Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[csk]

When A Blind Man Cries

Its been nearly 40 years. 1972. Listen to the crying guitar.

The original version:

When a Blind Man Cries - Deep Purple

[csk]

This is the best live version that I know of.

The year 2001, the temperamental Ritchie Blackmore is no longer
with the band.

Steve Morse on guitar.

deep purple - when a blind man cries

[csk]

Also around that time about 40 years ago:

Heart Of Gold - Neil Young

Neil Young, Heart of gold (unplugged)

[csk]

1973

Angie - Rolling Stones

Rolling Stones-Angie

This song locks me to a place and time.

The place is still there but it is also not there. It is only a memory... of
the past... of Time.

Block 136 Alexandra Road

I go back there but I cannot see it. I go there without going there and
it is there. I can see it yet I cannot see it. The past is inside. The
past is Time.

[csk]

Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues

Although first released in 1968, this beautiful song became a classic only in 1972.

Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin

[csk]

Rewind back a few years... to the year 1966. I was in primary school.

It, Redhill Primary School, stood side-by-side with Bukit Merah North
Primary and Bukit Merah South Primary. All three were torn down and
the place now occupied by Gan Eng Seng Primary School.

I still remember when I started school, one of my primary 1 classmate
lived opposite across from the school on the other side of a mud
track. Her family were pig farmers. The mud track is now Jalan Bukit
Merah. 

These were the two songs that started it for me.


No Milk Today - Herman's Hermits

Herman's Hermits - No milk today

Bus Stop - The Hollies

Bus Stop- The Hollies - 1966

[csk]

Happy Together - The Turtles

I knew these Turtles first, nearly 20 years before the other Turtles.
I was in upper primary.

Turtles - Happy Together ( eng / spa sub)

[csk]

And there were The Monkees, who had their own TV show series
which was broadcast over RTS5.

Radio and Television of Singapore channel 5, predecessor of
Channel 5 we know today.

Here are two of their famous songs:


I'm A Believer - The Monkees

The Monkees - I'm a Believer [official music video]

Daydream Believer - The Monkees

Daydream Believer- the Monkees

[csk]

Those were the primary school years. I never quite fancy the
Beatles.

Now, whenever I go to Bukit Merah Central to do errants, I will
walk pass the place where Redhill Primary School used to stand.
And also the 7-storey blocks called Redhill Close, where many of
my classmates lived.

Actually the path that I will walk traces half of the path that I
used to walk to school. From birth, I lived in a SIT rental unit at
Brickworks Estate until 1971 when we relocated to Alexandra
Road.

Brickworks Estate was torn down soon after to make way for
HDB flats. The exact spot that I lived in is now the ABC
Brickworks hawker centre.

During my secondary school days, this was the group that
I liked and this is the LP vinyl that would listen to over and
over again:

The Bee Gees- 'Holiday'

The Bee Gees- I've Gotta Get a Message to You

The Bee Gees- 'I Can't See Nobody'

The Bee Gees- 'Words'

The Bee Gees- 'I Started a Joke'

The Bee Gees- 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow'

The Bee Gees- 'First of May'

The Bee Gees- 'World'

The Bee Gees- 'Massachusetts'

The Bee Gees- 'To Love Somebody'

The Bee Gees- Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You

The Bee Gees- 'New York Mining Disaster 1941'

[csk]

Another band came into the scene during my secondary 3 days.
Different style and I could not help noticing their 2 of their 1970
hits with "related titles".

Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
Early 1970: Who'll Stop The Rain
Late 1970: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who'll Stop The Rain

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

A classmate, Jafar, who lived next to the school at Strathmore
Avenue was a big fan of CCR.  We shared a lot of songs together.

He was also a good football player and we used to play football
at the very big school field. The field could accommodate 2 full
size football pitches. It was halved in size now and Strathmore
Avenue no longer run through the school. It is truncated at the
recently redeveloped Strathmore HDB estate. Long gone were
those "blue glass" 4-storey SIT blocks.

[csk]

I went to Queensway Shopping Centre this evening to bind 2
programming manuals I downloaded from the web and printed.
While waiting for the binding, I walked around and came to a
shop.

I heard a lead guitar intro to a song and instantly I like the
song. I was always poor in Chinese and never pass the subject
since primary 5. But there are certain type of Chinese songs
that appeal to me and this is one of them.

I asked the sales person for the title of the song and the singer.
In Chinese, it is "birthday present" and the singer name start
with something like Chang or Jang.

Home, I searched Youtube. This is it:

生日禮物-江濤

江濤-生日禮物

[PolarBear]

生日禮物 by 江濤, I think it was quite a popular song at kara pub too in recent months, I've at least heard thrice in different pubs

This thread is about remembrance, immediately I recall of a song which was also related to birthday. 你的生日 by 郑智化 (above), by hearing the music and even without understanding the lyrics you won't feel happy in a birthday occasion. As well, this was also quite a popular song back in early 90s.

