sufian's songs

[C, G, Am, F. C, G, Am, Asus]
i wanna see you when you're sleepin
i wanna watch you while you dream
i wanna dance with you in the mornin
i don't care if we are seen

so come along
it ain't wrong
bring your nailclippers and pocketbook baby
it's your song
come along
it ain't wrong
take my hand let's go for a ride
to the other side [C5, harmonic, G5, harmonic, A5 harmonic]x2

i wanna sit with you in the jeepney
i wanna hold your hand in mine
i wanna share with you my walkman
and everything will be just fine

so come along
it ain't wrong
i'll watch you cook and when you sing
i'll try to hum along
come along
it ain't wrong
you and me we'll go for a ride
i'll be by your side

[F, G, C, B5, A5, G]
i'll be there with you
with your mangga and your lips of candy red
i'll be there with you
you don't have to wait for me to say

i wanna see you when i get there
i wanna hold you close to me
i wanna reach out and touch your hair
i wanna live with you by the sea

so come along
it ain't wrong
bring your nailclippers and pocketbook baby
it's your song
come along
it ain't wrong
you and me livin on that ride
never sayin

[C5]
goodbye..

sittin in the guitar shop i remembered this song i wrote a long time ago. almost forgot the arpeggios, but remembered the words. was just me playin around in arpeggios in the d and g open chords. this was probably written when i was in secondary school, definitely before 1999.

the song is about not knowin oneself.


