of late, i'm getting flashbacks when certain songs come on air. like my sentimental friend (herman's hermits). it was the song i dedicated to my 1st penfriend KH, way back in 1975. & everytime it's played, i reminisce of those care-free days of puppy love - oh, & don't get me started on donny osmond now!!
living next door to alice (smokie) was the song i sang to my 6th form classmate porky, with some improvised lyrics, on the bus home from our end-of-the-year farewell trip to desaru. a swan song, so to speak, because we never met as a class again after that.
my best pal peter & i organised a farewell for BH, one of our icu nurses, at the local ship restaurant & we managed to convince the resident band to join us sing you are always on my mind (willie nelson) as a tribute to BH's contribution at work.
(photo : where's the karaoke when you need it?)
ah yes, did i mention that kay, another 6th form classmate, & i are planning our 30th anniversary class reunion? 3 decades, or in effect 1 whole generation, have passed since we were last in school uniforms, sitting behind wooden desks, fiddling with slide-rules (calculators were disallowed in those primitive pre-digital days) & scribbling on exercise books while listening to our dear old teachers ramble on.
indeed, a reunion is way overdued, yes? & perhaps it is i who should be the sentimental friend of the old 70s era.
15 comments:
oh, once you start listening to these oldies, you'll never stop.
The yesteryears of carefree days, of kampungs and chickens running over the hay. Of warm days and cool nights (tropical malaysia and singapore), of quiet moments and gently waves lapping at the beach.
"All kinds of everything" - Dana
"House of the Rising Sun"
"Green green grass of home" - Tom Jones
.. lots more.
las montanas,
yeah, just like pringles potato chips, once you start, you just can't stop.
oh dear, the fact that you & i know those songs does suggest that we are both from the same pre-digital era!!
"there is a house in new orleans..."
i recalled you commented on a previous post (living next door to porky) - i really can't help it when some days these memories keep flooding back.
won't u pls play a song,
a sentimental song, for my sentimental fren, over there
We been so long apart, dont know dont know..right thru the heart of my sentimental friend, over there
Bring the tears to her eyes, help to make her realize....omg i still remember the lyrics...izit this song?
This was an easier song as when compared to living next door to alice..when i was younger, i wore big glasses like the guy in guitar pic third from left..funny thing is i never looked back to those days until i read this post of yours.
I learned this song when I was learning the guitar coz it had very simple guitar chords
I like Neil Diamond, Joan Baez,Who sang By the time i get to phoenix, she be rising? Conway Twitty, Tanya Tucker. The house of the rising sun was cool too, this songbook had a title like 2000 yesteryear songs..how i enjoyed myself playing the guitar thinking i was so hip not knowing i will be so Ah Beng in the future hahaahah..but i am satisfied with my family and life :)
My gosh: this is mayb my longest comment on any blog..u really made me sentimental...i usually am not :) Mrs bengbeng and I are usually )% sentimental and 100% practical
beng,
that was a heckova comment!
it was glen campbell, amongst others, who sang "by the time i get to phoenix".
the sentimental friend goes like this :
"we've been so long apart, make it go right thru her heart, of my sentimental friend over there.
bring the tears to her eyes, & make her realise, the love we had was just beyond compared,
then if the time is right, maybe i'll hold her tight, my sentimental friend over there.."
(ah, yes, i did hold her tight once upon a time)
playing the guitar was the only musical outlet for me because it's easy to learn & don't have to pay for lessons. we both may have the same 2000-song book with guitar chords.
i don't apologise for making you all weepy again because that's how i feel sometimes when those songs come on air. those days, i think we all look funny with big black-rimmed glass, long hair, tight shirts & bell-bottomed jeans.
however, unfortunately mrs doc doesn't share my inclination for songs from the 60s & 70s. so i play the guitar for myself.
thanks for writing.
PS. maybe some day, we have a jam session??
:) at first i felt a little embarrassed after writing the comment but wat the heck...i enjoyed reading the post and it made me go retro. thanks for reading n replying :)
talking abt bell bottoms, permed hair and high heels..................hahahahhahaah memories
beng,
what's there to be embarrassed - you are revealing your sentiments to someone from the same generation.
we both been there & done that, & lived to tell the tale.
Any reunion is always looked forward to by all. It only needs a few committed guys ( in your case) to get the ball rolling.
With your guitar and serenading skills,you must have fluttered a few gals' hearts for sure!
just me,
people will look forward to a reunion only if they had pleasant memories about the past. i've sensed that a few are hesitant, but i hope i am wrong. as for me, i'm really looking forward to it.
ha ha, if i depended only on my guitar & so-called serenading skills, i'm 100% sure i'll still be single today!!
While lite.fm can sometimes play songs which are not very 'lite', some of the songs they play even get me howling, i mean singing, to the radio.
I can't even imagine my 30th reunion at this stage but do have fun at yours.
And be glad you lived in the pre digital era, graphics calculators which are compulsory these days at A levels, cost S$200+
anastasia,
it baffles the imagination, doesn't it? 30yrs ago, you weren't even born yet, & there we were, at the threshold of adulthood.
you know, we did ok with our slide-rule & a certain book of tables (what is it called again??). i think we would be very lost with this thingamagic you call a graphics calculator.
Very, very sentimental post, indeed.
In the 70s, I did not even have a radio at home (too poor to afford one). But, I was lucky to live next door to (not Alice) a boy who played good guitar, wonderful voice and most of all, a good hi-fi (or was it call so?) system. Anyway, he would make sure that his music was heard by the girl next door.
Those were the times when "Bridge Over Trouble Water", "Don't forget to remember" etc were heard over and over.
I was never short of music then...
Those good old days - I really miss them.
Thanks for the opportunity or the excuse to go back to the good old times!
Yan
yan,
thks for your kind comment.
going back in time can be a sobering experience, esp. when so much has changed since. i can relate to your experience because my family was barely coping to make ends meet, too. i didn't have a cassette recorder till i was 18 (& kids these days won't settle for less than branded mp3 players!) with which i used to record songs & voices to send to my penfriend. unbelieveably, i still have those cassettes we exchanged.
yes, the 70s were filled with classics which i can't say for the songs these days. hits like bridge over troubled waters, sounds of silence, let it be & yesterday will forever etched their places in immortality.
btw, what happened to the boy next door??
You may like to read the story of bridge here -
httep://yantouch.wordpress.com/2006/04/25/the-bridge/
I mentioned about the BoyNextDoor. Nothing happen, because we did not communicate. I did another story about the BoyNextDoor, but just somehow could not find it in my blog. One day, when I have the link, will let you know.
yan,
thks for the links to the 2 stories (the bridge & boy-next-door) which were very well written.
for someone who once couldn't speak english, you have improved by leaps & bounds. i only wished i could do that with mandarin.
take care & hope you feel better soon. God bless!
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