I have always felt that one of the most difficult (pop) musical tasks is to write a dance song that has the ability to infect masses of people with the dance virus. Although most of the songs of this genre on the airwaves these days seem like mindless drivel on the surface (think J-Lo’s “On the Floor”), I personally think that it actually takes considerable skill and market-knowledge to craft something good enough to pander to the valuable clubbing community (valuable because this community is willing to fork out wads of cash to attend expensive dance parties, even with the looming recession).
And seeing that I like to experiment with different genres when my composition-nerves twitch and my lyrics-writing hands become itchy, this month’s musical post shall contain a piece in the dance genre a.k.a. my brave new world. The lyrics of this song has been sitting in my archives without a tune for some years now and as soon as I found the backing track online to write with, I tweaked the words to fit the music and voila, a dance song was born.
One characteristic of commercially-successful dance songs is a good beat, a catchy hook and tune-repeatability. To this end, the words have to be kept to the simplest, both in vocabulary and meaning so as not to steal focus away from the sole purpose of the song—to make people want to dance their brains out. However this song has slightly more sophisticated lyrics (not that it is at the level of any commercially-successful song in the market). It is about two people with perfect chemistry who met for the first time on the dance floor and later parted only to reunite on the same floor. This time they both know that they cannot let the moment slip away again.
I know the tune is not that great but at least now I can finally tell myself that I have written a complete dance song.
[一秒钟]
/ 词 / 曲 ： 锦泉 /
当我第一次贴近你的时候
我心里头波动着无数喜悦的颤抖
然后又第一次躺在你怀中
我的心简直就这样跃出了我胸口
这到底是什么感觉
怎么我一点也不懂
似幻似真也似个梦
狠狠刺进我心坎中
当你第一次把头靠我肩膊
我心里头循环着一股强劲的暖流
当我第一次说再见的时候
我的心渴望时间它会为我而停留
这到底是什么感觉
为何它让我直升空
似虚似实放肆汹涌
像阴晴不一定的气候
舞池角落， 无处闪躲
爱我不必说， 只要你亲我
这到底是什么感觉
让我彻底失去掌控
汗水混合萤光闪烁
过高的体温急须急冻
这到底是什么感觉
你我心跳频率相同
身体继续紧贴着我
闭上眼沉醉这一秒钟
一秒钟
[One Second]When I came close to you for the first time
Trembles of happiness rippled through my heart
Then when I laid in your embrace for the first time
My heart literally leapt out of my chest
What feeling is this
Why can’t I understand it
It seems unreal yet genuine, yet dream-like
Strongly piercing my heart
When you rested your head on my shoulder for the first time
A powerful surge of warmth circled within my heart
And when I said goodbye for the first time
My heart wished that time could stop for me
What feeling is this
Why does it raise me up to the sky
It seems blurry yet definite and it pulsates wantonly
It is as capricious as the weather
In the corner of the dance floor
You have no place to hide
You don’t need to say you love me
As long as you come and kiss me
What feeling is this
It makes me lose all control
Our sweat glistens in the spotlight
Our overheated bodies need a cool-down urgently
What feeling is this
Our hearts beat at the same frequency
Continue to push your body into me
And close your eyes to immerse in this very second
The trip was off to a light-hearted start when we saw the Jetstar flight menu. With such small portions of lousy food at such exorbitant prices, is it any wonder why people are starving off their hunger?
I was put to work very soon after our arrival—my first-ever attempt at digging up potatoes. The area we had to cover wasn’t huge but I was rather surprised at how many potatoes we dug up! From the ground to the dinner table—that is the country way of living.
My bibi was also as busy as a bear… oops, a bee. He did a great job cleaning the interior and exterior of two cars, as commanded by the taskmaster—his dad!
Months before the trip, I have asked my mum to list down the ingredients for the dishes she would like to prepare for the in-laws and thus she was well-prepared. The two cooks worked together very well despite the frequent communication-breakdown—I guess good food never fails to be the universal language.
A sample of the feasts prepared by mum. I must say the in-laws were pretty pleased (and impressed) at mum’s cooking—it was of no surprise that they kept asking her to come visit again.
As a diabetic, mum was overjoyed when she found a snack she could nibble on that her diet permits—beech cherries. On the last day of our trip, she picked three containers full to take back home and there was still plenty left on the trees. She intends to try growing the fruit in Singapore.
Mum getting acquainted with the Aussie barbeque. The neighbours were invited over one night for the traditional Australian social event. Ision actually broke his no-beef rule that night and ate a hamburger. GASP!
One of the biggest joys of living in the country where there is ample land (and the perfect weather) to cultivate the fruits and vegetables you will ever need is the convenience of stepping out of the kitchen to pluck fresh ingredients and throw them into the pot a minute later.
Of course growing one’s own greens needs much tender loving care. I was given the task of watering the crops one day.
Living in the country means you’d have to live with the country’s other inhabitants as well. Roger had to remove a wasp net from the veranda’s ceiling. Subsequently several wasps flew into the house trying to look for their removed dwelling—fortunately I had my bibi there to chase them all away. My hero!
Not all inhabitants of the country were chased away from the house. Feeding a kookaburra bits of beef is a dangerous game—mum (and her finger) only knew too well.
After dinner one night, a very loud thud was heard and the truth was revealed the next morning—a lorikeet could not see the glass wall and tried to fly through it at full speed. The result? A dead bird, colourful nonetheless. Apparently this is quite commonplace.
Mum brought lots of nice clothes for the trip in preparation for plenty of photo-ops. It was fun being her photographer for a few days.
Roger took us out to the estate around the house for a quick drive. Much to Roger’s amusement, mum started to pick flowers he regards as weed. We also drove to Yamba and spent some time by the beach.
What would a relaxing country holiday be without a facial? With Nu Skin’s Galvanic Spa, the beauty parlour was brought into the house.
How well do you think the DIY spa-treatment worked? The before (left) and after (right) shots say it all.
The unseasonably-cold summer throughout the state was observed in the country as well. Whenever there was sun, I seized the chance to do some tanning. One HUGE advantage of living in the country is the ability to tan in the buff and I did (shots were taken but will not be posted. Hehe).
Wiling the time away on the veranda with afternoon tea, featuring home-made cookies baked by Jenny and gourmet coffee prepared by Roger. This is the life.
I had to play the role of translator for the entire trip for my mum and in-laws but from this picture, I can’t see language as being a barrier at all.
The customary snap of the whole family. It was a really fun trip for all and it was made even nicer knowing how much the in-laws love having my mum there with them. We look forward to coming up again.