hey you
~~~~~~
D G
hey you
D G D
where're you from?
G D G D
do you know where i belong
G D
you've come and gone away
G
should i long for yesterday
D G
hey you
D G
where're you from?

disaffected youth
she told me
and i'm just a star in her galaxy

and would life be so grand?
if you couldn't understand
hey you
where're you from?

Em
you smile
G
and to me you say
Em G
"you think you're close
D
but you're so far away"

this song was written when i just transferred to tpjc after 3 months in srjc. durin my time in srjc, i had gotten close to this girl called nadiah. this song was written for her.

at tpjc, i joined the guitar ensemble. months passed until we had the annual guitar ensemble concert, held at the tampines cultural centre near to block 201. i set up a group then, and we called ourselves stereotype. naturally i invited nadiah to attend as well, hintin that i had a surprise for her.

stereotype's performance was during the second interval. during the break i came out to the audience side to mingle and meet nadiah. here was how our conversation went..

suf: hey nadiah! glad you could come!

nadiah: suf hey, wouldnt miss it.

suf: so how do you find it so far?

nadiah: it's great really.. oh by the way, i want you to meet XXX, my boyfriend..


can't remember much about what happened after that. except that when i managed to get back into the relative privacy of the dressin/rehearsal room, i startin laughin cynically. my group upon hearin the news were sympathetic, and i remembered sayin something like "she can break my heart, but she can never break my spirit, let's practise!" or something to that corny effect. and we practised some more.

n then it became our turn to perform. as we settled on the stage, i had not forgotten my promise of a surprise to nadiah. so i took the mike and said,

"hi guys, we are stereotype. this song was written by me and some friends of mine. it's for nadiah, who's here tonight. with a message 'thanks for being such a wonderful frriiieeeeennnnnnnn dahh..' "

and with heads bowed low, we started to play this song. note to our year 2 friend who came bouncin out after the intro with shakers!

[take you home]
(solo contributed by ben goh)

[intro]
let ring~~
e---------------------------------------------------------------------
b---------------------------------------------------------------------
g---------------------------------------------------------------------
d--5----5-----5-5-5----5---5----5--5-----5-5-5----5---5---- X2
a--5----5-----5-5-5----5---5----5--5-----5-5-5----5---5----
E-3----3-----3-3-3----0---3----3--3-----3-3-3----0---0-----
G Em/G

then play Gadd9, D, C, D x2

e--------3-----2-----0---------
b--------3-----3-----1--------
g--------0-----2-----0--------
d--------0-----0-----2--------
a--------2-----X-----3--------
E-------3-----X-----X--------
Gadd9 D C

solo
~~ ~~ ~~
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b----8----8----8-7-----8---------8-7-8---10^bend up 1/4 note and back--10-
g-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
d-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________________
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 1
e--------------------------------------7-----7--5----------------------
b----8----8----7-8-7---5--------------------------7--7/slide up-
g------------------------------------------------------------------------
d------------------------------------------------------------------------
a------------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________________________________
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 2
e------------------------------------------7/8--7-----------------------
b----8----8----8-7----8------------7-8-------------10----8--------
g-------------------------------------------------------------------------
d-------------------------------------------------------------------------
a-------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[verse 1]
got a cloud in my sky
and i think it looks like you
i wanna fly so high
but i ain't got no fuel
it's like i'm alway stuck
with my feet on the ground [play solo with endin 1]
while other people they just
push me around [play solo with endin 2]
yeah yeah

[verse 2]
paged you late last night
you said you were feelin sad
did i say anything right?
did i make you feel bad?
so i left my love in
in your voicemail [play solo with endin 1]
did that cheer you up or
did i fail? [play solo with endin 2]
yeah yeah

[chorus]

Gadd9 D Em C
cos i wanna be the only person in your world

Gadd9 D Em C(barre, fret8 on low E)
yeah i wanna be the only guy that you love

C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.... (fret 8 on low E) slide down to G(fret 3)
so let me take you home

[solo]

[verse 2]
i'm feelin kinda lonely
could you help me with that?
would you like to see a movie?
would you turn me down flat?
would you like me to help you
carry your files? [solo with endin 1]
doncha know my day brightens
when i see you smile? [solo with endin 2]

[chorus]
[solo]
[solo over chorus]
[solo]

end..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we played with a passion we never played before. as we hit the last note, our heads bowed still, we heard applause. lookin up to our great surprise and amazement, everybody was on their feet, hootin and cheerin. even the principal and the vice principal too, whom we didnt notice were sittin at the front row.

at the end of the concert, principal of tpjc, mrs susan chan walked up to me.

susan: so you're the boy that writes songs huh?

suf: yes ma'am

susan: alrite, can u put up something for the teacher's day performance next month?


and that was how susan's tree first started. the line-ups have changed, but in essence, that was where it first began.

what about nadiah? well i left her at the bus stop with her and her guy. met her again a coupla months later, but that's another story, and another song ;)

written 2003

intro: am, bm, g

e-------------------------------------------------
b-------------------------------------------------
g-------------------------------------------------
d-------------------------------------------------
a----7----7-------5---5---5----4----4---5-----5---
E--5----5---5-7-----7---7----3----3---3----3----3-


[verse1]
girls don't fall for broke blokes
stars don't exist in that sky
it's a government hoax
terrorism is justified
plastic dolls pollute the planet
multi-storey chicken alcatraz
all this bullshit i don't need
i can't sleep i can't relax

[chorus]
so i'll smoke cigarettes to ease my sorrow
leave today there's no tomorrow
worth livin for it's not okay
i'll kill myself before my final day

[verse2]
reality shows of human degradation
education system is all wrong
the beach is full of murky waters
kids are fuckin with no condoms on
promises are made to be broken
holy wars are full of politics
hell is just a state of mind
i cut myself and watch me bleed

[chorus]
or i'll smoke cigarettes to ease my sorrow
live today there's no tomorrow
worth livin for it's not okay
i'll kill myself before my final..

[refrain]
---f5-----------------g5
i love the pain of dramatic daydreams
