Old Songs Don’t Die……

… they just go to the South Pacific. Jon and I have greatly enjoyed the native music as we’ve traveled among the islands of the South Pacific. As noted in earlier blogs, we often try to go the local churches, although we cannot understand the native languages, just to listen to amazing voices singing in four and eight part harmonies. The native drums seem exotic, but guitar and ukulele are the most common instruments.

Since we entered French Polynesia in the Marquesas, we’ve also heard more modern music that reflects a melding of western music with Southern Pacific tastes. There’s a lot of Hip Hop on the radio, but it all tends toward the romantic. Kanye West, Beyonce, and Alicia Keyes love songs were common throughout French Polynesia. Importantly, these songs would be re-recorded by local artists in Tahitian. In the Tuamotus, we met a girl whose favorite song was “You Are My Sunshine.” And it goes without saying that Bob Marley’s reggae holds a special place in their hearts.

Whenever we go to a restaurant/pub that caters to “yachties,” (usually, just a dinghy ride from a harbor to shore), they often are owned by ex-pats (and ex-sailors) from the US, Australia or New Zealand. Their the music is often rock and roll from the 60s and 70s. In Taha, we walked into such a place to the sound of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” followed by the Rolling Stones and then an evening of Delta Blues. It can be a bit disorienting to come off a boat, onto an exotic Polynesian island and the first thing you hear is Jimi Hendrix. We wondered: had we sailed through some sort of time warp? Or had time stood still? Or (for Jon), a flashback? In truth, the music was what the ex-pat misses from home and tends to reflect the music of his youth and when he left it all behind to go semi-native in the tropics. It’s fun, and Jon and I have begun to play predicting games as to what we will and will not hear. I was holding out that we would never hear the band Boston, playing “More Than a Feeling,” but alas, it happened yesterday here in Fiji. (At least I was drinking a Banana Lada to ease the pain! Don't ask.)

But going back to the locals, it has been a surprise to hear how much they love our pop music from the 60s and 70s. Tony Orlando and Dawn. La Bamba. Elton John. Kung Foo Fighting. The Bee Gees. Olivia Newton John. And lots of one-hit-wonders whose songs I remember, but whose names are long forgotten, if ever they were known. In Niue, at a feast night of traditional food, dance and music, we were treated to a Maori version of Carol King’s “Under the Board Walk,” with our host suggesting that she got her version from the island of Niue. (That song is far from a one-hit wonder, and of course, Rickie Lee Jones did an amazing version of it as well.)

What comes through loud and clear is that they adore love songs. In fact, the schmaltzier the better. Two high school teachers we met in Tahiti confirmed that the Polynesians love romance stories and that the boys (as well as the girls) all cry when they read Romeo and Juliet.

When we got to Tonga, we noticed a bit of country twang in the guitar playing, even in the local traditional music. One night, we listened to a local band that had a one string base and banjo in addition to the usual guitars and ukuleles. One guitarist even seemed to play a bit of slide, giving us the hint of country music. They were wonderful. Once we arrived at the main island of Tongatapu, moored just offshore the capitol of Nuku’alofa, however, we heard their full appreciation of country and western music. The Police Band, that is, a guitar and horns band comprised of local policemen, after playing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” segued seamlessly into a trio of Kenny Rogers songs. They love Kenny Rogers in Tonga, and Jon heard him yesterday while shopping for boat supplies on the main island in Fiji. I know I haven’t heard Kenny Rogers since I left Texas in the early 80s. Talk about flashback ….. and I never took LSD!

In short, it’s been a hoot. We’re having fun, and being treated to songs that take us back (sometimes unwillingly) to junior and high school. Needless to say, this music has not been in our listening repertoire for years, but it has served to let us know that old songs don’t die, they just go to the South Pacific.