De one with Song

Showers on eve of Lunar Seventh Month

How do you define a song? In my opinion, it's a melody of the vocal. Of course, there's definitely more than this vivid definition. It's a part of music, no doubt about this. believe to many, a song is one of many psychiatric instruments. Besides, others would relate it as a form of the Arts.

It doesn't mean one has to be a music student or composer to provide a gauge of roughly when did a song came into existence. Alright, except stating the exact period which would need the advice from the expertises. Give me a break. I believe most would believe a song might have impact humans some very very long time ago.

Not completely untrue, the primitives might have treated simple noises or chantings as songs. Along the way, music and lyrics must have fused to give birth to songs.

During the old classical times where the great composers were alive, they have developed romantic songs with poems, often accompanied by the piano. Of course, opera singing emerged too. Ahh.. there we have it. Songs were mostly about love.

Personally, I believe generally, one of life's stages when people would open themselves to songs (not talking about music wor) is when they are in love. Seriously, just listen to the radio and you'll realise that most of the songs in the world mostly contain love-contexts. Hmmm... Elvis Presley's "Can't help falling in love", "I must have done something good" in The Sound of Music, MLTR's "25 Minutes", Whitney Huston's "Saving all my love for you", 曹格's "兩隻戀人".

Let's not just limit to couple's love, love encompasses other forms of love. What about the love of God in the songs sung in a Church in Alabama? Or Spice girl's "Mama", depicting the love of mothers? Err.. there's actually a song called "I love Singapore" you know...

Most commonly, we find ourselves relating to the words or lyrics in a song as it's probable that certain phrases rake up fond memories. Alternatively or in addition, these phrases might provide absolute descriptions of what our psyche are experiencing or what we'd like to say from our hearts. More exact, the lyrics of a song, like any forms of art, voices our feelings...

"The blind usually have heightened sense of hearing". Listening to songs are as though we are blind, simply because we do not see but receive what we feel from hearing. Of course, marketing have seize the hybrid of captive-feeling through the provision of MTVs so we are able to feel through what we hear and see.

Songs are all about feelings. The tempo, rhythms, melody and everything impacts a diverse range of how we would and/or wanna feel. Ask yourself this, when you listen to a lullaby, wouldn't you feel sleepy? Look around the MRT and one would be easily spotted with a pair of white ear-piece plugged on. Imagine a musical without a song, would you feel something amiss?

Needless to say, in pursuit to the above mentioned, songs ain't only convey feelings of boredom or sleepiness. The Black people in the old days sung at funerals, as a form of expressing their joy for their release from their slavery; Ricky Martin's "The cup of Life" premier in 1998's FIFA World cup; Governor Maria (played by Julie Andrews) taught the Von Trapp children "My favourite things" when they were afraid of thunder sounds; an adaptation from "Dream girls" of how Effie sung her frustrations and lone-misery; the sympathetic feelings for "Mr Cellophane" in Chicago; the tear-arousing from Jay Chou's "世界末日" or 張惠妹's "記得" are examples of some distinctive emotions of hapiness, fun, relieve, pain, pity and heart-aching respectively.

Want more? How about Evita's "Don't cry for me Argentina"? Okay, not going overboard but songs not only intrigues our feelings but in other ways, convey something from the composer or creator him/herself.

Some might argue that music are the main drivers for motivation. Yes, the two can't be separated. Giving more thoughts to with regards to this, the inclusion of words might just deliver the message across to people more effectively. Just imagine the latest NDP song without lyrics but purely instrumental. Would you know what the song is trying to convey to you?

Some might even bring rap-songs into argument. They view regardless of whether it's the beat or rapping, it doesn't delivery anything except mumbling or "chanting".

From my perspective, I would reconsider it this way. It's the beat and rapping which most people are unable to achieve. For that, listening to others who are able to perform a rap-song, hitting all the off-beats, style and filling words to advance the whole creativity into a song, that conveys some sense of achievement (for the rap-singer) and admiration (for the audience).

With that, we could also view songs as the work-piece of others to define individualism and age-groups. In prior years, the latter used to be applicable due to distinctive variety of songs which differ in music, feel, complexity and sound-quality. With the emergence of "retro-fever", songs for differentiating age-groups seemed to have eroded thereafter.

On the contrary, individualism continues today. A very good example are the works of Jay Chou. Not being bias, just taking an example which I'm more familiar. Director Chou's songs delivers his persistence on promoting Chinese-melodies and the flow of Chinese heritage in some of his MTVs. Furthermore, his effects to create music from different backgrounds are evidence in his songs.

Perhaps not everyone would be convince with my previous example. Some Caucasian friends might be wondering who the hack is Jay Chou. Let me try this.. how about deriving something from the songs used in Ipod promotion? Of course, don't just view the advertisements narrowly as an apparent advertisement trying to push sales of the unique product. It's the songs which they use which portrays some level of individuality in people who buy and use the gadget. That's is why there are so many songs available rather than only one!

Some songs are more appealing, others are just for the racks-storage. Nevertheless, it is another form of communicating art which has been successful in fostering relationships all around the world for ages. This doesn't not just consist of the bond between our idol singers and us, it also integrate the communication between us and our friends too.

Personally, I deem songs are one of evolution's most powerful invention. It is the "fruit atom" of both science (rhythms) and arts (psyche). It is intangible in nature, yet it might comfort us more effectively than another fellow being on certain occasions. Much are said but mere simple discussions.

What are songs? It's a melody of the vocals... the fondue voice of hearts... and maybe more...