AQA English GCSE

Poetry: Love & Relationships

Singh Song! - ​Daljit Nagra

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 SINGH SONG
Daljit Nagra

Brief Summary

‘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.

Synopsis

● 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.

Context

Daljit Nagra (1966 - )

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.

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Singh Song!
Singh Song! Is a ​humorous​ poem set in a
shop, run by the speaker of his poem - he
lives above the shop with his newlywed wife.
It is often seen as a difficult poem to
compare to the rest of the anthology,
however Nagra uses a range of poetic
devices such as ​juxtaposing language and
time references​, which are common in
many of the other poems. It also has two
relationships running throughout it: at the
forefront of the poem, there is the
relationship between husband and wife, and
secondary there is the detrimentantal and
distant relationship between the speaker
and his parents. This provides ​two different
faucets of relationship to compare​.

KEY THEMES ROMANCE, CONFLICT, CULTURE,

RELATIONSHIP ROMANTIC / SEXUAL

LOVE DESTRUCTIVE, ROMANTIC, SEXUAL, DISTANT

The title “Singh Song!”

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 Singh Song!

Takes away responsibility and Using the adverb “just” Nagra

ownership over his work by I run ​just​ one ov my ​daddy’s​ shops creates a sense of insecurity
referencing that the shop and lacking. This implies there is
belongs to his “daddy”. This sets a family pressure for him to work
from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock
up another relationship, here.
secondary to the romantic and Shows that whilst he has been
sexual relationship between and he vunt me not to hav a break resigned to the hard,
Singh and his wife - this being time-consuming work of running
the clearly strained father-son the shop, which shows he has
but ven nobody in, I do di lock –
relationship. some respect at least for his
father, he will still go against his
Displays displeasure towards his wishes because he potentially
father for working him too hard. values his wife more than his
cos up di stairs​ is ​my​ ​newly​ bride work.
Introduces his wife, who he “Newly” emphasises the novelty
clearly is devoted too, but is also of having a wife, which could
seen as another responsibility vee share ​in chapatti suggest they have a good
Singh has to fulfil alongside relationship, reflecting the
running the shop - he has a vee share​ in di chutney honeymoon phase of the
conflict of responsibilities. relationship. ​However, the
Repeated collective pronoun pronoun “my” is very possessive
after ​vee​ hav made luv
“vee” / “we” creates a sense of and implies an imbalance
unity within the relationship, between the speaker and his
alongside the verb “share”, and like vee rowing through Putney – wife.
the repetition of this emphasises Strange similes to use provides
the closeness of the couple. comedy and humour to the
stanza

Ven I return vid my pinnie untied' Humorous image to reflect his

disobedient behaviour.
di shoppers always point and cry: Creates an lack of
professionalism which may
suggest that he places a
Hey Singh, ver yoo bin? priority on his wife and their
relationship rather than his
Yor lemons are limes work.

yor bananas are plantain, Humorous exaggeration to

juxtapose the commitment he
dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop feels for his wife.

Hyperbole adds humour to the

in di worst Indian shop
poem, and highlights the
difference in care he has
towards the shop and then on di whole Indian road –
towards his wife.

Above my head high heel tap di ground

Constant reminder of his wife
Ambiguous but may mean that above him, high heels as a
as my vife on di web is playing wid di mouse
she runs a dating website - very symbol of temptation and
modern approach to femininity? Influence of Western
relationships. Possessive ven she netting two cat on ​her Sikh lover site culture?
pronoun ‘her’ suggests she’s
accomplished, as she owns the she book dem for di meat at di cheese ov her price –
site.

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 Possessive pronoun - perhaps
my​ bride
to suggest pride for her? Taking
her accomplishments as his
she effing at my mum own.
Mentioning how his wife mocks
his parents in a humorous way in all di colours of Punjabi
suggests he finds it comical, and
perhaps emphasises how he
doesn’t have a very positive den stumble like a drunk
relationship with his parents.
making fun at my daddy

my bride
Juxtaposing description of his
wife as both fierce and sweet -
tiny eyes ov a gun
she is multifaceted and he
appreciates these different parts
and di tummy ov a teddy of her personality.

