That was her first NDP appearance after being so famous in the region. That’s why I guess it’s heartfelt and that sentiment has reached out and continues to reach out – not to say that songs that are written for patriotic purposes do not have the same effect… It’s like a ballad whereas the others are anthems, so this showed another face of patriotism. But the song has endured and taken different forms over the years: from a remixed version, performed by JJ Lin, at the 2004 NDP to a 2011 MINDEF remake that involved 39 Singaporean vocalists, including Vernon Cornelius, Ramli Sarip, Stefanie Sun and more. New Music This Week: Sezairi, Haneri, Subsonic Eye, and more, Dive into Singapore’s undying rock scene with Caracal, Sphaeras, Astreal, The Observatory, and more, Hear65 Music Reviews: Shafiq Haziq, Sugukris, SID, and more. I remember writing it late at night, that’s for sure. Over time, Singaporeans have made it their song, Lee said. It was really quite scary – I was wearing a gown, I was not used to wearing high heels. But even if I didn’t want to go, I had to. In the Royston Tan-directed music video, a veritable who's-who of Singaporean music across the ages, … So it’s so many things. And so it’s something that I learned, which is that this sense of who we are needs to come without you trying. Flights to nowhere > Flights to somewhere. At the beginning, I had a deal with my record company. Because I produced it, I was asked, “Why doesn’t it have timpanis and the big marching band and the big choirs? That year? In 2002 and 2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the … And the song also has a version sung in Mandarin by Chan. I decided to use my genre, my medium of pop music to find it. It wasn't written as a National Day song but because of its popularity, it was chosen. And it wasn’t written by a hired writer from an ad agency. This line is actually beautifully captured in the Chinese lyrics: “我的梦不论在何方 一生的爱唯有家”. Hopefully, in another 40 years, it's still being sung. If you’ve ever wanted to shoot your shot at being an influencer, now’s your chance. I certainly didn’t set out to do that. To mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Home’’s debut at the National Day Parade in 1998, Hear65 spoke to Dick Lee, Kit Chan and Dr. Sydney Tan about the song’s journey, why it is so loved, and what the song means to them in their own musical careers. “This is home, truly.” And perhaps that was something that was beginning to happen in the 90s: people began to think about 'quitters' and 'stayers', and 'Home' helped people express that this is the place where I belong. I think life-wise, ‘Home’ was like a perfect song for me because the pursuit of my dreams literally took me away from my home. This song is a true classic and it’s always relevant. So I was shocked! It was quite grand. Singapore has seen over 50 years of major road projects, from the PIE to the North-South Corridor. Woodlands had dinosaurs before it was cool. But ‘Home’ wasn’t even written as a National Day song, per se, and its pride of place in Singaporean hearts might make some incredulous to learn that when it was first written, the initial reaction to the song was doubt. Belmont Lay What is the Singaporean identity? Kit: I see ‘Home’ as my musical legacy. One of the elements that really drives Home is its lyrics and feel, which conveys homesickness. Subsequently, as a testament to the song's longevity, Home reappeared in 2004. Well, here's an amazing fact: Home, which is written by composer Dick Lee in 1997, was never meant to be a National Day song to begin with. It was almost like they said “You have to live in Taiwan”. And year after year, it maintains its popularity. Kit Chan: When I heard this song I was like, "Wow, this is a pop song and it's not like rah-rah. Home (Kit Chan song) Home (家), sung by Kit Chan, was composed by Dick Lee in 1998 as the first in a series of yearly songs commissioned for Singapore 's National Day Parade, together with the other NDP song that year titled as City For The world. It’s strange how everything comes together. | If I hadn’t done that search, I may not have been able to write ‘Home’. So that it has that late-night feeling and that’s why the opening line, the opening sentiment is moody, a little bit melancholic. And so it’s something that I learned, which is that this sense of who we are needs to come without you trying. I didn’t. And the theme was "river". Nation-building in a sense is [about] society building something together, whereas ‘Home’ is addressing the individual. It’s established itself already and how I feel about it is: “Move on!” [laughs] It’s there, I’m very proud of it, I can die peacefully. Inspections have been carried out at the ferry terminal by Indonesian authorities. Everything else leads you to that point. I felt really connected with the people because they were just singing so loud. That was the whole point of it. Sydney: We did a bunch of takes, her pitch was good, her feel was good. And I was more than happy to, because at that age, you just want to leave home, right? They were saying “If you don’t go, then we are not going to sign a contract.” Obviously, they want you to succeed, so you have to be prepared to relocate. The irony is that these all-time favourites were not written by a Singaporean, but by Canadian ad-man Hugh Harrison, now 62. Dick: I had no idea of the reaction. And a few backup singers, not many, three persons maybe – Clement Chow was one of them. Dick: The good thing about [Sing Singapore] was that, because ‘national song’ was never mentioned, there was no pressure. Because before that there was no such thing. It was a son of the soil, you know? It has English and Chinese versions, both sung by Kit. Dick: I remember Sydney and I chose Kit to sing it because she was at the time a rising star in the Chinese market. Not bad for a song that wasn't even meant to be a NDP song. They were open to it, but they were not sure, because things were going very well. Dick: It’s the one song I’m proudest of. In 1998, a wide-eyed, fresh-faced 25-year-old Singaporean Mandopop songstress walked out onto the National Stadium and sang her heart out. So he liked it and he then included it as a last minute, sort of, entree. A place of belonging. But then the outside world saw me as a Singaporean musician. Two individuals, Bernard Tan, who was heading the Sing Singapore committee, and Joe Peters, who was also on the committee, supported it. They said “Yes, this can work.” And as we know, ‘Home’ took off. I usually write a melody first, and sometimes I’ll sleep on the melody for a while before I set the lyric, maybe a few days, and quite often I rewrite, I tweak. Sydney: Across generations and across all kinds of demographics, it struck a chord with people. Then after that I took the pianos out, put guitars in and decided to record a small intimate string section. You take the lyric by itself, you take the music out, and you just look at the lyric – it already says so much. Dick: We have a folk song now, that's being handed down. But ‘Home’, because it always involves everybody, every time I sing it, as long as it’s a Singapore crowd, they are going to sing it. I could hear them even through my two in-ear monitors – I could hear them. “This is home, truly, where I know I must be.” That says it all lah. Frankly speaking, the significance, importance and success of the song, I only sort of realised about five years later, when I came back to Singapore. It's just great. 家 (jia) or Home is an exception. and then I realized "Oh my god, it's the PAP!". I think the treatment of the way it was done, the way Kit sang it also – it was intimate. I can’t describe that feeling. It’s established itself already and how I feel about it is: “Move on!” [laughs] It’s there, I’m very proud of it, I can die peacefully.". It was all these mass displays. It just grew on Singaporeans organically. Kit: I just remember my feeling about Sydney – he was formidable.