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Sabina-Leah Fernandez (www.sabinafernandez.com) is a Singaporean editor-turned-yoga teacher now living in Sri Lanka. Read more of her writing on her blog www.ahippieinheels.com
If you’ve ever taken a cab in Singapore, you’ll love this ode to taxi uncles.
We all know these guys have a tough life. Most of them spend over 12 hours on the road, according to the Executive Secretary of the National Taxi Association, Ang Hin Kee.
(Ang Hin Kee, Chairman of National Taxi Association)
Say what you will but that’s a long time to be driving. The long hours slogging to cover rent can’t be easy. Maybe that’s why their always talking and pontificating – to keep them from falling asleep! Poor uncles!
Even if you have no sympathy for them you’ll love this parody which put their laments to music.
Called My Phisology, (a play on words referencing mispronunciation of the word philosophy) the song is by all-female local quartet Melissa Theresa & The Frenzy. Set to Bobby Brown’s 90s hip hop track, My Prerogative, it features laugh-out-loud lyrics and a spot-on taxi driver impersonation.
“Tell me why, why rental so high/
Waste my time you cancel booking when I arrive…t”
…goes the bridge in pleasing four-part harmony. We’re glad someone is highlighting the rental issue – every cabbie we’ve ever had tells us how hard it is to cover costs. And also their strange tendency to add a mysterious T-sound to the end of words…t.
But our favourite line has got to be the one which applies to any uncles on the midnight shift.
“After Zhook (Zouk) you womit
I standby the plastic
That’s my Phisology…
You backseat kissing kissing
Uncle osso dowan to see”
Poor uncles! Dealing with drunkards soiling their cars with womit, public displays of affection and trying to cover their sky-high rental and petrol.
It’s a good thing they have a union! We’re glad that the National Taxi Association is holding exercise programmes and sports programmes for the drivers to help with their health and manage stress.
That’s right Uncles & Aunties – we suppork you!
Without you we’d never get to where we’re going! And who would update us on local politics? Please do as the song says and go “lim kopi.”
We wonder what the NTA’s Ang Hin Kee would think of the song. Given his recent comments that female cab drivers should receive more support (or suppork) we bet he’d love that the role of the taxi driver in My Phisology is sung by a woman, and perhaps ask for an Ode to Taxi Aunties next! Melissa, Theresa & The Frenzy [linkto: https://www.facebook.com/melissatheresathefrenzy] – you listening?
[plinker]
