Daljit Nagra - Singh Song!

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

• ‘Singh Song’ is a poem focused on the love a shop-worker has for his wife, he how he abandons his duties in the shop to make love to her when no one is noticing.
• It uses comedy to enhance the relationships between husband and wife, but also the secondary relationship between the speaker and his parents.

Question 2

Give a brief synopsis of the poem

Answer 2

• Introduces the speaker, who works running one of his father’s shops.
• When no one is in the shop, he locks the door and goes upstairs to see his wife.
• They share food and make love. * The speaker mentions that people complain about the way he runs the shop and the things he sells, describing it as the “worst Indian shop”.
• He can hear his wife in the flat above the shop, and she runs a dating website.
• Suggests his wife doesn’t get on well with his parents, but he finds it funny. * Describes as his wife flits between different cultures.
• Goes back to referencing how his customers complain about his shop.

Question 3

Context regarding Daljit Nagra

Answer 3

• Nagra has Punjabi Sikh Indian parents who moved to Britain in the late 1950s, he was born in 1966.
• The concept of “Britishness” is a central theme to his work, and he has previously said he uses traditionally English formats in his poetry.
• His parents owned a shop in Sheffield in 1982, and his family repeated experienced attacks motivated by race, as well as burglaries.
• Nagra didn’t start writing poetry until he was 30, but did a BA & MA in English at Royal Holloway University.
• After these degrees, he became an English teacher. When he started submitting work to magazines he did so under the pseudonym ‘Khan Singh Kumar’, because he didn’t actually expect to get anything published.
• He teaches at Brunel University in London, is the poet in Residence at Radio 4 and 4 Extra, as well as having won the Forward poetry prize.

Question 4

“I run just one ov my daddy’s shops”

Answer 4

• Adverb “just” creates a sense of insecurity and lacking - implies there is a family pressure for him to work here
• Takes away responsibility and ownership over his work by referencing that the shop belongs to his “daddy” - sets up another relationship secondary to the romantic and sexual relationship between Singh and his wife - this being nearly strained father-son relationship

Question 5

“from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock”

Question 6

“and he vunt me not to hav a break”

Answer 6

• Displays displeasure towards his father for working him too hard

Question 7

“but ven nobody in, I do di lock –”

Answer 7

• Shows that whilst he has been resigned to the hard time-consuming work of running the shop, which shows he has some respect at least for his father, he will still go against his wishes because he potentially values his wife more than his work

Question 8

“cos up di stairs is my newly bride”

Answer 8

• Introduces his wife, who he is clearly devoted too - but is also seen as another responsibility Singh has to fulfil alongside running the shop - he has a conflict of responsibilities
• “New” emphasises the novelty of having a wife - could suggest they have a good relationship, reflecting honeymoon phase of relationship
• However, pronoun “my” is very possessive and implies an imbalance between the speaker and his wife

Question 9

“vee share in chapatti”
“vee share in di chutney”
“after vee hav made luv”

Answer 9

• Repeated collective pronoun “vee” creates a sense of unity within the relationship alongside with the verb “share”
• Repetition of this emphasises closeness of the couple

Question 10

“like vee rowing through Putney –”

Answer 10

• Strange simile provides comedy and humour to stanza

Question 11

“Ven I return vid my pinnie untied’”

Answer 11

• Humorous image to reflect his disobedient behaviour
• Creates a lack of professionalism which may suggest that he places a priority on his wife and their relationship rather than his work

Question 12

“di shoppers always point and cry:”
“Hey Singh, ver yoo bin?”

Question 13

“Yor lemons are limes”
“yor bananas are plantain,”

Answer 13

• Humorous exaggeration to juxtapose the commitment he feels for his wife

Question 14

“dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop”

Question 15

“in di worst Indian shop”
“on di whole Indian road –”

Answer 15

• Hyperbole adds humour to the poem, highlights difference in care he has towards the shop and then towards his wife

Question 16

“Above my head high heel tap di ground”

Answer 16

• Constant reminder of his wife above him
• High heels as a symbol of temptation and femininity? - influence of western culture?

Question 17

“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 –”

Answer 17

• Ambiguous but may mean that she runs a dating website - very modern approach to relationships
• Possessive pronoun “her” suggest she’s accomplished as she owns the site

Question 18

“my bride”

Answer 18

• Possessive pronoun - perhaps to suggest pride for her?
• Taking her accomplishments as his own

Question 19

“she effing at my mum”
“in all di colours of Punjabi”
“den stumble like a drunk”
“making fun at my daddy”

Answer 19

• Mentioning how his wife mocks his parents in a humorous way - suggests he finds it comical, and perhaps emphasise how he doesn’t have a very positive relationship with his parents

Question 20

“my bride”
“tiny eyes ov a gun”
“and di tummy ov a teddy”

Answer 20

• Juxtaposing description of his wife as both fierce and sweet - she is multifaceted and he appreciates these different parts of her personally

Question 21

“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 –”

Answer 21

• Repeating “my bride” through three stanzas suggest he cannot get her off his mind
• His wife is wearing a mix of clothes from different cultures and he seems to accept, if not embrace, the element of his wife

Question 22

“Ven I return from di tickle ov my bride”

Answer 22

• Opens stanza to a sweet and affectionate comment on his relationship with his wife, and then immediately contrasts this with the difficulties he faces whilst running the shop.
• “Tickle” is quite childish and innocent which further suggests they are newly-wed and enjoying the honeymoon period of their marriage

Question 23

“di shoppers always point and cry:”
“Hey Singh, ver yoo bin?”