---c5
so why do i cry at unplanned nightmares?
f5---------g5-----------c5
---wake up sadly to see that you're never ever there
f5---------g5------------------------c5
---we just share different points of view
f5------g5-------------------am,bm,g
--sadly i can't live without you


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this is a song i wrote for my first love, my filipino cousin. she's a beautiful lady. lotsa brains, lotsa smiles and very mature. we used to go for walks at the dagat, the beach in nasugbu. watch the waves, talk about life, tease each other. she's the reason why i learnt the guitar.

one afternoon she came over as usual to my grandmother's house at the end of fidel castro street. we sat on the bed in my room and she showed me a magazine of songs. there in the philippines, these magazines are very popular. in them are popular songs, both english and tagalog, with the lyrics and the chords. sometimes it ain't accurate but for the musical filipinos, it does just fine.

she turned to a page and showed me a song by the filipino band alamid. she sang the following:

you're the one that never lets me sleep/ thru my eyes down to my soul you touch my lips/ you're the one i can't wait to see/ with you here in my arms i'm in esctacy/ i am all alone without you/ my days are dark without a glimpse of you/ and now that you came into my life i feel complete/ my flowers bloom, my morning shines and i can see/ that your is like a sun/ that lights up my whole world/ and i feel the warmth inside/ your love is like a river that flows down thru my veins/ and i feel the chill inside/ everytime i hear our music play/ reminds me of the things we've been through/ in my mind i can't believe it's true/ but in my heart my reality is you

her voice stunned me. when i recovered, i noticed the chords above the words. chords of g, d and c. the next morning i sought out my uncle edwin, who at that time was teachin my brother guitar. i showed him the song and asked me to teach him. before i left nasugbu and returned to singapore, i sang n played it to her. not as well as she did, but she joined me in song and in that moment i was complete.

amazing how certain events remain so clear in one's memory, even though that was in 1996. anyways that's how and why i learnt guitar. and my songs always have her inside, in bits or in whole. this is one for her in whole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
she

[intro] em(add9), c(add9), g (x6)

intro/verse riff
e----------------------------------------------------
b--------3----------3----------3----3slide5-5-3-0--
g------0---0-----0----0-----0----0-----------------
d----------------------------------------------------
a---2---------3--------------------------------------
E-------------------------3--------------------------

--------------------------------------------------
--------3----------3----------3------------------
------0---0-----0----0-----0----0-----0----0---
--------------------------------------------------
---2---------3-----------------------------------
-------------------------3-----------3----2------

[verse1] (add tremolo & phaser for trickling water effect)
i'm feeling high again
i'm on my knees with my face to the heavens
i think i see her there
fall to the sky feel her strength in the air
she's so much nicer to me
adventures are never too much trouble
she brings me to this reality
whenever she sits right beside me

[chorus] (add overdrive)
cos she'll say
why don't you lie beside?
and i would
and hold her inside
and this world
fades away right beside us
til there's just the two of us

[verse2]
she seems to beckon to me
i see within her a better life
she steals my heart and yet sets me free
i don't understand and i don't mind

[chorus]

[solo1] all on the 6th string, with wah effect

e-----7/bend \bend-7-7pulloff5-3--3-3-3-5/bend \bend---------

e-----7/bend \bend-7-7pulloff5-7slide10-10-10-10-10-10-10--

e-----7/bend \bend-7-7pulloff5-3--3-3-3-5/bend \bend---------

e-----5-5-3-0-3-0-3~~-----------------------------------------

[solo2] by ant.. n i have no idea how to play it, much less tab it!

[chorus] x2

[outtro] play c & g chords in barre, palm muted
em c g
til there's just the two of us
em c g
til there's just the two of us
em c. c. g(let ring)
til there's just the two of us

end
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

jinfu: the groove-meister! playin the bass guitar upside down! 

from left to right:mike(drums, guitars, vocals), ant (drums, lead guitars, lead vocals), suf(drums, guitars, back-up vocals) and jinfu (bass) 

susan's tree, live @ the roomful of blues on april fools day, 2005 

the panda song
(thanks to jinfu for the chorus line. as well as iwan for the more decent chorus2 ;) )

chords: c, g, am, f, e,

[verse1]
she knows me when i do not know myself
she helps me when i cannot help myself
could you believe could you ever understand
all i wanna be
i just wanna hold her hand

and then she tells me
she's found somebody new
and i must understand
that's what she wants to do
and all my dreams and fantasies are thrown away
but to the fella to the boyfriend
baby i would say

[chorus](*)
"you bastard! goddamn you!
ah ah ah ah ah
you bastard! goddamn you!
ah ah ah ah ah ah ah"

[verse2]
she dances like a spanish princess in my hands
she told me i was more to her than just a friend
she wonders if we'll go out again someday
with no balls with no guts i went
and backed away
and now she's dissin me
in my time of need
and i'm a'regrettin
my lack of speed yeah
to realise
just what she meant to me
and now i say to myself explicitly

[chorus]

[interlude]
why are my feelings
always wrong?
why do i have
to sing this song?
why must it all
fall down to pieces?
cos i just want
some simple kisses

[superfast interlude] x4

[chorus]

end..

note(*) chorus may be subsituted by the below, should less vulgarity be called for..

[chorus2]
you chio bu! i love you!
ah ah ah ah ah
you handsome! you stupid!
ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

another draft lp cover.. the meaning of susan's tree ;) 

draft lp cover for my old band.. old pics balls! 

my first guitar: nadiah 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
love thru a telephone
a song about imperfect love

[intro: em, c#m, bm, a ] x4

[verse1]
she hurts me in the big ways and the little ways
she's so unaware of
why do i still linger?

and i die everytime i hear the ringtone of her phone
remindin me she's taken

yeh i think too much
and i've said
too much

[chorus]
love.. thru a telephone
how i wish you would linger
love! thru a telephone
how i wish you would
linger..

[verse2]
i am thinkin that all the things i thought
i learnt from this world
dun amount to very much
cos everyday's another
perfect day

and i am thinkin that i am too naive
too gullible too idealistic cos i'm thinkin
thinkin about her..

yeh i think too much
cos i've lost
too much

[chorus]

[refrain: bm, a, em/f#]
and i am thinkin about you
and i am missin you
and i am lovin you
but in ways you don't want me to

[chorus]

[outtro]
wish you would linger.. (x4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~