As Singapore society stabilised in the 1960s, the style of local Chinese songs evolved accordingly. While some of the songs written at this time still bore a “leftist” flavour, portraying an anti-colonial stance and extolling the working class, others clearly differed in style, and was filled with a sense of vitality towards building a new nation. Important composers of this period included Ma Ren (Wu Dingfeng, 1930–2019), Li Xuexun (also known by pen names Li Ying, Li Hua, and Qiu Ying, 1932–1991), Tien Ming Ern (1918–1994), Leong Yoon Pin (1931–2011), Ke Si (also known as Lee Khoon Choy, 1924–2016), Lee Yuk Chuan, and more.

Representative local Chinese songs written during the 1960s

  • Ma Ren
    • Wo di guxiang (My Homeland) (lyrics by Du Hong)
    • Shui yaoshi beishang (Whoever is Sad)
    • Taoxi ximi zhi ge (Tin Miners’ Song)
  • Li Xuexun
    • Women de ge (Our Song)
    • Yuzhong zhi ge (Song in the Prison)
  • Xian Dahai, Jiaolin zhi ge (Song of the Rubber Plantation)
  • Xiao Lu, Shange (Mountain Song), from the opera Buqu de huangli yuan (Invincible Pineapple Plantation)
  • Anonymous, Women de jiaxiang (Our Motherland)
  • Opera piece, Pengheng de ernü (Children of Pahang)
  • Tien Ming Ern
  • Leong Yoon Pin
    • Meili de jiayuan (Beautiful Homeland)
    • Pengyou, bie tanqi (Don’t Feel Sad, My Friend)
    • Jianshe xinjiapo (Building Singapore) (lyrics by Ri Li)
  • Samuel Ting (1925–2007)
    • Shiyuhu shang de zuige (Drunken Song on the Shiyu Lake)
    • Shantou gushi yuan tingting (Solitary Rock on the Hill)
  • Di An (Soh Kay Cheng), Wo zai chuanshang denghou ni (I’ll Wait for You on the Boat)
  • Lee Yuk Chuan
    • Weiguo junsong (Ode to the Defence Forces) (lyrics by Huang Hongxia）
    • Renren doushuo jinnian hao (Everybody Says This is a Good Year) (lyrics by Xin Xin)
    • Hongjinnü gongge (Song of the Red-scarved Women Workers) (lyrics by Wang Qiutian）
    • Laodong zhige (Labour Song)
    • Qianjinba! Wo de guojia (Forward My Country)
    • Wanli lübo fan bailang (Boundless Blue Waves with White Sprays)
  • Ke Si
    • Guoqi ge (National Flag Song) (lyrics by Jin Yi)
    • Weiguo jinxingqu (Defence March)
    • Guoqing ge (National Day Song)
    • Wenhua zhandou ge (Song of Cultural Battle) (lyrics by Xiang Zhen)
    • Haishang fang ge (Song on the Sea) (lyrics by Chu Sheng）
    • Dangbing qu (Let’s Join the Army) (lyrics by Xin Xin)

In 1962, the first version (revised in 1993) of Singapore’s first oratorio was published. The piece titled Kongque dongnan fei (The Peacock Flies Southeast) by composer Leong Yoon Pin made a grand and refreshing debut, distinguishing itself from other Chinese vocal works in terms of musical style, creativity, and quality.

The 1970s marked a period when local private Chinese arts groups became more active. Creative arts productions, including theatre and dance, placed emphasis on the experience of labour in life, resulting in many songs of the same nature. Chew Seok Kwee (1954–2013), a former music instructor at the Singapore Performing Arts School (now known as The Theatre Practice) who later went to the United States for further studies, was one of the most prolific composers of that time. She was known for works such as Yucun zuge (Fishing Village Suite),1 Huangliyuan zuge (Pineapple Plantation Suite),2 and Linming zuge (Sungai Lembing Suite).3

Other pieces from the same period included the Southern Arts Society’s Yingchun (Welcoming Spring), Buwang4 (Mending the Net) (lyrics by a group, music by Zhu Ye), as well as more than 200 collectively- and anonymously- written songs of a similar style.5

The rise of songwriting competitions

During the mid- to late 1970s, both private and government organisations organised a series of songwriting competitions, catalysing the development of local compositions. Notable competitions included the “Our Songs” Songwriting Competition, jointly organised by the National Theatre Trust and Radio and Television Singapore in 1977, the “Song for Workers Competition”, jointly organised by Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation and Pioneer Industries Employees’ Union in 1978 and 1979, as well as the Nantah School Songwriting Competition organised by Nanyang University in 1979.

“Song for Workers Competition”, booklet, 1979. Courtesy of Phoon Yew Tien.

Local Chinese songs that came from songwriting competitions during the 1970s

Stylistically speaking, 1979 was a watershed year for local Chinese songwriting, with the creation of Leong Yoon Pin’s choral suite Libai shi sishou (“Four Poems of Li Bai”) which was unprecedented in its use of modern musical language in his attempt to reinterpret Chinese classical poetry.6Before this, songs written by amateurs and professionals alike tended to be more traditional and conservative in both technique and style. Leong’s epoch-making work differed entirely from its counterparts thus far, and was a testament to the growing maturity of local Chinese songwriting.