“MY GIFT IS MY SONG” and MY GIFT IS MY POETRY

1. “MY GIFT IS MY SONG”and MY GIFT IS MY POETRY Prepared by PEK For SPOKEN WORD SINGAPORE Nov 2009

2. Super trouper

3. Super TrouperABBA“It’s about a brand of spotlight” • What’s the song about? • What is it really about? • Is it sad or happy? • Do you like it? • Which were your favourite covers? • Can you make a spoken word interpretation of Super Trouper?

4. Super Trouper • What do you feel when you are performing? • Do you look forward to performing? • Who do you perform for? • What is your advise for someone having “stage fright”?

5. Super Trouper Lyrics Super trouper beams are gonna blind meBut I won't feel blueLike I always do'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's youI was sick and tired of everythingWhen I called you last night from glasgowAll I do is eat and sleep and singWishing every show was the last show(Wishing every show was the last show)So imagine I was glad to hear you're coming(Glad to hear you're coming)Suddenly I feel all right(And suddenly it's gonna be)And it's gonna be so differentWhen I'm on the stage tonight Tonight theSuper trouper lights are gonna find meShining like the sun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Smiling, having fun(Sup-per troup-per)feeling like a number oneTonight theSuper trouper beams are gonna blind meBut I won't feel blue(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Like I always do(Su-p-per trou-p-per)'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you Facing twenty thousand of your friendsHow can anyone be so lonelyPart of a success that never endsStill I'm thinking about you only(Still I'm thinking about you only)There are moments when I think I'm going crazy(Think I'm going crazy)But it's gonna be alright(You'll soon be changing everything)Everything will be so differentWhen I'm on the stage tonight

6. Super Trouper Lyrics Tonight theSuper trouper lights are gonna find meShining like the sun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Smiling, having fun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Feeling like a number oneTonight theSuper trouper beams are gonna blind meBut I won't feel blue(Su-p-per trou-p-per)like I always do(Su-p-per trou-p-per)'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's youSo I'll be there when you arriveThe sight of you will prove to me I'm still aliveAnd when you take me in your armsAnd hold me tightI know it's gonna mean so much tonight Tonight theSuper trouper lights are gonna find meShining like the sun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Smiling, having fun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Feeling like a number oneTonight theSuper trouper beams are gonna blind meBut I won't feel blue(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Like I always do(Su-p-per trou-p-per)'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's youSup-per troup-per lights are gonna find meShining like the sun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Smiling, having fun(Su-p-per trou-p-per)Feeling like a number one [from http://lyrics.doheth.co.uk]

7. Covers • Teddy ThompsonInterview Super Trouperhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro_q-8D1As8 • A*Teenshttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qf7t_ateens-super-trouper_music • Camera Obscurahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD3fvoe74pE&feature=relatedMamma Mia!

8. Super Trouper (song)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Trouper_(song) "Super Trouper", at first called "Blinkalillastjärna" (the Swedish title of nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"), was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was the title track from their 1980 studio album Super Trouper, written by Benny Andersson and BjörnUlvaeus. The song, with lead vocals by Anni-FridLyngstad, was the last to be written & recorded for this album. "Super Trouper" is included on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical. The name "Super Trouper" referred to the gigantic spotlights used in stadium concerts and such. It is widely known that ABBA were not always fond of performing onstage, preferring the confines of the studio to being on tour. This is reflected in the lyrics, which, in typical ABBA style, are presented as happy and upbeat, yet tinged with an underlying hint of sadness.

9. Your song

10. Your SongElton John“My gift is my song and this one’s for you” • What is your song? • Have you ever written a song for someone? • Has someone ever dedicated a song to you? • What is your gift? And who would you gift this to? • Can you write a spoken word piece about finding your gift?

11. Your SongLyrics I sat on the roof and kicked off the mossWell a few of the verses well they've got me quite crossBut the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this songIt's for people like you that keep it turned on So excuse me forgetting but these things I doYou see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blueAnyway the thing is what I really meanYours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen And you can tell everybody this is your songIt may be quite simple but now that it's doneI hope you don't mindI hope you don't mind that I put down in wordsHow wonderful life is while you're in the world It's a little bit funny this feeling insideI'm not one of those who can easily hideI don't have much money but boy if I didI'd buy a big house where we both could live If I was a sculptor, but then again, noOr a man who makes potions in a travelling showI know it's not much but it's the best I can doMy gift is my song and this one's for you And you can tell everybody this is your songIt may be quite simple but now that it's doneI hope you don't mindI hope you don't mind that I put down in wordsHow wonderful life is while you're in the world

12. Covers • Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REGzrwMj_N4 http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=your+song&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=AmcES8jNLISI6wOu9dmHAQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQqwQwAA#sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM%2CGGLM%3A2009-44%2CGGLM%3Aen&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=AmcES8jNLISI6wOu9dmHAQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQqwQwAA&q=moulin+rouge+your+song&src=2

