Singh Song! Daljit Nagra Even when a contemporary poet uses a very modern or different and fun conversational idiom, some students will still shrink at the thought that this is a poem… a form that can easily instil an antagonism that can create a kind of “mental fog” that prevents the poem being fully appreciated. On the surface, this poem is easy but still a “demystifying technique” can be useful. It works well to get students to see this not as a poem at all but as a real person responding to and speaking within a particular circumstance, with the student visualising themselves as a part of that circumstance. With this poem, you might first present it not as a poem in stanzas, but as a play-script. The “Bollywood” quality might well appeal to many students and maybe a short clip from a YouTube Bollywood film would be a useful and revealing introduction. As a playscript, this poems works well as a piece of dialogue and students could easily “act out the scene” in pairs.

Singh Song! i run just one ov my daddy’s shops as my vife on di web is playing wid di mouse from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock ven she netting two cat on her Sikh lover site and he vunt me not to hav a break she book dem for di meat at di cheese ov her price- but ven nobody in, I do di lock – cos up di stairs is my newly bride my bride vee share in chapatti she effing at my mum vee share in di chutney in all di colours of Punjabi after vee hav made luv like ve rowing through Putney – den stumble like a drunk making fun at my daddy ven I return vid my pinnie untied di shoppers always point and cry: Hey Singh, ver yoo bin? yor lemons are limes tiny eyes ov a gun yor bananas are plantain, and di tummy ov a teddy dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop in di worst Indian shop on di whole Indian road – above my head high heel tap di ground

late in di midnight hour ven yoo are wrap up quiet ven di precinct is concrete-cool vee cum down whispering stairs and sit on my stool, from behind di chocolate bars vee stare past di half-price window signs at di beaches ov di UK in di brighty moon – from di stool each night she say, How much do yoo charge for dat moon baby? from di stool each night I say, Is half di cost ov yoo baby, How much does dat come to baby? is priceless baby - my bride she hav a red crew cut and she wear a Tartan sari a donkey jacket and some pumps on di squeak ov di girls dat are pinching my sweeties – ven I return from di tickle ov my bride di shoppers always point and cry: Hey Singh, ver yoo bin? Di milk is out ov date and di bread is alvays stale, di tings yo hav on offer yoo never got in stock in di worst Indian shop on di Indian road –

this poem is a song - it has a strong lyrical voice, and depends on rhyme and rhythm, as well as repetition to create a sense of a refrain or chorus. Singh Song! The name 'Singh' comes from a Sanskrit word meaning 'lion' and it is an essential part of the name of any Sikh male. I run just one ov my daddy’s shops from 9 o’clock and he vunt me not to hav a break but ven nobody in, I do di lock - The narrator is the son – he will inherit the shop. he only has limited accountability; perhaps this is the first time he has been entrusted with responsibility Point out the pun in the title – Singh is a Sikh middle name indicating a male. The characters are presented perhaps as stereotypical, at least of the first generation of Indian people some of whom opened corner shops and worked long hours. The themes in the poem are racism, ‘belonging’, alienation and assimilation. Get students to look for how the poet suggests these themes as the poem progresses. phonetic spellings in places to represent 'Punglish' - English spoken in a Punjabi accent. This increases the number of 'd' and 'v' sounds in the song, and creates an alliterative, rhythmic effect. highlights the father’s need for the son to take this hard-earned responsibility seriously

limited knowledge of English –this shows the idiolect of the character. cos up di stairs is my newly bride vee share in chapatti vee share in di chutney after vee hav made luv like ve rowing through Putney - repetition of ‘share’ suggests that the couple have an equal partnership play on words: ‘Putney’ is Punjabi for ‘wife’, and also an area of south-west London Point out the limited knowledge of English – ‘newly bride’ – this shows the idiolect of the character.

Ven I return vid my pinnie untied di shoppers always point and cry: Hey Singh, ver yoo bin? Yor lemons are limes yor bananas are plantain, dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop in di worst Indian shop on di whole Indian road - italicised refrain to present the perspective of other shoppers, who act like a chorus commentary in classical Greek theatre. All speak with an Indian accent

She runs an online dating site for Sikhs; the modern way of arranging marriages. She is also running a business – part of the Indian work ethic. Nagra plays with the metaphor of the cat and mouse, as the narrator's wife is on what could be an internet dating site. The men she is catching are both mice, which she is playing with as a cat might. But they could also be cats. 'Cat' is a fairly common but old-fashioned slang term for a man. The confusion of who is the cat and who is the mouse reflects the situation the metaphor describes, where we might expect the bride to be the victim, but she is not! There may also be some punning here on the idea of the 'web' and her "netting" her prey. Above my head high heel tap di ground as my vife on di web is playing wid di mouse ven she netting two cat on her Sikh lover site she book dem for di meat at di cheese ov her price - The wife appears more westernised. She runs an online dating site for Sikhs; the modern way of arranging marriages. She is also running a business – part of the Indian work ethic. The rest of the poem can be discussed with reference to the idiolect of the narrator but there are no new points that need making here & therefore the rest of the poem is not reproduced again. imagery to suggest the wife is dangerous and powerful (‘on di web’, ‘netting’ and ‘playing vid di mouse’) the customers are her ‘meat’ and she tempts them with ‘cheese’ − this could also hint at the dynamic in their relationship. She also appears more westernised.

