Beautiful Dreamer

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, 
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
Sounds of the rude world heard in the day,
Lull’d by the moonlight have all pass’d a way!

- Stephen Foster

I seem to remember having sung this song in Pri sch…it’s a simple lullaby, and reminds me of a better, sweeter time.I was in the choir, and I must say I didn’t enjoy myself very much. I joined only because I couldn’t think of anything else to join. It was a rather exclusive and glamorous sorta ECA, full of pretty girls with twittering voices (there is no rancour i swear :P) my bestie was a star (she’s doing pretty well as a singer these days), and many of my classmates who were very popular were with me at choir practice on Saturdays. I made only one good friend there, who’s now a doctor-in-training and seems to have morphed into a full-fledged Rafflesian of the cheery, happening, church-going sort. But she was very nice when we were 11 years old, and I am thankful that she cared enough for me to include me and to write me, a misfit of sorts, a lovely autograph. I didn’t (and still don’t) get along with girly girls who do makeovers and sleepovers and organise themselves according to cliques. There were days when I absolutely hated choir practice. I remember wearing a ghastly green top and flouncy lacy, sequinned-trimmed skirt (ok it didn;t look that bad cos it was a stage costume and stage costumes in the 80s..well, all flash and uncoolness understandably heh) and hating every moment I had to put it on. Certainly I put on a brave front, but what upset me was the fact that I got assigned green because four other girls arranged themselves ahead and behind me. It was supposed to be pink, blue, green, pink, blue green…Almost every young girl likes bright pink and blue so I can understand how they felt but it really was quite underhanded. To nudge/push/wheedle their way into not getting tailored for the green blouse (it was a damn ugly shade…I still dislike it to this day, even though I love the colour green). So anyway I got over it lah, and I did try my best to sing sweetly and happily at the ensuing SYF competition. I also enjoyed the Cinderella musical that we put up. We had to practise hard, and I even got a sore throat for my efforts! And I remember that many girls were in love with the girl who played Prince Charming and many girls wanted to be the girl who played Cinderella. Me, I couldn’t wait for the afternoons to come so I could borrow books at the Geylang East library and go swimming at the swimming complex and eat my favourite fish burger from Garden Bakery after that (I’m gonna blog about my Geylang East adventures in a separate post *grin*). But I don’t know what it is about choir costumes…choir mistresses seem to favour chiffon. The next gown we got was a lilac affair that made geeky, gawky me look most unlady-like and unsophisticated. When I went on the secondary school the following year, a fat senior that I didn’t like actually fawned over it, which led me to realise early on in life that taste really is very subjective. Pity she couldn’t fit into the gown–she had somehow managed to get herself cast as the princess in our little skit and I had brought the gown along as a potential costume. It was worn by another senior, to her disappointment. But I think she was happy lah cos she got to waltz with a tall Sec 4.So back to the choir, obviously we spent a lot of time singing, and I remember I had a thick file with plastic pockets filled with many many songssheets, all lovely tunes, and although many escape me now, I want to post the lyrics of some of the more memorable ones. Maybe I will sing them for you someday?

AS THE DEER (Martin Nystrom. Psalm 42:1)

As the deer panteth for the water,
So my soul longs after you.
You alone are my hearts desire,
And I long to worship You.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.

I want you more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy giver
And the apple of my eye.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.

You’re my friend and You’re my brother,
Even though you are a King.
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.

Artist: Cinderella Lyrics
Song: So This Is Love Lyrics

So this is love, Mmmmmm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine
I’m all aglow, Mmmmmm
And now I know
The key to all heaven is mine
My heart has wings, Mmmmmm
And I can fly
I’ll touch ev’ry star in the sky
So this is the miracle that I’ve been dreaming of
Mmmmmm
Mmmmmm
So this is love

Di Tanjong Katong, airnya biru 

Di situ tempatnya dara jelita  

Duduk sekampung, lagikan rindu  

Kononlah pula nun jauh di mata  

Pulau Pandan jauh ke tengah 

Gunung Daik bercabang tiga 

Hancur badan di kandung tanah  

Budi yang baik di kenang jua  

( Repeat Chorus )  

Kalau ada jarum patah  

Jangan simpan di dalam peti  

Kalau ada silap sepatah  

Jangan disimpan di dalam hati  

  ( Repeat Chorus ) 

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I’ve been trawling the net for song lyrics and poems that I like. And there are so many meaningful and touching ones! I feel like I’m re-discovering a part of me that I thought had died! I think I should look into compiling them properly, instead of saving them in too many Word documents on my thumbdrive. Organising was never my strong suit, sheesh.

I also want to do some colouring in my coloring books. I need new colour pencils and markers and paint! I coloured 20+ Snow White and the 7 Dwarves pictures to enter a contest, and I cried for 2 days when one of my best efforts get wedged between the wall and my parents’ built-in table at our old place. I sometimes wonder if I can go visit to the new owners and ask what happened to it. And also my unreceived letters from my German penfriend…

Hey I suddenly know what you mean by ‘what has your life become?’. I used to have so many hobbies!

 Better do something about it Piggy! Thanks for beingso patient with me, m’dear sagely BuBu…