Dick Lee Life Story
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DICK LEE LIFE STORY All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore A Star is born! All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore BENGAWAN SOLO This is dedicated to my father, who nurtured me with jazz and krontjong (an Indonesian musical style). I've written English words, (with escape as a theme), and tried to do a tropical fantasy in today's package-tour language. Bengawan Solo, by the way, is the name of a river. Dick Bengawan Solo, the river of my dreams Drifting through my secret life To places where I haven't been. No one needs to know Lee Where you can carry me You can take me down your streams Life And show me what my wishes mean River of desire When you are calm you only soothe me Story But when you overflow with fire You spark my wildest dreams. Bengawan Solo take me away to where I don't have to be myself Like you, I'd flow without a care. Bengawan Solo riwayatmu ini sedari dulu All Rights Reserved,jadi Perhatia Nationaln Insan Libraryi Board, Singapore DISC1 LIFE STORY date Learn something new I auditioned for a talent show in 1973 What are you hoping to prove? with this song, one of the first few I Make some money, find a wife, had written. In a sense, it changed Have a kid or two my life, as the song became the title Thinking back, I like to dream track of my first album. Here is a Of things I would have done new version, 20 years on. After If I were braver, considering various ways to treat it, Then again, I'm not - What can I do? I've decided to stick as close as Maybe if I had another chance possible to the original version. I'd go into my past And make my life a better one "Wake up" she said, "Look it's a For me & you beautiful day." Downstairs to the kitchen door chorus And then away LIFE STORY (1973) Into the light - morning feeling lives When it's time and I must close After singing with my vocal group on I'll write a book and sign it "X" Harmony for a couple of years, I Come the clouds, the moon And send it to some True -Romance decided to go solo, mainly because I And morning is gone type had begun experimenting with son- Magazine somewhere gwriting and wanted to sing my own Born today some years ago Then the world will read of me songs. So, one day, in 1973, I And had a happy childhood And say - "There lived a hero" auditioned for a talent contest held But I feil in love and out But too late my friends and enemies by Rediffusion, a local cable radio And nothing changed I guess life isn't fair station. The song I sang, Life Story, Lived a life of nothing much So my Life Story impressed the auditioner so much But then how much can one expect It's quite explanatory that he thought it was better to put So there you are, my life has gone Won't you please start from page me on the show every week as a But I'm the same one guest artiste to entertain the audi And do go on ence while the judges were deliber chorus Till I am done ating. It turned out to be a really Just my Life Story Till I am done good decision as I was then able to Minute by second, a story Till I am done perform two of my own composi That goes on forever tions each week. The day of the With each breath that I take credit for' Life Story:song grand finals was my first big break. This is my Life Story Produced & arranged by Dick Lee The song I performed was Fried Rice Uneventfullest story Vocal : Dick Lee Paradise, and it caught the attention That ages with each year and birth Strings : Tang Quartet of one of the judges who was a day cake Guiter : Martin Pereira record company executive. I was Supervisor : Martin Nagano signed up, and a few months later, "Get up" she said, "Hurry or you Recorded & Mixed by Masayuki my first album, Life Story was might be late" Amano at ONKIO HAUS STUDIO, released. Everyday you hurry off to keep your Tokyo All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore Dick Lee at age 10 All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore A musical family! (From right) All Rights Reserved, NationalAndrew Library, John, Peter Board,, Patrici Singaporea and Dick. Assistant Engineer: Yukihiro Fukuda Do you like Schubert? Do you like & Tatsuya Ono at ONKIO HAUS INC. jazz? Lesten to the music - let the music through CULTURE Show them you appreciate what they're trying to do. Singapore in 1983 was looking des perately for some sense of identity, 1984 Produced by and at the time, many diverse pro Dick Lee & Richard Goh grammes were tried out. Some of them worked, but mostly, they seemed a little contrived. This song FLOWER DRUM SONG was a friendly but satirical comment on the way "Culture" was being This was my first experiment with imposed on us. folk songs, and I chose this one because I had learnt it at school, and Listen to the music - let the music more recently, sung it when I was in through the Singapore Youth Choir. My Show them you appreciate what brother Peter was at the time very they're trying to do involved with his discovery of our Exercise some discipline - don't tap Chinese roots, so this song was your feet too hard dedicated to him. Try to see that what you hear has INTERNATIONALAND (Single) got no counterpart Not a soul in sight, the flower drums (19S0) Culture awaken the night. Jimmy Wee, who was with EMI when When you look upon the wall, do you Shattering the moonlight, maybe Life Story was released, noticed me see dots and lines? ruining a million dreams then, and remembered me when he And when you watch the dancing Animated girls in pink, blossoms in moved to WEA. He contacted me in figures, do they dance in time? their hair, the summer of 1980 when I was back Teach yourself or have it fed into Marching, drums in hand, but are from London on my college vacation you day and night they really there? and asked me to do a demo single. Soon you'll come to understand the What is this parade? Wishful think Recording local artistes with their dances, dots and lines. ing someone said. original material was Dretty risky back Culture Only I can see them, waving flags then, as the music industry in Sin Ladies & gentlemen, we proudly and burning paper lanterns. gapore was virtually non-existent present And above on darkened clouds, the since the government restrictions in The greatest works ever created by monkey god is calling: the early 70's. However, I'll always man "Come back to where you know your be grateful to Jimmy for taking the Do tears come to your eyes homesick heart is falling. chance with me. Anyway, the song When all the characters emote Follow the dragons tail, be guided by was recorded, coupled with These It comes as no surprise the drumming." Boys, put onto a 6 inch single, and After all, culture's forced down your never released! (It was used for throat CHORUS sampling, but had no response.) All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore Chuo sow lo, yo sho ku, sho na chuo Here we are the product of material lor ku, lai chang ker. things Pier ti ker er wo yea pu hway chang, Empty-valued carelessnesses vani Tzer huay chang ker fong yang ker. shing Trr liang tong piauw yee piauw etc. A bit too late; oh well, that's fate - embarrassing Should I go or stay? The flower Overdressed, we've never had the drums are on the way, time to feel Giving me no reasons to stay as who Overdone in our attempts at overkill I seem to be. Always going overboard to get a In an oriental tongue those like I will thrill speak, Never again! But maybe I will We'll bring the people home, the flower drums will lead. We, the mindless servants of society Show them the heritage they don't Mimicking the public in self-parody know that they seek. How we go on, but now it's wrong - It's clear to me, it's where I want to we think we see be: We, the adolescent offspring never In Flower Drum Land. Aaaa age If I awaken, will I still hear them Elegantly canvassing the power age play? How we go on, well we were born My Flower Drum Song will take us all into the craze LIFE IN THE UON CITY (1983) away. Having never ever seen the other When I returned from my studies, I side met Jimmy again, and this time he 1984 Produced by We fall into the world with our eyes decided to go ahead with his plans Dick Lee & Richard Goh open, wide for reviving the music scene in Sin Complacency and satisfaction is a gapore. Our first project was an crime album for my childhood friend INTERNATIONALAND But not today - some other time. Jacintha, and I produced her first album, Silence. That really gave me Originally recorded as a demo in Time to grow up, time to face the a lot of confidence, and I was inspir 1980, I rearranged it for my 2nd world ed to do my own album of very album.