郑智化 was almost one of my favorite artist back in 90s. In fact I think he is closed to very popular in Singapore due to his 2nd album 《单身逃亡》 onwards (this is one of the rare album which I like almost all the songs, 9 out of 10). The unpleasant happening back in 1990 ruin his popularity in Singapore as he once commented like: Singapore was like a castrated man, Singapore, your name is simple etc (according to reports)

2003年 鄭智化瀋陽歌友會-你的生日

Lyrics below:

你的生日让我想起 一个很久以前的朋友
your birthday reminds me of a friend long ago

那是一个寒冷的冬天 他流浪在街头
it was a cold winter, he was wandering in the streets

我以为他要乞求什么 他却总是摇摇头
I thought he was begging for something, yet he always shook his head

他说今天是他的生日 却没人祝他生日快乐
he said today is his birthday, yet no one wish him happy birthday

生日快乐祝你生日快乐 握着我的手 跟我一起唱这首生日快乐歌
happy birthday wish you happy birthday, hold on to my hand, sing with me this happy birthday song

生日快乐祝你生日快乐 有生的日子天天快乐 别在意生日怎么过
happy birthday wish you happy birthday, happy everyday while living alive, don't care how birthday is celebrated

(music)
这个朋友早已不知下落 眼前的我有一点失落
this friend no longer can be found, right now I'm a bit lost

这世界有些人一无所有 有些人却得到太多
in this world some people has nothing, instead some people getting too much

所以我最亲爱的朋友 请你珍惜你的拥有
so my dear friend, please treasure what you have

虽然是一首生日才唱的歌 愿永远陪伴你左右
even though this song only sing on birthday, I wish it will always accompany you

[csk]

The year 1970 also saw a number of bands making their
name. I can recall Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath.
Wishbone Ash and Free.

It was the beginning of rock and heavy metal. The
culmunation of the Hippies Movement.

While the Hippies Movement had its bad name, especially
with drugs, it was anti-establishment but more importantly it
was anti-war. Their movement was in part credited for the
bringing the Vietnam war to an end when the American public
supported their anti-war protests.

The mid-1970 album, Fire and Water, by Free brought 2 very
popular songs. This their 3rd album but the first to make
them famous.

Fire and Water

Free - Fire and Water

All Right Now

Free - All Right Now [totp]

Another album at end-1970, Highway, saw another song became a classic:

Be My Friend

Free - Be My Friend

[csk]

1970 also saw many anti-war songs. Here are some of them:


Find The Cost Of Freedom - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Find the Cost of Freedom

Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down

Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down


War Pigs - Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath - War Pigs (Live in Paris 1970)

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like Witches at Black Masses
In the fields their bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning

Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerer of death's construction
It's the same wherever you go
To the War Pigs people know

Oh Lord Yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their judgement day comes ... Yeah!

People running like they're sheep in fields
People blowing out their minds
Say that you're dying here ... I know it now
Hey, you're the goner at the end ... Yeah!

On the scene a priest appears
Hell is falling at his knees
Satan sends out funeral pyre
Cast the priest into the fire

It's the place for all bad sinners
Watch them eating dead rat cinders
It's the same wherever you go
To Black Masses people go

Oh Lord Yeah!


This is from 1971:
People Let's Stop the War - Grand Funk Railroad

GRAND FUNK RAILROAD -- PEOPLE LETS STOP THE WAR

Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo-Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo

Hey all you people, for goodness sake,
Let's get together, what does it take,
To make you understand the value of a man?
I'm talkin' about your son and neighbor, yes I am. Oh ...

CHORUS
People let's stop the war.
People let's stop the war.
People let's stop the war.
People let's stop the war.

If we had a president, that did just what he said,
The country would be just alright, and no one would be dead,
From fighting in a war, that causes big men to get rich.
There's money in them war machines, now ain't this a bitch? Oh ...

CHORUS

I been excited, ain't nobody ready.
They don't know what to get ready for.
Let's get ready and stop the war.

Ooo ... excited, ain't nobody ready.
They don't know what to get ready for.
Let's get ready and stop the war.

I been excited, ain't nobody ready.
They don't know what to get ready for.
Let's get ready and stop the war.

Ooo ... excited, ain't nobody ready.
They don't know what to get ready for.
Let's get ready and stop the war.

Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo-Ooo, Ooo, Ooo, Ooo

[csk]

4 May 1970 marked a very black day in America's history.

When running for election in 1968. Nixon promised to end the
Vietnam war. However, in late April 1970, he expanded the war
by invading Cambodia. Nixon announced this on 30 April 1970.
The entire American nation was shocked.

The ensuing protests resulted in 4 students of Kent State
University shot dead by the Ohio National Guards. Another 9
were shot and wounded with 1 paralysed for life.

Students and faculty staffs nationwide went on protests
escalating the anti-war rallies.

Four Dead In Ohio



Kent State shooting

The Kent State Protest: Standing Up Against the Vietnam War

Immediately on seeing the pictures of the dead, Neil Young,
who was (and still is today) strongly anti-war, wrote the song
Ohio.


Ohio - Graham, Stills , Nash and Young

Neil Young CSN - Ohio

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.


Ohio - Acoustic Solo Neil Young

Neil Young - Ohio