National Day 2009

It was nice to see most of us coming to school in red. But what struck me the most today is how enthusiastically everyone sing together when the teachers played the NDP songs.

So here are some of my favorite NDP songs in order, ending with my most favorite at the end of the post.

But I must thank http://www.sha.tc/singapore/ndp-songs for the inspiration and some of the links.

10. One People, One Nation, One Singapore (1990)
An oldie but you can't deny it's catchy and easy to sing. Lack a bit of emotion though.

9. Where I belong by Tanya Chua (2001)
Not too bad but just lack that little magic. And the tune is not that catchy.





8. Stand up for Singapore! (1985)
The first song written especially to commemorate National Day! (before that, we only have 'Chan Mali Chan' and '相信我吧! 新加坡!') Upbeat and catchy but too many politaically correct words inside. And right now, Singapore have come far enough that 'standing up' is no longer enough... the people have to do more than that!

7. Count on me Singapore (1986)
One of the songs that sometime I mistaken it for 'We are Singapore'. Soothing tune, easy lyrics, catchy chorus. But slightly corny and 'fake', yeah?







6. Home by Kit Chan (1998)
A bit melancholic (sad) and a bit slow but otherwise beautifully written. Can't say it's a song for high spirits but if you're one of those listening to this while stationed overseas, I bet tears will roll.




5. Things so Singapore by Ann Hussein (2009)
The unofficial song that had gained internet popularity in this year 2009 NDP. It's nice, but not really a 'group singing' song. I mean, you can't imagine the whole National Stadium echoing with this song, isn't it?

4. What do you see by Electrico (2009)
The first song by a Singaporean band that made it big (relatively in the local scene). The lyrics is meaningful and the tune is nice, just not perfect. It just lack that little something, a climax to the song maybe? The song begins with a question, and at the end, I'm still asking myself what do I see...




3. My Island Home by Kaira Gong (2006)
Erm...disregarding the fact that I actually know the singer in person (briefly, in NUS), I feel that this song has one of the most changes in terms of mood and tempo. Started slow and gentle, and finally crashing with a strong "I believe!" at the chorus, before settling down again.

And hearing Kaira (or Shi Jia) sing live, right in front of you without any mics or instrument, is way much better than what you hear from the CDs.




2. We are Singapore (1987-1988)

This is my most favorite NDP song before the invasion of pop singers and even poppier songs. Still, even after 23 years, you can't deny you actually prefer to sing the National Pledge rather than recite it, just like how they did it in this song.

Extremely easy to sing, lyrics are very easy to remember. Grand and yet not too sombre. Not too slow and yet not too fast like a dance music, I truly believe this is a real gem of a song. And they like it so much that this song was used for 2 years! If you haven't hear this song before, you must give it a try.




1. We will get there by Stefanie Sun (2002)
Besides that fact that I am quite a supporter of Stefanie Sun, I really like the tune of this song. The strong rhythm by the bass sets a good intro, with a gradual increase in instrument and finally peaking at the chorus. Part rock, part pop, which is what I like!

Lyrics wise I prefer the chinese version but I think the arrangement is wonderful and with Stefanie's unique voice, it's actually one of the few NDP songs that can be 'sold' as a top pick pop song.