难忘的初恋情人 Nan Wang De Chu Lian Qing Ren (Unforgettable First Love) (Vocal + Piano Accompaniment) - Teresa Teng

Uploaded 26 Sep 2023. 

The last few weeks, I've been on a music binge with the Hokkien songs of Teresa Teng which, though maybe not as well known as her Mandarin and Cantonese classics, are still really amazing on their own. What's interesting is how the music arrangers (I wish I knew who these geniuses were) have revamped some of her songs from their 70s style (sung by a younger Teresa Teng) to the more heartfelt, sentimental and sometimes poignant versions appropriate to her voice which by the 80s had somewhat mellowed into the distinctive one that we know today. 

This song is one of my favourites of her Hokkien tunes. I don't know any Hokkien, but fortunately this song also happens to have a Mandarin version which is the one I've done here. Covering a wide vocal range, it is definitely one of the more challenging songs for a rookie like me to sing. This is where you really appreciate the singing skill and talent of the legend that is Teresa Teng, that voice that "one hears once in a hundred years" (quoting James Wong Jim). 

I've also included both the 70s and the 80s Hokkien version down here because of how the song has been re-done. The chord structures of the 80s version had been largely changed, other more "modern" instrumentation like an oboe and strings had been added, and the musical arrangement, matched with that once-in-a-hundred-years voice, is just so much memorable. 

Enjoy!

Piano cover: https://youtu.be/mi8k2neBxqw

Music sheet: 

Mandarin 80s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srfU9Nx8JcQ

Hokkien 80s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwPqcvYIa7o

Hokkien 70s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoDpfSsyrqs (skip to 32:45 listed in the description)