For the past 20 odd years of my life, only a few NDP songs have been as iconic as Stand Up For Singapore, Count On Me, Singapore and my personal favourite, Our Singapore.
Of course, I haven’t included the ‘cannot-not-sing-along-to’ Dick Lee classic, Home, brought to life poignantly by Kit Chan’s lilting vocals — a brilliantly written song that has withstood the test of time.
For a local NDP music scene saturated with an entire anthology of songs, it’s hard to imagine adding our very own version to the mix.
Well, an ambitious team at TheSmartLocal has thrown down the gauntlet and attempted to write their very own NDP song. How tough could it be right?
Sibei tough, it seems. If you’re allergic to Singlish, then do be warned — there are liberal ‘leh’, ‘lah’ and ‘lor’s sprinkled throughout the chorus.
You can watch the ridiculously catchy song in this 9-min video clip here.
We love how the lyrics, written by Weilun and his team organically by compiling what Singaporeans love – and love to complain about – are snippets of everyday heartland conversations.
Director Seng Jueh shares that they were inspired to put together an NDP song that was truly representative of the struggles we face in Singapore.
Struggles that unite us, rather than divide us as a nation.
For instance, cutting botak for NS, or the local weather that’s either sibei hot or too cold thanks to 16°C aircon.
We’re almost certain that you’ll come away from the music video singing the ‘la la la la la leh la lorrr’ refrain, till the price of COE finally drops and you can afford that car you’ve always dreamed of.
Here are the lyrics and chords in full, in case you’re already itching to make your own cover of the song.
VERSE 1 (Chords: E B A B x 4)
Let me tell you something
We living here in a small country
Everyday I take MRT
But damn sian there are no more seats
The only girls that look at me
Is the auntie selling bak chor mee (naww)
Wah lao got COE
Want to buy car also no money
PRE-CHORUS (Chords: A B E B, A A A B)
Ohh-oh-ohh, when we slack
Life hits you left, right, centre and back
Damn shag, but just whack
What the heck
CHORUS (Chords: E B A B, A E A B)
It has never been easy to lead a Singaporean life
Well don’t you worry ’cause you know we got the best chicken rice
Every time when we step outside wah the weather, sibei hot
But it never stops us from being the first one in line
We’re Singapore
REFRAIN (Chords: E B A B, A B A B)
La la la la la la la hey hey-eyyyy
La la la la la la la leh la lorrrrr,
Leh la lorrr,
Leh la lorrr,
Singapore
VERSE 2 (Chords: E B A B x 2)
I want to get married
She wants a diamond ring but I xiao worried
Cut botak go NS
Sometimes I just wish that I could down PES
PRE-CHORUS (Chords: A B E B, A A A B)
Ohh-oh-ohh, when we slack
Life hits you left, right, center and back
Damn shag, but just whack
What the heck
CHORUS (Chords: E B A B, A E A B)
It has never been easy to lead a Singaporean life
Well don’t you worry ’cause you know we got the best chicken rice
Every time when we step outside wah the weather, sibei hot
But it never stops us from being the first —
One more time lah sia
(Repeat Chorus)
REFRAIN (Chords: E B A B, A B A B)
La la la la la la la hey hey-eyyyy
La la la la la la la leh la lorrrrr,
Leh la lorrr,
Leh la lorrr,
We are Singapore
This seems to be TheSmartLocal and GRYD Studio‘s heartfelt gift to our nation, and they hope that Singaporeans will love it as much as they enjoyed putting it all together.
The song seems to be well-received by locals, who also began commenting at a furious pace — mostly on how relatable the lyrics were.
Some even requested for the NDP team to consider making it next year’s official song.
Currently, the video has already amassed 55,000 views at the time of writing, and is already trending in Singapore.
This song is a beautifully honest take on what it means to be Singaporean — for better or for worse, complaints and all.
We may bicker, we may disagree, we may make mistakes. But for all our shortcomings, we will also heal and remain united to face a potentially tough year ahead.
For this is where, I know is home.
For everything else, don’t you worry, because we still got the best chicken rice.
From all of us at TSL Media, happy 54th birthday Singapore!
Disclosure: MS News and TheSmartLocal are companies under TSL Media.
Featured image from TheSmartLocal on YouTube. All images courtesy of TheSmartLocal unless otherwise stated.
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