Teresa Teng - singer extraordinary

I was in Ipoh, Malaysia when I heard my brother-in-law singing a song from Teresa Teng. The next day, I was at the market in the morning when I heard someone singing another of Teresa’s hits. He was a man with a disability and on crutches. Passers-by would stop and sing into the microphone. Tears came to my eyes when I heard that song because it has a touching melody and it reminded me of my late wife as well as the tragic death of Teresa herself. Teresa died of asthma at young age of 43 while holidaying in Chiangmai, Thailand. It is really sad that the world should lose someone at a young age, especially one whose songs have touched so many.

Even though I am of Chinese origin, I was English-educated and do not understand Mandarin. I was totally into English songs.

I only got to hear Teresa’s lovely songs through my late wife, Sue. As a girl, she had been familiar with popular Chinese songs, but somehow in our years together, she had stayed away from them. It was only as she grew older that she started to take an interest in Chinese songs again. She bought some karaoke discs and started singing at home. Then the Teresa “fever” spread to a friend in Adelaide, and the two of them would spend hours singing karaoke when they met up in Adelaide. I got my dose when we are on the road. Soon, the tunes became familiar to me. Often I would ask Sue for the meaning of the songs, and I was always ready to have a few laughs over what she told me. It was hard for me to get to understand Chinese complexity.

When Sue passed away, perhaps as tragically as her idol, the CD’s were passed to her friends, as I thought I had no use for them.

So back in Ipoh, I discovered that my eldest sister is also a fan of Teresa. In fact, she told me that when Teresa died, her (my sister’s) son rang her from Singapore to share the news with her. He used to have difficulty falling asleep when he was four years old and my sister would play Teresa’s songs to get him to sleep.

I once said to Sue that perhaps she should translate the songs into English so that people like me would be able to enjoy the songs. I am happy to report that some of the songs do have English lyrics now and they can be found on the internet. Just do a Google-search. In fact, there is a facebook recording of Kenny G playing one of the hits.

I bought a CD in Ipoh, with the help of my sister who has a little grasp of Mandarin. Twenty one songs, each and every one is beautiful. I have been enjoying the songs every day since I got back to Sydney. The songs bring back sweet memories of Sue. I can picture her singing next to me as I drove from Sydney to the Gold Coast. I would whisper along. No wonder I learned to enjoy the songs. A few hours a day of listening on the road did it for me.

Teresa had a beautiful and melodious voice. She could have sung without musical backup and it would have been nice. In my opinion, she has one of the most soothing voices in the entertainment world, as a result of her gentle voice and laid-back tempo.

Her hits have beautiful melodies. Sadly I do not understand the lyrics. All the same, I enjoy the songs even though I am illiterate. One day, I may learn to sing the songs in Mandarin.

She was very popular in China, her native Taiwan, Japan, South-east Asia and the Chinese diaspora.

I wonder why someone has not turned her songs into a musical. I am sure it will take the Chinese-speaking world by storm. Any entrepreneur out there?

If you have not discovered Teresa Teng, I recommend that you go to the internet and listen for yourself “The Moon Represents my Heart” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_cEeDlop0 (Press Control and click)