Question 24

“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 –”

Answer 24

• Repeated throughout the poem, using hyperbole to compare his good relationship with his terrible work

Question 25

“Late in di midnight hour”

Answer 25

• References time again to justify himself spending time for his own pleasure

Question 26

“ven yoo shoppers are wrap up quiet”
“ven di precinct is concrete-cool”

Answer 26

• Directing this at the reader “yoo” suggesting we are a part of this issue

Question 27

“vee cum down whispering stairs”
“and sit on my silver stool,”
“from behind di chocolate bars”

Answer 27

• Silver is a precious metal, and seen as connoting modernism and sophistication
• Sibilance of “sit” and “silver stool” mirrors the calming language used in this stanza to emphasise how the shop is now void of customers

Question 28

“vee stare past di half-price window signs”

Answer 28

• Reference to money makes reader consider how much he actually values his work and suggesting he values his wife and spending time with her aa lot more

Question 29

“at di beaches ov di UK in di brightey moon –”

Answer 29

• “Brightey” - fictional language to represent the blending of cultures

Question 30

“from di stool each night she say,”
“How much do yoo charge for dat moon baby?”

Answer 30

• Baby is an affectionate term typically considered part of English slang - demonstrates a melding of cultures

Question 31

“from di stool each night I say,”
“Is half di cost ov yoo baby,”

Answer 31

• “Baby” - repeated, affectionate pet names hints the have a good relationship

Question 32

“from di stool each night she say,”
“How much does dat come to baby?”

Question 33

“from di stool each night I say,”
“Is priceless baby -“

Answer 33

• Choosing to neglect material goods and suggests that immaterial things such as spending time together, or nature, are much more important than the work he demo in his father’s shop

Question 34

Explain the importance of the title of the poem

Answer 34

• Alternative phrase provides a jovial, familiar quality with good rhythm
• Excalmative punctuation
• Pun using the traditional Indian surname ‘Sing’ which is popular amongst Sikhs, and inserting it into the phrase “sing song” which connotes a peaceful song - this initially situates the poem in a very specific community within the larger society

Question 35

Describe the perspective that the poem uses

Answer 35

• The speaker is a recently married man who works in one of his father’s shops.
• He complains about how much he is made to work, and disobeys his father’s wishes and often leaves the shop unattended.
• He narrates the poem with a humorous tone.
• It is written in a first-person narrative, and he talks about his wife instead of directly addressing her

Question 36

Describe the opening

Answer 36

• The poem opens on a focus on the speaker’s work, his wife isn’t introduced until later in the poem. This may reflect how he finds obstructions when trying to spend time with his wife.
• Takes away responsibility and ownership over his work by referencing that the shop belongs to his “daddy” - the implications of his work on his relationship may also imply that it feels like his father also owns his marriage, or has control over it to some extent. * Using the adverb “just” Nagra creates a sense of insecurity and lacking.
• This implies there is a family pressure for him to work here.
• This sets up another relationship, secondary to the romantic and sexual relationship between Singh and his wife, of a strained father-son relationship.
• The speaker displays displeasure towards his father for working him too hard, and references that he has resigned to the hard, time-consuming work of running the shop.
• This shows he has some respect at least for his father, he will still go against his wishes because he potentially values his wife more than his work.

Question 37

Describe the structure of the poem regarding refrains & repetitions

Answer 37

• To reflect the title of the poem, there is a melodic form to the poem with a stable rhythm and song-esque pace.
• Refrains such as “in di worst Indian shop // on di whole Indian road -”, and “my wife”, somewhat mimic the chorus of a song.
• Using the repeated format of “she say // // I say” in the final four couplets sets up a sense of dialogue and connection between the couple.
• Alternatively, it could be argued that because they are separated stanzas the structure reflects the adversity the couple faces when trying to spend time together.
• The Nagra’s use of couplets which are typical of a love poem structure reaffirms the idea that the couple have a loving relationship.

Question 38

Describe the use of language about dialect & colloquialism

Answer 38

• The dialect and colloquial language used in the poem reflects the typical language used by Indians living in Britain, again to situate the poem in the context of a specific community.
• For example, using “di” rather than “the”, “ver” instead of “where”, and “ov” not “of”.

Question 39

Describe the use of language about contrasts

Answer 39

• Juxtaposing language such as “tiny eyes ov a gun // and di tummy ov a teddy”
• suggests that Singh is aware he has a multifaceted and complex wife but finds this combination positive in their relationship.

Question 40

Describe the use of language about time markers & referencing

Answer 40

• The speaker often references time such as “midnight hour” and “9 o’clock to 9 o’clock” to highlight the time pressure he faces and how he struggles to schedule in time for himself, time with his wife and time for the shop

Question 41

Describe the use of language about immature language

Answer 41

• Nagra uses a range of upbeat, childish language, such as “red”, “silver”, “lemon”, “lime”, and these reflect both the new nature of the couple’s marriage and the immature tone of the poem.

Question 42

Compare with:

Answer 42

• Sonnet 29
• Before You Were Mine