Majulah Singapura

"Great job, Assistant! You found the first National Symbol!" Inspector Kay says gleefully.

The music score to Majulah Singapura is safely put into Inspector Kay's care, and the two of you hurry to the next location.

In 1958, Mr Zubir Said was approached by the City Council to create a vigorous song to be used by the City Council as a patriotic theme song.

To write the lyrics of this song, Mr Said studied the policies, social life and the wishes of the people of Singapore. He used simple language to write the lyrics, which were easy to sing and understand by all races in Singapore. This original composition was known as the Singapore City Council Song.

In 1959, the Singapore City Council Song was shortened and adopted as the National Anthem Majulah Singapura that we know today.

The video above, performed by the Orchestra of Music Makers, starts with an arrangement of the original composition by Mr Zubir Said. Compare it to the performance of the National Anthem (starting at 2:17 of the same video) and notice how the Singapore City Council Song has a longer verse and melody line!

Learn more about the National Anthem and its creation on the National Heritage Board website.