“STORIES IN SONG” SERIES 2019 – By Des Kelly

 “Music hath charms”, to soothe a savage breast, to soften knots, or bend a knotted oak”, wrote the poet Congreve, in “The Mourning Bride”, just as William Shakespeare wrote from “The Twelfth Night”, “If music be the food of love, play on”. This writer LOVES Music. Really does not matter which Country it comes from, does not matter which language it entails, does not matter who the Composer is/or was, just as long as the music is “easy on the ear”, can be enjoyed, brings a few minutes of peace and wellbeing to the listener, better still, someone who will want to hear it, perhaps, over & over again.

I first heard Samoan & Cook-Island music, around the & 1970’s after arriving in Australia, immediately fell in love with it, in it’s simplicity, musicality & the fact that I then realized that we, Islanders have this inborn knack of being able to “make music” in the simplest way, whenever we felt like it. The Samoans & Cook-Islanders, Fijian & Anglo-Indians, Hawaiians, Cubans, plus many others, also provide the World with spontaneous music that is very easy to listen to, even though the lyrics of the vocalists are synonymous with the Countries they come from. However, I have noticed that some lyricists cannot seem to fit in their “words”  with the strict cadence of the music & some lyrics tend to spoil the beauty of the music. Still, I suppose, it is the Music that counts, in the long run. Ladies & Gentlemen, let me present you with some beautiful Samoan Music.