Thursday, October 2, 2008

I Hope You Sing - Mona Lisa


My old buddy, Tan Jing Ming, always reminded me of the oldies we used to listen and sing along during our younger days. He was one year my senior when we were in Clifford Secondary School, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. Those days after school, I used to go to his father's Overseas Chinese Book Store to chit-chat with him and his brother, Jing Phong, as we sat on the rottan chairs in front of the shop. Later, we would like to go to the nearby Sin Hup Seng Kopitiam to have kopi or iced barley water and roti kiap (toast with kaya and butter). The jelly with milk was also our favorite.

They used to come across the Main Street (Jalan Besar) to my father's tailor shop (Bakauwali Tailor) in the late afternoons and then I would put on the gramophone to play our favorite songs of Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Pat Boone, and many others not forgetting Nat King Cole.

I do not have the Senior Citizen Version of Mona Lisa, but I bet you'll still enjoy the original Mona Lisa sung by Nat King Cole.

Here it goes:

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only 'cause you're lonely they have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa

Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxEmnxiUz8w to watch and listen to Nat King Cole sing 'Mona Lisa' on YouTube.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mona Liza sung by NKC is one of my most favorite sentimental songs. I remember I used to play the song b4 I went to sleep when I was in Raub in the 70s. I would put on the cassete player beside the bed and listen to songs.

In the 80s, when I drove back alone to Kemayan on Sundays, the golden oldies kept me company.It's a 3hrs 15min. drive from Lipis thru windy roads leaving my family behind in Lipis like you do now in Medan.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Jing Phong's daughter and happened to come across your website when I typed in my father's name into Google.

My father passed away in March 2007after losing his battle with liver cancer.

It was nice being able to read something about my father's past Lipis life. Thanks for sharing.

Vanessa

KP LOH said...

I felt terrible upset when Jing Ming told me about Jing Phong passing away in last July when I was still working in Indonesia. Jing Phong was well known as JP Tan to all his friends in Kuala Lipis. He was much closer to me than his elder brother, Jing Ming, and his younger brother, Jing Seng.

We used to play badminton together and also cycled around in the late afternoons. He was one year my junior in Clifford Secondary School whereas Jing Ming was one year my senior.

We were buddies togehter with Liew Chow Kwong, Micheal Loh, Ong Pang Huat,Ong Kong Soon, Loh Chin Sin, Wong Futt Wee, Lim Swee Kee and many others. There were so many good old days in Kuala Lipis where we grew up together.

I am so happy (though unexpected) that Vanessa Tan came across my website and read about what I had written related to his late father and also his uncle.

You are always welcome to visit my blogs, Vanessa. I believe that SHARING is CARING and CARING is SHARING.