This Is My Country, This Is My Flag…

This is a song, which never fails to make me tear up.  This is THE classic NDP (National Day Parade) song, We Are Singapore, complete with THE original version too.  All the others that I found on Youtube were just later versions.  This is the one which accompanied us (those born in the ’70s and early ’80s) through our school years.

I remembered, fondly, of how I used to dig up enthusiastically for my white NDP cassette tape every time National Day drew near.  The first three songs on the tape was We Are Singapore, Count On Me Singapore, and Stand Up For Singapore.  I remembered playing these three songs again and again with glee, singing along with aplomb and at many times with eyes that were brimming with tears.

I was moved and touched by these songs back then, even though I must admit that I’m not a very patriotic person.  Yet these songs, especially this particular piece “We Are Singapore”, never fails to give me goosebumps and bring tears to my eyes, no matter how old I am when I listened to it.

I was so happy to be able to find this original classic version on Youtube, and is immensely grateful to the person who uploaded it.  The casette that I treasured so much was unplayable long ago… and I wasn’t able to find those original songs on CDs anywhere.  -_-

Anyway, happy birthday to my home country, Singapore.  You’ll be 44 this coming Sunday.  :)

There was a time when people said
That Singapore won’t make it, but we did
There was a time when troubles seemed too much
For us to take, but we did
We built a nation, strong and free, reaching out together
For peace and harmony

Chorus 1:
This is my country, this is my flag
This is my future, this is my life
This is my family, these are my friends
We are Singapore, Singaporeans

Singapore our homeland, it’s here that we belong
All of us united, one people marching on
We’ve come so far together, our common destiny
Singapore forever, a nation strong and free

Repeat Chorus 1

(Singapore Pledge Recited, Then Sung)
We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language or religion
To build a democratic society
Based on justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness
Prosperity and progress for our nation

Chorus 2:
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We will stand together, hear the lion roar
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We’re a nation strong and free forever more

Repeat Chorus 2

This is my country, this is my flag (We are Singapore, we are Singapore)
This is my future, this is my life (We will stand together, hear the lion roar)
This is my family, these are my friends (We are Singapore, we are Singapore)
We are Singapore, Singaporeans
We are Singapore, Singaporeans