my bride tiny eyes ov a gun and di tummy ov a teddy sums up the ideas behind the poem: draws on the idea of colourful language, but it also suggests the idea of variety, and that behind the stereotype of the Indian immigrant, there are many different individual lives. my bride she effing at my mum in all di colours of Punjabi den stumble like a drunk making fun at my daddy my bride tiny eyes ov a gun and di tummy ov a teddy my bride she hav a red crew cut and she wear a Tartan sari a donkey jacket and some pumps on di squeak ov di girls dat are pinching my sweeties - metaphors used to describe the narrator's bride are quite unexpected. Neither the "tiny eyes ov a gun" and the "tummy ov a teddy" sound particularly attractive, but it is clear that he loves her. They also tell us a lot about his wife: using the comparison of the gun tells us she's assertive, but "teddy" suggests affection and softness. contrast of ‘gun’ and ‘teddy’ suggests conflicting feelings towards her; she is both comforting and dangerous?

Repetition of the customers’ complaints works like a chorus in a song Ven I return from di tickle ov my bride di shoppers always point and cry: Hey Singh,ver yoo bin? Di milk is out ov date and di bread is alvays stale, di tings yoo hav on offer yoo hav never got in stock in di worst Indian shop on di whole Indian road -

change of voice to second person, speaking directly to shoppers ‘midnight’ gives suggestion of magic; extended metaphor of moon (‘cool’, ‘whispering’ and ‘silver’); moon imagery links to the idea of honeymoon The shop at night becomes a romantic destination. The personification of the "whispering stairs" gives a beautiful sense of secrecy Late in di midnight hour ven yoo shoppers are wrap up quiet ven di precinct is concrete-cool vee cum down whispering stairs and sit on my silver stool, from behind di chocolate bars vee stare past di half-price window signs at di beaches ov di UK in di brightey moon - the shopkeeper's stool is elevated with the adjective "silver", suggestion of ‘Blighty’ they look out past the things which represent their daily life - the "half-price window signs" - to the "brightey moon", a romantic icon.

from di stool each night I say, Is half di cost ov yoo baby, series of couplets with repeated refrains, giving the impression that the couple are ‘in tune’ with each other from di stool each night she say, How much do yoo charge for dat moon baby? from di stool each night I say, Is half di cost ov yoo baby, from di stool each night she say, How much does dat come to baby? from di stool each night I say, Is priceless baby - their love is ‘priceless’, contrasting directly with the ‘priced’ items in the shop

Attitudes and Ideas As well as exploring the experience of the main character, this poem challenges the conventional expectations other people might have of him. These expectations are set up in the first stanza, in which the narrator tells us his father wants him to work twelve-hour days in the shop, playing on the idea of the immigrant work ethic. But he constantly upsets and challenges these expectations through the image of his wife: she is "netting two cat on her Sikh lover site", and swearing at his mother, which are both unexpected, but not as much as her punk appearance, with a "red crew cut" and a "Tartan sari". The focus on the love between them and the human aspect of their experience conveys very powerfully the idea that you can't use stereotypical expectations to judge what a person will be like. The poem is playful. The rhyme, the subversion of expectations and the comic images that seem created just for the rhyme (making love "like vee rowing through Putney"), all create a light-hearted poem and prevent the end from becoming sentimental.

Context Daljit Nagra is a British poet of Indian descent born in Bradford in 1966, who now lives and works in London. Look We Have Coming to Dover was his first collection, published in 2007, and the title poem won the Forward Poetry Prize. His poetry explores the experiences of first generation immigrants to Britain and those of their children and grandchildren. He often uses language and spelling that reflects the English of people whose first language is Punjabi, describing attempts to represent his community’s experiences in English as 'overheating'. The name 'Singh' comes from a Sanskrit word meaning 'lion' and it is an essential part of the name of any Sikh male. Subject Singh Song is a first-person love song by a young man about his wife. He manages his father's shop but keeps sneaking upstairs to see her instead. He paints a colourful picture of their love and lives, challenging stereotypical ideas about Indian culture.

Form and structure As it says in the title, this poem is a song - it has a strong lyrical voice, and depends on rhyme and rhythm, as well as repetition to create a sense of a refrain or chorus. The structure does not stay the same throughout, but cycles through a number of different stanza patterns, finishing in four two-line stanzas that follow a conversation between the narrator and his bride. The structure is highly repetitive, creating a sense of closeness between the two speakers.

Comparison Checking Out Me History Both poems use non-standard spelling to suggest an accent for the voice of the narrator. These narrators both bring the voices of others into their poetry - in Checking Out Me History it's the authority behind 'dem' and in this poem it's the voice of the complaining customers. Although both these poems challenge assumptions, Singh Song! is not as obviously political as Checking Out Me History.