This article contains a list of Singaporean patriotic songs. A patriotic song may be defined as one which inspires feelings of pride in one's country. The list has both traditional folk songs that have special meaning to Singaporeans, as well as modern songs composed specifically for national celebrations, particularly the National Day Parade held on 9 August each year, Singapore's National Day.
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Broadly speaking, there may be said to be two types of Singaporean patriotic songs. The first type are traditional folk songs that have, over time, come to have special meaning to Singaporeans. Many of these are in vernacular languages – Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, for instance. Examples of such songs include the Malay songs "Chan Mali Chan" and "Di Tanjung Katong", and the Tamil song "Munnaeru Vaalibaa".
The second type are the comparatively modern songs, mostly in English, that were composed specifically for national events – particularly the National Day Parade held annually on 9 August – and for use in schools. Each year since 1985, the National Day Parade Executive Committee has designated one such song as a National Day Parade theme song. The song is usually broadcast on radio and television starting from a month before National Day, and is given prominence during the Parade itself. Examples of such songs include "Stand Up for Singapore" (1985), "Count On Me, Singapore" (1986) and "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" (1990). In 2007 there were two National Day Parade theme songs, "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" and "Will You?".[1]
In 1984, the National Arts Council inaugurated the Sing Singapore Festival, the aim of which was to discover and promote home-grown music and artistes. According to the Council, it also hoped to nurture a love for music and singing and cultivate a greater sense of togetherness amongst Singaporeans. The programme led to the creation of a number of new songs by Singaporean composers, some of which were selected for National Day celebrations. These included "Home" (1998) by Dick Lee, "Where I Belong" (2001) by Tanya Chua, and "A Place in My Heart" (2003) by Kevin Quah. Local singers such as Kit Chan and Stefanie Sun have performed songs in the Sing Singapore collection.[2]
While some of these modern made-to-order patriotic songs have become popular, they have not received universal acclaim. They have been criticized as artificial and propagandistic, "National songs foisted on you from above" as opposed to "Singapore Songs arising from grassroots".[3] A minor controversy also erupted over "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" (2007). Some people queried why the song does not mention Singapore by name,[4] while others commented that the song was "touching" and that they related to it immediately, and that "[t]he spirit of patriotism is woven so well in the song".[5] One correspondent to the Straits Times asked: "How did such a dreadful song become the National Day song?", lambasting the melody as "uninspiring" and the lyrics as "insipid" – "it is quite obvious what the brief to [the composer] was: Write a song to persuade Singaporeans who have sought greener pastures to come home."[5] The song's composer Jimmy Ye defended it, saying, "There's no need for it to be so in-your-face just because it's a National Day song". He noted that he had submitted the first draft of the song to the National Day Parade song committee, which had returned it with several changes. There was no mention of why "Singapore" got left out: "I guess the committee wanted to have a soft-sell approach too".[4]
| Title | Date | Author(s) | Copyright owner(s) | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Majulah Singapura (Onward Singapore) |
1958 | Lyrics and music: Zubir Said |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts[6] | Official Malay lyrics: Mari kita rakyat Singapura English translation: Chinese translation: Tamil translation: |
==Songs with English lyrics==[7]
| Title | Date | Author(s) | Copyright owner(s) | First verse and/or chorus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count On Me,Singapore | 1986 | Lyrics and music: Hugh Harrison Commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Division, Ministry of Community Development |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | First verse:[8] We have a vision for tomorrow, Chorus: |
| Five Stars Arising | 1969 | Lyrics and music: Lim Su Chong |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | First verse:[9] There's a new moon arising, |
| It's the Little Things | Lyrics: Patrick Seet Music: Ivan Chua |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | Chorus:[10] It's the little things that we share, |
|
| Moments of Magic | ?2000 | Lyrics and music: Ken Lim |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | Chorus:[11] Let us celebrate this moment, |
| One People, One Nation, One Singapore | 1990 | Lyrics: Jim Aitchison Music: Jeremy Monteiro Commissioned by the Ministry of Information and the Arts |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | Chorus:[12] One people, one nation, one Singapore |
| Shine for Singapore | 2008 | Lyrics and music: Benny Wong |
Chorus 1:[13] Shine for Singapore |
|
| Singapore Town | Lyrics and music: The Sidaislers |
First verse:[14] You could take a little trip around Chorus: |
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| Singapura, Sunny Island | 1962 | Translated from Indonesian version | MediaCorp Pte. Ltd.[6] | First verse: Singapura, O Singapura The original song in Malay has a different meaning which is much more patriotic. In any case, here are the Malay words which you can translate yourself through Google Translate: One wonders why the original words about respecting, honouring and defending one's country were changed to lyrics that spoke of pretty flowers blooming.....the original translation was also far more pride inspiring, as will be remembered by those who sang the original translation during National Day at school in the '60s and '70s. |
| Song for Singapore | 2010 | Lyrics and music: Corrinne May[15] |
Chorus:[16] I want to sing |
|
| Stand Up for Singapore | 1984 | Lyrics and music: Hugh Harrison Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | First verse:[17] Stand up for Singapore, do the best you can |
| There's No Place I'd Rather Be | 2007 | Lyrics and music: Jimmy Ye |
Chorus:[18] There's no place I'd rather be |
|
| We Are Singapore | 1987 | Lyrics and music: Hugh Harrison Orchestration: Commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Division, Ministry of Community Development |
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council[6] | First verse:[19] There was a time when people said Chorus 1: |
| What Do You See? | 2009 | Lyrics and music: Electrico |
Chorus:[20] See the moon and the stars, |
|
| Will You? | 2007 | Lyrics and music: Jimmy Ye |
First verse:[21] Will you make this island |
Notes
| Title | Date | Author(s) | Copyright owner(s) | First verse and/or chorus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chan Mali Chan | 2010 | Indonesian Folk Song - from Nusa Tenggara - video with original indonesian lyrics | Not copyrighted | First verse:[22] Di mana dia anak kambing saya? Chorus: |
| Di Tanjung Katong | Folk song | Not copyrighted | First verse:[23] Di Tanjung Katong, airnya biru |
|
| Semoga Bahagia (May You Achieve Happiness) |
Lyrics and music: Zubir Said |
First verse: Sama-sama maju ke hadapan English translation: |
Notes
| Title | Date | Author(s) | Copyright owner(s) | First verse and/or chorus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 小人物的心声 (Xiao Ren Wu De Xin Sheng) (Voices from the Heart) |
2006 | Lyrics: Bok Sek Yieng
Music: Tan Kian Chin |
Touch Music Publishing Pte. Ltd. | First verse:[24] 也许我一个人,不能成一番大事业 [Perhaps I, as only one person, can't take on a large task |
| Title | Date | Author(s) | Copyright owner(s) | First verse and/or chorus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munnaeru Vaalibaa | [unknown] | Folk song | Not copyrighted | Lyrics:[25] Munnaeru vaalibaa munaeri endrum |
Notes