''Semoga Bahagia'' is a
Malay song composed by the Singaporean composer
Zubir Said
Zubir Said ( ; 22 July 1907 – 16 November 1987) was a Singaporean composer most notable for composing the national anthem of his country, "Majulah Singapura" – "Onward Singapore".
A self-taught musician, Zubir also worked as a score arr ...
, who also composed ''
Majulah Singapura
"" is the national anthem of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapore, the song was selected in 1959 as the nation's anthem when it Self-governance of Singapore, attaine ...
'', the national anthem of
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. The song has been the official
Children's Day
Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country.
In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...
song in Singapore since 1961, and is also performed at the
Singapore Youth Festival
Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) is a biennial Singaporean event to showcase student's talents in performing arts in the country. First launched in 1967, the SYF has seen the involvement of more than 30,000 students in the activities and performan ...
(SYF) as its official theme song.
History
''Semoga Bahagia'' was composed by
Zubir Said
Zubir Said ( ; 22 July 1907 – 16 November 1987) was a Singaporean composer most notable for composing the national anthem of his country, "Majulah Singapura" – "Onward Singapore".
A self-taught musician, Zubir also worked as a score arr ...
and targeted at students.
It was first published and performed on 7 July 1957 at the
Victoria Memorial Hall
The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a performing arts centre in the Central Area of Singapore, situated along Empress Place. It is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor; the oldest part of the ...
and was eventually broadcast in Singapore and
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
as well.
On 23 September 1961, the song was chosen by the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
to commemorate
Children's Day
Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country.
In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...
. All schools subsequently received a copy of the song, and music teachers were sent to Beatty Secondary School for rehearsals.
The song was sung by students on 23 October 1961, the first commemoration of Children's Day in Singapore.
In 1974, Zubir was informed by one of his former students that the lyrics to ''Semoga Bahagia'' had been altered. Feeling that it should not have been edited without his consent, Zubir wrote an open letter to the ''New Nation'' newspaper on 25 August protesting the change, likening the act to "damaging the prestige of the original painter". He also noted that two melodic phrases had been changed and deleted, and the
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
(chorus) was entirely removed. His name had also been left out of the credits in the new
songsheet and replaced with someone else's name. In an interview with ''
Berita Harian
''BH'', previously known as ''Berita Harian'', is a Malay daily newspaper in Malaysia, published by the New Straits Times Press. It was first issued on 1 July 1957. Its Sunday edition, ''BH Ahad'' (formerly ''Berita Minggu''), debuted on 10 ...
'', Zubir called for a law that would prevent such an act in the future, noting that there was no copyright for music and songs.
When contacted by ''New Nation'',
Charles Lazaroo from the Extra-curricular Activities Centre replied that teachers had provided feedback that non-Malay students were having trouble singing the song due to its "intricate melody", and had requested for the song be simplified. Lazaroo also stated that they had had difficulty contacting Zubir, believing he was ill.
According to Zubir's daughter Rohana, the composer refused to accept the explanation as the song had been sung for many years by that point.
A mediator assisted in reaching a compromise in which a repetitive verse was removed with Zubir's approval and the original lyrics reinstated, in time for the song to be taught to students that October.
Legacy
''Semoga Bahagia'' is still sung annually on Children's Day in Singapore. It became the official theme song for the
Singapore Youth Festival
Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) is a biennial Singaporean event to showcase student's talents in performing arts in the country. First launched in 1967, the SYF has seen the involvement of more than 30,000 students in the activities and performan ...
(SYF) and is also performed annually during the SYF.
Symbolism
The Malay title ''Semoga Bahagia'' has been variously translated as "Let Glory be Yours",
"Glory belongs to you",
and "May You Achieve Happiness".
In the open letter published in 1974, Zubir wrote that some of the lyrics were intended to urge children to be progressive, healthy, knowledgeable, patriotic and respectful, amongst other similar themes.
Lyrics
:
:
Notes
References
External links
- published by the Government of Singapore
{{portalbar, Singapore, Music
Singaporean songs
Songs in Malay