Moon Above Malaya
Eve Boswell Lyrics
Moon above Malaya
Shine down on my sweetheart
Sing song girl of the eastern star
Down in a town by a native bazaar
She's all that I adore from here to Singapore
Soon she'll hear me calling
From my drifting sampan
Then we'll dream in a bamboo hut
No one to care if I'm kissing her
Soon she'll hear me calling
From my drifting sampan
Then we'll dream in a bamboo hut
No one to care if I'm kissing her
But the moon above Malaya
Moon above Malaya
Contributed by Landon K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Eve Boswell (1922 - 1998) was a successful pop singer in Britain in the 1950s.
She was born in Hungary to professional musician parents who toured worldwide. Educated in Switzerland, she studied piano before joining her parents on tour as The Three Hugos. When World War II was declared, the family left England with the Boswell Circus. She married, and as Eve Boswell became a popular singing star in South Africa.
In 1949, she was heard by bandleader Geraldo (Gerald Bright) Read Full BioEve Boswell (1922 - 1998) was a successful pop singer in Britain in the 1950s.
She was born in Hungary to professional musician parents who toured worldwide. Educated in Switzerland, she studied piano before joining her parents on tour as The Three Hugos. When World War II was declared, the family left England with the Boswell Circus. She married, and as Eve Boswell became a popular singing star in South Africa.
In 1949, she was heard by bandleader Geraldo (Gerald Bright), who persuaded her to return to the United Kingdom as a singer in his band, which was widely heard on BBC Radio. Boswell parted with Geraldo in 1952, and launched a solo career. Her first hit record came that year with "Sugar Bush", partly sung in Afrikaans. She appeared in the Royal Variety Performance and toured widely with comedian Derek Roy, before getting her own radio show in 1954.
Her major chart hit came with "Pickin' a Chicken", a South African tune with new words, which rose to No 9 on the UK Singles Chart at the start of 1956. Her first LP, Sugar and Spice, on which she sang 10 songs in nine different languages, followed later in the year. A continuous programme of radio work and tours followed, leading to more than one mental breakdown.
She faded from public view as public tastes for pop music changed through the late 1950s and 1960s, eventually returning to live in South Africa.
She was born in Hungary to professional musician parents who toured worldwide. Educated in Switzerland, she studied piano before joining her parents on tour as The Three Hugos. When World War II was declared, the family left England with the Boswell Circus. She married, and as Eve Boswell became a popular singing star in South Africa.
In 1949, she was heard by bandleader Geraldo (Gerald Bright) Read Full BioEve Boswell (1922 - 1998) was a successful pop singer in Britain in the 1950s.
She was born in Hungary to professional musician parents who toured worldwide. Educated in Switzerland, she studied piano before joining her parents on tour as The Three Hugos. When World War II was declared, the family left England with the Boswell Circus. She married, and as Eve Boswell became a popular singing star in South Africa.
In 1949, she was heard by bandleader Geraldo (Gerald Bright), who persuaded her to return to the United Kingdom as a singer in his band, which was widely heard on BBC Radio. Boswell parted with Geraldo in 1952, and launched a solo career. Her first hit record came that year with "Sugar Bush", partly sung in Afrikaans. She appeared in the Royal Variety Performance and toured widely with comedian Derek Roy, before getting her own radio show in 1954.
Her major chart hit came with "Pickin' a Chicken", a South African tune with new words, which rose to No 9 on the UK Singles Chart at the start of 1956. Her first LP, Sugar and Spice, on which she sang 10 songs in nine different languages, followed later in the year. A continuous programme of radio work and tours followed, leading to more than one mental breakdown.
She faded from public view as public tastes for pop music changed through the late 1950s and 1960s, eventually returning to live in South Africa.
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mid-century pop
🌛《Let me translate the words of this song into Japanese…》💋
♪以下はこの曲の拙訳になりますー鑑賞の際の参考になれば幸いです。。。
「マラヤにかゝる月 (支那の夜) 」
夢に見るのよ、あの竹でできた家をー 月あかりに浮かび上がる…そうマラヤにかゝる月の下のね【1】
マラヤにかゝる月があたしの想いびとを照らし出す
あたしは “東星楼” の遊女、彼とはあたしの田舎の市場で知り合ったのーあたしが愛してるのは国中であのひとだけよ【2】
じきにあたしは聞くんでしょうねー彼が漂うサンパンの上から呼びかけるその声を【3】
それから二人は竹の小屋のなかで夢をみるのよー誰もあたしが彼にくちづけたって気になんかしやしない…マラヤにかゝる月以外はねー
【1】’Malaya’ とは現在のマレーシアの原形にあたるイギリスの植民地の呼称。
【2】’sing song girls’ はわが国で言うところの《遊女 /花魁》に当たり、おもに19世紀の中国 (清) のそういった女性を指すとの由。”the eastern star” は店の屋号とみて「東星楼」としてみた。
【脚注3】’sampan’ は東南アジアや中国南部に見られる全長5㍍ほどの木造の小型船のこと。ネットで画像を検索するとゴンドラみたいな形状のものが多いようだ。
♪原曲は1938年 (昭和13年) に発表された流行歌の「支那の夜」で、作詞は日本を代表する詩人の一人としても知られる西條八十、作曲はお千代さんの「東京の人よさようなら」などを書いた竹岡信幸。アメリカ人を祖父に持つ美貌のシンガー、渡辺はま子によって創唱されたが、発売当初は全く売れなかったという。然しながら半年くらいしてからじわじわと売れ出し、一年後には大ヒットを記録するまでになる。また二年後の1940年にはこの曲名をタイトルに冠した映画『支那の夜』が、長谷川一夫、李香蘭という当代きってのスタア俳優の顔合わせで作られた。当時日本の支配下にあった東南アジア諸国や山口 (李香蘭) の生地である中国でも大人気を博したが、戦時中に海外向けプロパガンダ放送でこの曲を聞いていたアメリカ兵もやがて愛唱するようになり、大戦後には競ってそのレコードを買い求めたという。1952年の映画『零号作戦 (原題:One Minute to Zero) 」では、主演のロバート・ミッチャムがこの曲を英語詞で唄っているが、この英国版はまたそれとは違ったリリックになっており、クレジットは Jimmy Kennedy, John Turner, Sil Sedores の連名。ただしこの曲のオリジナル版がザックリいうと《ABC》という構成なのに対し、この英国版は《ABAB’》ってなツクリになっているので、歌詞の都合で勝手に作り替えたのかも知れない…さてこゝで聴けるのは英国の名花 Eve Boswell の1953年の音源だが、間近に迫っていたエキゾティカ・ブームを予見したかのようなオリエンタル風味満載の仕上がりになっており、彼女ならではのフェミニンな唄声もいつにも増して艶っぽい…にしてもあの “エキゾティカ” の源流を辿ると、その1つは戦前の日本に!?勉強になるなぁー