we used to get together every now and then and hang out during weekends. Somehow we had the common interests in swimming and dancing. Getting our bodies to move in motion was one part of our college life. I joined the NTU’s swimming club as a member and the pool was just a walking distance from my dormitory. We also made frequent trips to other public swimming pools in Taipei during the summer holidays. That’s where we could meet up beautiful girls from other colleges and universities.

We loved dancing so much that we even enrolled ourselves in a dancing school to learn Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Quickstep and Tango. We found that if we knew how to dance Waltz and Foxtrot only, then some smart guys would come and invite our dancing partners when the music changed to Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Quickstep or Tango. We felt miserable and frustrated sitting there watching our beautiful partners dancing with "strangers in the night". Once we mastered the skill of these dances, then it’s our turn for "changing partners".

I don’t know about Thien Ngan who has settled down in Sydney, Australia for years, but I have stopped dancing for quite some time. I and my wife danced only once a year when we attended the New Year Eve Party. As for swimming, I am still able to swim Breaststroke for 20 laps whenever I get into the pool. I like it because my whole body is in motion when I swim.

I also like to sing the oldies whenever I have the chance to go karaoke or attending a wedding dinner in Segamat. My childhood friend, Tan Jing Ming, sounded to me that one day we must gather again and sing the old songs we used to listen in my late father’s shop, Bakauwali Tailor, in Kuala Lipis.

Here are Johnny Tillotson’s lyrics of Poetry In Motion. I hope you sing along:

When I see my baby

What do I see

Poetry

Poetry in motion

Poetry in motion

Walkin' by my side

Her lovely locomotion

Keeps my eyes open wide

Poetry in motion

See her gentle sway

A wave out on the ocean

Could never move that way

I love every movement

And there's nothing I would change

She doesn't need improvement

She's much too nice to rearrange

Poetry in motion

Dancing close to me

A flower of devotion

A swaying gracefully

Whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Whooooooooa

Poetry in motion

See her gentle sway

A wave out on the ocean

Could never move that way

I love every movement

There's nothing I would change

She doesn't need improvement

She's much too nice to rearrange

Poetry in motion

All that I adore

No number-nine love potion

Could make me love her more

Whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRS38qBplH4 to watch and listen to Johnny Tillotson sing "Poetry In Motion' on YouTube.

I Hope You Sing - I Want To Hold Your Hand

My 3rd cousin brother bought me my 1st Beatles LP record when I visited him in Muar, Johor. That was during the year-end school holidays in 1963. I was so excited when I brought it back to Kuala Lipis. After checking around, I found that there were no Beatles records on sales in this small town, a former capital of Pahang. I started playing the Beatles songs to my friends in my father’s shop (Bakauwali Tailor) almost every afternoon after school.

The gramophone (record player) was belonged to my 2nd cousin brother who worked as a tailor for my late father. My 1st cousin brother was also a tailor in the shop. There were altogether about 8 tailors employed by my father and he was the main cutter. Most of them were Hakka speaking and none of them was English speaking. Nevertheless, they enjoyed listening to the English songs blasted aloud from the loud speakers when I started playing the records. At times we could hear some of them singing along “Yeah Yeah Yeah” with the Beatles! Amazing, isn’t it? Unknowingly, they too became the Beatles’ fans!

Oh Yeah! I was so crazy about the Beatles at that period of time that I copied the images of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and ink-printed on my T-shirt. I felt so proud of wearing it and showing off to my friends. What a good sign of Beatlemania!

I believe many of us, including the new generation of listeners, still love the songs of the Beatles. I hope you sing - this beautiful song of the Beatles' “I Want To Hold Your Hand”:

Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something,

I think you'll understand.

When I’ll say that something

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand.

Oh please, say to me

You'll let me be your man

And please, say to me

You'll let me hold your hand.

Now let me hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand.

And when I touch you I feel happy inside.

It's such a feeling that my love

I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide.

Yeah, you've got that something,

I think you'll understand.

When I’ll say that something

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand.

And when I touch you I feel happy inside.

It's such a feeling that my love

I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide.

Yeah, you've got that something,

I think you'll understand.

When I’ll feel that something

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand,

I want to hold your hand.

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iim6s8Ea_bE to watch and listen to The Beatles singing 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' on YouTube.

I Hope You Sing - Put Your Head On My Shoulder

The 1st single record I bought was “My Hometown” sung by Paul Anka. It was 1959, the year I joined the Remove Class in Clifford Secondary School, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. I had completed my primary education in Chung Hwa Chinese School.

Somehow I was told that one way to improve my English was listening to English songs. From then on, I tried to save my pocket money and started my collection of English songs one single record at a time whenever I saved enough to buy one. My greatest joy was when my late father gave me sufficient money to buy a LP (Long Play).

Remember the story of a mother used to ask her little daughter what was the important part of the body? After many years, she finally told her daughter that the important part of the body was her shoulder. However, she explained that the shoulder could hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cried. I think whenever my wife put her head on my shoulder, she feels comforted, being loved, and protected. How about you, my friends?

Now let us listen to what Paul Anka had to sing in his song, “Put Your Head On My Shoulder”. Stay tuned and here it’s the lyrics:

Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so tight
Show me that you love me too

Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won't you kiss me once, baby
Just a kiss goodnight, maybe
You and I will fall in love
(You and I will fall in love)

People say that love's a game
A game you just can't win
If there's a way
I'll find it someday
And then this fool will rush in

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear
Tell me, tell me that you love me too
(Tell me that you love me too)

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear, baby
Put your head on my shoulder

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RSWOu0ZNi0 to watch and listen to young Paul Anka singing 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' on YouTube.

I Hope You Sing - Mona Lisa

My old buddy, Tan Jing Ming, always reminded me of the oldies we used to listen and sing along during our younger days. He was one year my senior when we were in Clifford Secondary School, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. Those days after school, I used to go to his father's Overseas Chinese Book Store to chit-chat with him and his brother, Jing Phong, as we sat on the rottan chairs in front of the shop. Later, we would like to go to the nearby Sin Hup Seng Kopitiam to have kopi or iced barley water and roti kiap (toast with kaya and butter). The jelly with milk was also our favorite.

They used to come across the Main Street (Jalan Besar) to my father's tailor shop (Bakauwali Tailor) in the late afternoons and then I would put on the gramophone to play our favorite songs of Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Pat Boone, and many others not forgetting Nat King Cole.

I do not have the Senior Citizen Version of Mona Lisa, but I bet you'll still enjoy the original Mona Lisa sung by Nat King Cole.

Here it goes:

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only 'cause you're lonely they have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxEmnxiUz8w to watch and listen to Nat King Cole sing 'Mona Lisa' on YouTube.