13. Your SongFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Song "Your Song" is a ballad composed and performed by musician Elton John. The song's lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin. It appeared on John's self-titled second album in 1970. "Your Song" is a soft blend of two different styles: folk and jazz: "I hope you don't mind / I hope you don't mind / That I put down in words / How wonderful life is while you're in the world." The instrumental focus is on John's Leon Russell-influenced piano work, along with acoustic guitar, Paul Buckmaster's string accompaniment, and a shuffling rhythm section. The lyrics express the romantic thoughts of an innocent. Taupin offers a straightforward love-song lyric at the beginning: "It's a little bit funny this feeling inside / I'm not one of those who can easily hide / I don't have much money but boy if I did / I'd buy a big house where we both could live." At times the self-deprecating narrator stumbles to get out his feelings, which despite being a melodramatic device, Allmusic calls "effective and sweet":[2] "So excuse me forgetting but these things I do / You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue / Anyway the thing is what I really mean / Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen / And you can tell everybody this is your song / It may be quite simple but now that it's done." The song was part of a stockpile of songs John and Taupin wrote in 1969 while living together. John pinpoints his composition of the music to October 27. Supposedly, it took him only ten minutes. Taupin had penned the lyrics earlier that day over breakfast. John cites the song as one of his favourites, and plays it at many of his concerts. In an interview, he commented that "[he doesn't] think [he has] written a love song as good since". "Your Song" was itself the inspiration for the song "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" on John's 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.[ "Your Song" was praised by critics upon release and in subsequent years. Allmusic has stated that it "is a near-perfect song".[2]John Lennon (formerly of The Beatles) stated the song is "the first new thing that's happened since we happened."[citation needed]Rolling Stone called the song a "pretty McCartneyesque ballad".[4] In 2004 Rolling Stone included the song in their 2004 list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #136. 1970 video http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=your+song&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=AmcES8jNLISI6wOu9dmHAQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQqwQwAA# Elton John & Ronan Keating http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buzVBu0bR-w

14. Here comes the sun

15. Here Comes the SunThe Beatles“And I say it’s all right” • What does the sun symbolise in this song? What about winter and ice? • Was there a moment in your life where you’ve had a “long, cold, lonely winter”? • What was the break? Can you share with us about that? • How would you interpret this song musically?

16. Here Comes the SunLyrics • Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,And I say it’s all rightLittle darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winterLittle darling, it feels like years since it’s been hereHere comes the sun, here comes the sunAnd I say it’s all rightLittle darling, the smiles returning to the facesLittle darling, it seems like years since it’s been hereHere comes the sun, here comes the sunAnd I say it’s all rightSun, sun, sun, here it comes...Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly meltingLittle darling, it seems like years since it’s been clearHere comes the sun, here comes the sun,And I say it’s all rightIt’s all right

17. Here Comes The Sunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_the_Sun "Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road Harrison stated in The Beatles Anthology: "Here Comes the Sun" was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: 'Sign this' and 'sign that'. Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote "Here Comes The Sun".[1] The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6tV11acSRk George Harrison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGKPHFrHVVY

18. Covers • YoYo Ma & James Taylor • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAkoYcfDmrk • Nina Simonehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9r8LWYmSc0 • Bon Jovihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFgU0C2Rtw • Cold Playhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKzdCX-Nyc • Sheryl Crow for Bee Movie • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3h6FgFthC8

19. A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer. Being a songwriter requires a lot of time, patience and discipline. In my experience in songwriting I found it easier to be in a quiet place sitting by a window gazing upon the sky, grass, and birds. These things help enable me to think deep inside myself to be able to write things from my heart that make sense. Sometimes I write from my personal experiences with life, such as relationships, friendships, death, love, and emotions. People are prone to listen and relate to things that attract their attention. People who sing their own songs are nowadays typically called singer-songwriters, although the tradition of doing this dates back hundreds of years. Less recently, the troubadours of the Middle Ages sang their own works, as did the German Minnesingers. In the contemporary era, the songwriting competition (ex. International Songwriting Competition) has become a valuable venue for aspiring songwriters. -from wiki NEW SINGER-Songwriters TODAY

20. Jason MrazI’m Yours • http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=jason%20mraz&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv# • http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=jason%20mraz&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv# Well open up your mind and see like meOpen up your plans and damn you're freeLook into your heart and you'll find love love love loveListen to the music of the moment babay sing with meI love peace for melodyAnd It's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love lovedSo I won't hesitate no more, no moreIt cannot wait I'm sureThere's no need to complicate Our time is shortThis is our fate, I'm yours Well you done done me and you bet I felt itI tried to be chill but you're so hot that I meltedI fell right through the cracksNow I'm trying to get backBefore the cool done run outI'll be giving it my bestestAnd nothing's going to stop me but divine interventionI reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn someI won't hesitate no more, no moreIt cannot wait, I'm yours

21. Jason MrazI’m Yours • http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=jason%20mraz&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv# • http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=jason%20mraz&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv# Scooch on over closer dearAnd i will nibble your earI've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirrorAnd bending over backwards just to try to see it clearerBut my breath fogged up the glassAnd so I drew a new face and laughedI guess what I'm be saying is there ain't no better reasonTo rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasonsIt's what we aim to doOur name is our virtueBut I won't hesitate no more, no more It cannot wait I'm sure Well open up your mind and see like meOpen up your plans and damn you're freeLook into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yoursPlease don't, please don't, please don'tThere's no need to complicateCause our time is shortThis oh this this is out fate, I'm yours!

