天冷就回来 (Tian1 Leng3 Jiu4 Huei2 Lai2)

Watched the show 天冷就回来 'If There're Seasons' by The Theatre Practice this evening. Loved it...was a fab musical with a storyline that showcases loads of Liang Wern Fook's songs! Apart from the whole musical experience, Liang Wern Fook and his production team were sitting right behind us. Being opportunistic, we got him to autograph on our programme booklets. I also purchased a set of his 5+1 cds containing songs from his early xinyao days (had the 1980s cassette tapes of those songs somewhere at my mum's place but i am sure they have already turned mouldy by now) to the more contemporary songs that he wrote for people like Kit Chan, etc. Of course, the limited edition CD box came with his signature too. :)

Back to the show. The actors and actresses are generally quite good. We're all very impressed by George Chan...remember, the judge from DanceFloor? He is one talented man who can actually sing very well in mandarin (powerful vocals, i must say!!)...i think me and my lady colleagues have all become his new fans! You can watch this publicity video of him and the other lead actors/actresses sing the musical's theme song.

I really enjoyed all the songs...we had to stop ourselves from humming along out loud so as not to spoil the show... ! In particular, the theme song 'Tian Leng Jiu Huei Lai" was especially meaningful to me as it brought me to the days when I was in UK. I browsed my old blog and extracted one of the blog entry back in Nov 2002....


"Return Home When It Turns Cold"
I really miss my favorite Singapore radio station - YES 933! Thankfully, armed with a laptop as well as unlimited broadband access in our flat, we can access the radio station via the internet YES 93.3. Praise God for technology! Apart from allowing me to keep up to date with the latest chinese pop songs, listening to it also makes me feel a lot closer to home. =)

On the day when i had created a link on my laptop to the radio station, and began listening to the familiar chinese songs, something happened that touched my heart so much. I was doing some research on the internet about courses to consider in London...it was a rather frustrating process, especially when I felt somewhat uncertain about what I was going to do for the next few years - whether it should be studies or work, etc... My heart felt like the changing seasons, where autumn slowly but surely transited into winter. However, for me, that certainty was still not quite in sight. It was already getting dark and rather chilly at 4pm. I stared out of our huge window, and my eyes fell on the trees that were by then rather naked....they looked so vulnerable, cold and alone without their families of leaves...

At that moment, my ears picked up the melody of an unfamiliar mandarin song from the internet radio. Although i did not know what the song title was, my heart immediately took to the lyrics and melody... It spoke of the singer telling her mother that she would like to leave home and lead her own life. Her mother nodded her head, but gently told her, "Do return home if it turns cold (may otherwise be interpreted as 'lonely') out there...Don't wonder in the wind alone". I thought the song reflected reality, where we often have to let our love ones move on with their own lives, which may mean them leaving us. What we can only do, is to assure them that they will never have to walk alone, and no matter what happens, we will be there for them, waiting in anticipation for their return one day.

I later realised that the title of the song was "Tian1 Leng2 Jiu4 Hui2 Lai2" in Mandarin, otherwise crudely translated as "Return Home When It Turns Cold". It was sung by Singaporean artist Kit Chan and penned by my favorite Singaporean song-writer Liang Wern Fook. What a touching song! It made me feel somewhat homesick, as i know that the emotions described must be what our parents and perhaps some close friends back home feel...that they will be there for us when things get too hard...and they are just a phonecall away!

There was another thing that amazed me in this episode. The next day, I realised through an email conversation with my friend Jennifer that she was listening to the same song over the same radio station at the same time as me, and she is back in Singapore!! The song too moved her heart deeply, and when we realised this "coincidence", it was such an awesome feeling! Technology had broken the barrier of distance. 12,000km apart, two friends were similarly touched by the same song from the same source! I wonder, at this moment, are you listening to the same radio station too, and are our hearts beating in unison to the same song?