Kemerdekaan Sejati

Kupahat rasa gembira dan bangga, di sebalik kejayaan
Termeteri erti kemerdekaan sejati, seribu harapan
Terkilas wajah nusa bercahaya, kelibat warisan gagah
Tahun keemasan, usaha kita semua, suatu manifestasi

KORUS 1:
Kemerdekaan sejati, milik kita untuk dirasai
Rantaian belenggu menjadi sejarah kita
Kemerdekaan sejati, mara menuju wawasan
(Kemerdekaan sejati) Milik kita hari ini...

Kudengar suara, suara keamanan, kedamaian maruah bangsa
Kudengar jeritan, laungan MERDEKA ! sederap melangkah…

KORUS 2:
Kemerdekaan sejati, milik kita untuk dirasai
Arus kemajuan diharungi, semuanya kenyataan
Inilah semangat kita untuk menggapai impian
(Kemerdekaan sejati) Milik kita hari ini…

Kupahat rasa gembira dan bangga…
Termeteri erti kemerdekaan sejati…

I wrote this set of lyrics somewhere in March : it was originally for a Puisi Berlagu competition (for starters, Puisi Berlagu, Malay for "song-poem", is what you do when you put poetic text to lyrics). That competition was held in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th year of independence. Eager to join, and to spread my music to Malaysians, I gathered seven more friends together and after having played the song for them, we rehearsed hard.

My Malay Language teacher, Pn Wahida, was there to watch us rehearse, and correct us every now and then.

It so came to pass that many of us were in Form 5, and were bound to face the SPM trial examination. Not allowing us some lease, the co-curricular senior assistant just cancelled our entries without earlier notice, and also without our consent. I wept.

I wept primarily because I sat down to writing this song for a special occasion. Now its only use is the 50th Malaysia Day - after which, if this song still doesn't go in audio form, this set of lyrics will be tossed into the shredder.

Yes, such is the feeling of a songwriter. Especially one who loves the country so much and wishes to touch hearts, rather than do those crappy march themes that are so monotonous, people just sing for the sake of singing.

Truly, in Convent Bukit Nanas that year, "Kemerdekaan Sejati" scored more brownie points than the theme song of the year, "Malaysiaku Gemilang". If only people were willing enough to let this voice be heard. OKAY. If by 2013 this song does not get into the hearts of the public, I will have no more reason to keep this song going, and thus, I will toss it into the shredder or into the incinerator. The shredder will be a better option : the incinerator just brings back painful memories of loved ones being cremated.

To get an idea of the look and feel :

See Clay Aiken — This is the Night.

First compositions complete

OK - other than my close friends, who would have thought that I can actually make up something ?

My first song is in Malay - and the title is Kasih. I did the MIDI file months ago and it is finally brought to perfection in July 2006. Hopefully I get enough voices to sing with me - the backups, in other words. And hopefully, I may be able to record this file and post it online...

It is about love to one's parents. Something different, and something not many people will sing about. I wanted to make this a tribute to my parents. And then again, I wanted so much to exercise the passion that I have for singing, playing music and composing...

It is hard to translate the song in English - really sorry. But I will try - for the sake of everyone else. I wanted to target the francophones too ! And poetic Malay, being the easier language to translate into French, was a hit with those who have already listened to it.

This is the first set of lyrics (trust me, when I showed it to my school teachers the song was subject to drastic cuts and changes... until I actually forgot the original lyrics ; bet they're in the incinerator by now.

Wajah indah bercahaya
Ku merenungi sinaran mata
Syahdu jiwa gelora sukma...
(Wajah indah bercahaya)

Kasihmu menderu-deru
Belaianmu selembut bayu
Senyumanmu meratah sendu
(Wajah indah bercahaya)

Kelibat senyuman memandang wajahku
Kolam derita jelas di matamu
Ternyata ungkapan "kusayang padamu"
Dengan ayat yang menyentuh hatiku

KORUS:
Jika kau tiada bersamaku bila kuhadapi onak duri
Ku takkan tahu bagaimana akan kuhidup diri sendiri
Kini ku kian mengerti
Kasih cintamu akan kekal abadi
Kusayang padamu sepenuh hati…
(Wajah indah bercahaya)

There is the second song, and I've only done the music for this. It's called Papillon (French for butterfly). I'm yet to write lyrics for this.



And if you're wondering how I know how to speak French, note : I began learning it in March 2004.


Somehow I wonder whether I can perform this in either version in school at the end of the year... I did make a promise to those who wanted an encore performance.


I'll let you know when I'm working on the .mp3 files for these songs.