Believing in the meaning of a song

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Have you heard of the song ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’? It’s a song from the musical ‘Evita’ with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.

In the musical, the song is performed by the character Eva Perón, who was portrayed by Elaine Paige in the original West End production in 1978.

MADONNA in Evita musical

However, the most famous rendition of the song is by Julie Covington, who sang it in the concept album ‘Evita’ released in 1976. Julie Covington’s version was a hit in the UK and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

There is also a version by Madonna (full name Madonna Louise Ciccone), an American singer, songwriter, and actress (regarded as the ‘Queen of Pop’) for the 1996 film adaptation.

It proved to be a great global success, solidifying its place in popular music culture. It became Madonna’s greatest global hit and to me, its lyrics send a special message to a diva in my heart – my late mother.

‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ is a fictionaliSed speech not based on any specific address given by Eva Perón, once the Argentine first lady. While she was considered a diva, the song was created for the musical “Evita.”

Though it was a moment when the first lady Eva Perón spoke her mind for the people of Argentina, it did reach my heart as a human being and filial son and I empathize with her speech and the song.

The lyrics says:

“It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel,
That I still need your love after all that I have done,
You won’t believe me,
All you will surely see is a girl you once knew…
Don’t cry for me Argentina, The truth is I never left you….”

This phrase ending with “The truth is I never left you” truly reminds me of the woman who brought me to this world slightly over 70 years ago.

When I looked at the scarred back of my late mom, attributed to ‘bekindu’ (a post-delivery process of turning one’s back to the slow-burning flame), I realized those were the scars of sacrifice by the woman we called ‘Indai’ (Iban word for mother).

During our 34 years together – I was her second-last delivery; my younger brother Tambi lived only for 40 days – I made sure that she never shed any unnecessary tears as one way to compensate for her pain and love.

For that matter, all of us, three brothers and a sister plus one adopted brother, did our best to shower Indai with our time, love, and gifts.

With teary eyes, I held her remains which only weighed 26 kg from Sarikei Hospital bed on the 1 Sept 1988 morning to the mortuary and kept her there until a vehicle was available to carry her body to Kedap longhouse in Saratok.

One of the handful of SMK Julau teachers who looked after her at the hospital from the early evening of 31 August till she breathed her last in the early hours of 1 September was the temporary teacher Edwin Galan Teruki, who later joined Bomba Malaysia and rose to become its Deputy Director General.

Madonna

Just in case Perón and Madonna dedicated this song to their subjects/friends, including their moms, they might have taken heed from one of her idols, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll Elvis Aaron Presley, who, to the chagrin of his wife Priscilla, loved his mom Gladys more than her or any other woman in his life. This was revealed by Priscilla herself in her book

‘Elvis Only I Knew’.

We should love our mother, though, in reality, the degree of such love may vary from case to case. In a number of cases, men have been found to love their wives more than their moms. Whatever the case is, I am in no way the most qualified judge of this.

In trying to do justice for my late mom, I tried my best to provide her with the best I could, including showering her with gifts of new clothes, jewellery, good food, and medicines. She had no complaints about any of her offspring – she outlived my eldest sibling and sole sister Dinggu and, of course, dear brother Tambi.

“Don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is I never left you,
All through my wild days, my mad existence I kept my promise, Don’t keep your distance….”

The Rolling Stone magazine once put this song in the top 10 position of its ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ list.

Most mothers sometimes find themselves in awkward situations, especially when expecting twins or triplets, thanks to prior knowledge made possible in the high-tech world. This anxious moment may turn them into teary-eyed pictures of sadness and anxiety.

Thanks and no thanks to an established private Sibu gynaecologist whose practice was seemingly dubious, my first wife was told that she needed an epidural delivery – that came with an extra RM800 charge – for our firstborn in 1986.

I made sure it was done according to the doctor’s instruction even though the delivery and other related expenses cost quite a bomb by 1986 standards, all for the sake of avoiding unnecessary tears.

Four years later, she delivered twins – both boys – but one was stillborn. No one cried, and we were still happy that one of the boys lived, though he succumbed to cancer shortly before his 25th birthday in March 2015, making both parents cry. In such a situation, Perón’s advice has to take a back seat.

There are many cases of mothers having to see their newborns separated from them either by death or given for adoption whenever such an act is deemed necessary.

But in a number of rare cases, there have been twins separated by mistake or by design. A bestselling novel ‘ons of Fortune’ by prolific author Jeffrey Archer brings into perspective this ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ issue.

Here, Archer comes with a powerful tale of twins separated by fate and reunited by destiny. It is in Hartford, Connecticut, in the late 1940s, and a set of twins is separated at birth by a desperate nurse. Nat Cartwright goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and insurance salesman.

But his twin brother begins his days as Andrew Fletcher Davenport, the son of a wealthy CEO and his socialite wife. During the years that follow, the two brothers grow up unaware of each other’s existence.

Nat leaves the University of Connecticut to serve in Vietnam and returns as a war hero. He finishes school and goes on to become a successful bank executive.

Fletcher goes on to become a distinguished criminal lawyer and is elected as a senator. As their lives unfold, both men are confronted with tragedy and betrayal, loss and hardship.

In trying to overcome obstacles, they become the men they are destined to be and eventually, they come to find each other. Their story has so many tears to shed, mostly from women who are mothers or about to become one.

Both Nat and Fletcher in their worlds have said, “Oh my dear, please don’t cry.” Both might not exactly say ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’, B the aim is the same.

Such words to anyone or a subject would carry a special meaning – that there is always someone who cares for her in this world.

For my daughter Dawn Sara Tawi, 31, my only surviving biological offspring, who just got married after graduating from UNIMAS, I say, “Cool it my dear girl.”

Just listen to Perón/Madonna’s advice, and you’ll find a smiling and comforting world in the days ahead.

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.

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