Repeating “my bride” through

my bride
three stanzas suggests he
cannot get her off his mind.
she hav a red crew cut

and she wear a ​T​artan sari

His wife is wearing a mix of
clothes from different cultures
a donkey jacket and some pumps and he seems to accept, if not
embrace, this element of his
on di squeak ov di girls dat are pinching my sweeties – wife.

Opens the stanza to a sweet

and affectionate comment on his
relationship with his wife, and Ven I return from di tickle ov my bride
them immediately contrasts this
with the difficulties he faces di shoppers always point and cry:
whilst running the shop. “Tickle”
is quite childish and innocent
which further suggests they are Hey Singh, ver yoo bin?
newly-wed and enjoying the
honeymoon period of their Di milk is out ov date
marriage. This is repeated throughout the
poem, using hyperbole to
and di bread is alvays stale,
compare his good relationship
with his terrible work.
di tings yoo hav on offer yoo hav never got in stock

in di worst Indian shop

on di whole Indian road –

References time again to justify Late in di ​midnight hour

himself spending time for his Directing this at the reader,
own pleasure. perhaps suggesting we are part
ven ​yoo​ shoppers are wrap up quiet of the issue.

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 ven di precinct is concrete-cool
Silver is a precious metal, and
seen as connoting modernism vee cum down whispering stairs
and sophistication. Sibilance of
“sit” and “silver stool” mirrors the and ​sit on my silver ​stool,
calming language used in this
stanza to emphasise how the
shop is now void of customers.
from behind di chocolate bars Reference to money makes
readers consider how much he
vee stare past di ​half-price​ window signs actually values his work and
suggests he values his wife and
Fictional language to reprence spending time with her a lot
at di beaches ov di UK in di ​brightey​ moon –
the blending of cultures. more.

from di stool each night she say,

How much do yoo charge for dat moon baby?

from di stool each night I say, Baby is an affectionate term

typically considered part of
Is half di cost ov yoo ​baby​, English or American slang,
which demonstrates a melding
of cultures again.

from di stool each night she say,

Affectionate pet names hints
they have a good relationship. How much does dat come to ​baby​?

Choosing to neglect material

goods and suggests that
from di stool each night I say, immaterial things such as
spending time together, or
Is priceless baby - nature, are much more important
that the work he does in his
father’s shop.

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Perspective

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.

The opening

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.

I run just one ov my daddy’s shops

from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock
and he vunt me not to hav a break
but ven nobody in, I do di lock –

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.

Structure

Use of Refrains & repetition

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.

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 REFRAIN​ | A repeating phrase / line, typically at the end
of a stanza.

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.

Language

Dialect-specific and colloquial language

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”.

COLLOQUIALISM​ | An informal phrase common at its

time of utterance.

Contrasts
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.

Time markers & referencing

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.

Immature language
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.

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Comparisons

Singh Song! Before You Were Mine

“9 o’clock to 9 o’clock” “Stands at the close”
“Midnight hour” “Ten years away”
Changes between types of tense in both poems.

Singh Song! & Sonnet 29

Similarities ● Both demonstrate the ​all-consuming​ nature of love, and how this affects
the speaker in the poems: concern the idea of romantic fulfillment.
● Both use ​natural and religious imagery​ to highlight how much they love
their partner.
● Both have an overly positive attitude towards love.
● Sexual implications of ​”pinne untield”​ and ​“thy trunk all bare”​ which
suggests they have a sexual as well as a romantic connection.

Differences ● S29 has a much more traditional structure than Singh Song, though Singh
Song doesn’t have a rhyming scheme and Sonnet 29 does.
● In Singh Song the pace flows towards the end, whereas in S29 the rhythm
is consistent.

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