22. Oh, my life Oh, my life (Yeah) And don't I know it It's hard Tto live right Oh my life Oh my life (Yeah) I look tomorrow Is out of sight Oh, my life Oh, my life (Yeah) And though I know it It's hard To live right Oh, my life Oh, my life (Yeah) Although I'm trying It's hard To live right Oh, my life (8x) Oh My LifeBeth Rowley • http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=oh+my+life&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=gXgES9H3AYmE6QPGovn6Bg&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQqwQwAA# Oh, my life Oh, my life I look tomorrow Is out of sight Oh my life Oh my life Although I'm trying It's hard To live right Oh, my life (4x) And my thoughts Are there to see Too late to change Anything that's mean If I'd a pen I'd change some facts But I'm scared Of how my family And friends will react I got a book That tells my story As I look It's being Written before me Word by word And page by page Everything I'll ever do Is being displayed Every word Controls my feet And even tells me When I should speak Whoever's writing Is on a roll But now my world Is spinning right Out of control

23. Corrine Bailey RaePut Your Records Onhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVNK_VDQY8Ihttp://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rls=GGLM,GGLM:2009-44,GGLM:en&q=corinne%20bailey%20rue%20put%20your%20records%20on&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv# Three little birds, sat on my window.And they told me I don't need to worry.Summer came like cinnamonSo sweet,Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alrightThe more things seem to change, the more they stay the sameOh, don't you hesitate.Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite songYou go ahead, let your hair downSapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,Just go ahead, let your hair down.You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely,Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside,(just relax, just relax)Don't you let those other boys fool you,Got to love that afro hair do. Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alrightThe more you stay the same, the more they seem to change.Don't you think it's strange?Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite songYou go ahead, let your hair downSapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,Just go ahead, let your hair down.You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.'Twas more than I could take, pity for pity's sakeSome nights kept me awake, I thought that I was strongerWhen you gonna realise, that you don't even have to try any longer?Do what you want to.Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite songYou go ahead, let your hair downSapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,Just go ahead, let your hair down.Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite songYou go ahead, let your hair downSapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,Just go ahead, let your hair down.Oh, you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

24. Corrine Bailey Raehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinne_Bailey_Rae • Rae was born in Leeds to a Kittitian father and an English mother as the eldest of three daughters Rhea Bailey who is an actress and her other sister Candice Bailey. She endured racist taunts on a regular basis as a child; "My sisters and I were different and people used to say, 'Ah, aren't they cute, the little chocolate children', and "look at their hair". "I know they were only being cute but it was over the top. Then people from other schools would shout, Iraqi and more often 'Paki' (a commonly used racist term in the UK) to me because it was the most common racist insult of the time. 'At least if you're going to do it, get it right,' I used to shout back, 'But my dad isn't from Pakistan, he's from St Kitts—so there!'“ • Rae formed an all-female indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy—but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something."[7] • The group raised eyebrows on several fronts; in the white male-dominated world of indie music, they were an all-female group fronted by a mixed-race singer from Leeds. The moniker "Helen" also drew attention, albeit for not all the right reasons: "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time. Admittedly, it seems less so now". • Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied English Literature, graduating in 2000. While at University, she began work as a hat check girl on an evening in her local jazz club. Permitted to sing on stage with the jazz band when business was slow, it was there that she discovered a different type of music that sent her on a different musical path: "I kept hearing this jazz and soul stuff and I realized I loved music too" Corinne Bailey Rae (born Corinne Jacqueline Bailey on 26 February 1979) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006. She became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one.[ Rae was nominated for Grammy Awards and BRIT Awards, and has won two MOBO Awards and an Album Of The Year Grammy for her work as an featured artist in Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters. Rae will release her second album,The Sea on February 2, 2010, after a hiatus of two years.

25. Yeal NaimNew Soul http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=16987653 I’m a new soul, I came to this strange world Hoping I could learn a bit ‘bout how to give and takeBut since I came here, felt the joy and the fearFinding myself making every possible mistake La-la-la See I’m a young soul in this very strange worldHoping I could learn a bit ‘bout what is true and falseBut why all this hate? Try to communicateFinding trust and love is not always easy to makeLa-la-la • This is a happy end ‘cause you don’t understandEverything you have done, why is everything so wrong?This is a happy end, come and give me your hand • I’ll take you far away I’m a new soul, I came to this strange world Hoping I could learn a bit ‘bout how to give and takeBut since I came here, felt the joy and the fearFinding myself making every possible mistake La-la-la

26. International Songwriters from Asia Vienna TengWhite LightTaiwan Zee Avi Bitter HeartMalaysia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ZH6QU0XvQ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kBFXTYOcDM