Singh Song

Themes:
Joy, Romantic love
Family Bonds
Conflict

Compare with:
I think of thee
Porphyria's Lover
Winter Swans

Context:
By Daljit Nagra (1966-)
Nagra is the son of Indian parents who moved to the UK in the 1950s. His family opened a corner shop when they moved to Sheffield. He wanted to use the dialect of the Indian language as he felt it had often been made fun of. The poem highlights the merging of two cultures, as well as the love between a man and his new bride.

The title is a pun and play on words- 'Singh song' means harmonious and melodic. Singh is an Indian name that was used by Sikh communities, and is the surname of the shopkeeper 'Singh, Where you been?' This helps to set the light tone of the poem and locate it within a specific cultural community. This is Mr Singh's song.

STANZA 1:
The poem opens a strong dialect to create a vivid image of the narrator. He complains of pressures from his family to continue the tradition of working hard in the family shop. His father is obviously successful 'one ov my daddy's shop' and it could be argued that Singh wants to honour his father 'daddy.' However, he disobeys him by locking the shop when nobody is in to be with his wife.

STANZA 2:
His new bride waits for him upstairs and he is in the honeymoon phase of lust and excitement.

STANZA 3:
Introduces the customers voices, 'di shoppers always point and cry' who are also complaining about the tidiness of his shop and quality of the goods.

STANZA 4:
His focus returns in stanza 4 to his wife, she dominates his every thought. We begin to get a glimpse of the woman who has him so rapt. She is busy on the internet, 'netting two cat on her Sikh lover site'. It is slightly ambiguous but suggests that she runs a dating site for Sikh men.

STANZA 5-7:
The following 3 stanzas create a detailed picture of the wife. She is rebellious and irreverent. She does not abide by the traditions of respecting her elders. She swears at her husband's mother, makes fun of his father. Her dress merges British and Sikh cultures, mixing Punk dress with traditional sari and pumps. Her appearance is not conventionally feminine with a 'red crew cut' and 'donkey jacket.' We have the impression of a domineering woman with the metaphor 'tiny eyes ov a gun' for whom, all he feels is love- 'tummy ov a teddy.' The repetition 'My bride' with assonant sounds, sounds like a loving and longing sigh, juxtaposing the description he has just given of her.

STANZA 8:
Returns to the chorus, reiterating his devotion to her that is distracting him from his work.

STANZA 9:
Moves the action forward to the evening, when the shop is shut. The language choices here convey magic, fun and excitement, like children 'midnight hour, which stairs, silver, chocolate bars, brightey*, moon' There is something joyous, innocent and exciting about the love he feels for his wife. *Nagra has also stated that he used Brightey to sound like 'Blightly', and an Indian nickname for Britain.

STANZA 10:
The repetition shows an ongoing routine that has become their special time away from the pressures and demands of both work and family. His love for his wife is made explicit and he states she is 'priceless.'

	Created by Fozia Xx about 7 years ago

Note on AQA POETRY LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS~ SINGH SONG, created by Fozia Xx on 19/05/2017.