There are fifteen poems in the GCSE Love and Relationships anthology.

For your exam, you will be given one poem in full, printed on the page, and you will be asked to compare this poem to another from the anthology.

All of the GCSE English Literature course is closed-book, meaning that you will need to learn at least three lines from each poem.

It is possible to get top marks for this question by making sure that you know the following:

• What the poem is about

• What the poem means

• The methods the poet uses to convey their message

• The links between the ideas of other poems in the anthology

Synopsis

This section includes:

• A general overview of the poem

• A detailed look at the poem line-by-line

• Analysis of the poem, giving Daljit Nagra’s intention and message

A General Overview of the Poem

"Singh Song!" is a dramatic monologue narrated by a young man named Singh, who manages his father’s corner shop. He expresses how his deep love for his new wife consumes his attention, causing him to neglect his responsibilities and challenge family expectations.

Line-by-Line

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

The speaker explains that his father owns multiple businesses.

The speaker works hard.

There is a sense that the speaker is dissatisfied with the work he has to do.

He feels overworked.

but ven nobody in, I do di lock –

The speaker ends this first stanza with a clear statement of defiance – he tells the reader that he goes against his father’s instructions.

This is a volta – a change in tone – that suggests the narrator goes against familial expectations.

cos up di stairs is my newly bride

vee share in chapatti

vee share in di chutney

after vee hav made luv

like vee rowing through Putney –

The speaker explains that he locks the shop because his new wife is upstairs

He explains that after they have had sex they eat together.

The use of ‘Putney’ suggests a quintessential British image; this couples with ‘chutney’ and ‘chapatti’, foods typically associated with India.

Nagra combines the two cultures to show the mixture of cultural influence in his life.

ven I return vid my pinnie untied

di shoppers always point and cry:

hey Singh, ver yoo bin?

The speaker explains he returns to work improperly dressed – his ‘pinnie untied’.

The customers start to complain.

This reflects his neglectful attitude towards work.

yor lemons are limes

yor bananas are plantain,

dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop

in di worst Indian shop

on di whole Indian road –

The customers continue to complain, in very specific ways.

They exaggerate how badly he is running the shop.

There is a carefree tone to the speaker’s descriptions of the complaints.

However, there is an undercurrent of unreliability – the speaker could be seen to be letting his family and community down.

above my head high heel tap di ground

as my vife on di web is playing wid di mouse

ven she netting two cat on her Sikh lover site

she book dem for di meat at di cheese ov her price –

Upstairs, his wife taps her feet.

She is on the internet on her dating site, trapping and tricking people who do not have the same love that they do.

The speaker is distracted by his wife’s actions.

my bride

       she effing at my mum

       in all di colours of Punjabi

       den stumble like a drunk

       making fun at my daddy

The speaker continues to describe the bride.

She is similarly rebellious – swearing at his mother, drinking alcohol to excess and insulting his father.

There are clear differences – in generational attitudes as well as cultural differences.

The wife is defying traditional family values.

The speaker respects this – he has similar values to his new wife.

my bride

       tiny eyes ov a gun

       and di tummy ov a teddy

The speaker is unable to think of anything except his wife.

She is comforting to him (‘teddy’) but defiant towards his family (‘gun’).

my bride

       she hav a red crew cut

       and she wear a Tartan sari

       a donkey jacket and some pumps

       on di squeak ov di girls dat are pinching all my sweeties –

The speaker describes the appearance of his wife.

Again, she defies traditional expectations with her ‘red crew cut’ – a type of hairstyle.

Her clothing reflects the multi-cultural nature of her environment.

The poet presents the romantic nature of their relationship – repeating the phrase ‘my bride’.

ven I return from di tickle ov my bride

di shoppers always point and cry:

hey Singh, ver yoo bin?

The speaker jumps back to the moment upstairs where he and his bride were in bed together – instead of looking after the shop.

The speaker is preoccupied with the new physical relationship.

di milk is out ov date

and di bread is alvays stale,

the tings yoo hav on offer yoo hav never got in stock

in di worst Indian shop

on di whole Indian road –

Again, we see the consequences of the speaker’s neglect of his duties ‘di milk is out ov date’.

The speaker is happy to sacrifice the productivity and presentability of his shop to spend time with his wife.

late in di midnight hour

ven yoo shoppers are wrap up quiet

ven di precinct is concrete-cool

vee cum down whispering stairs

and sit on my silver stool,

There is a shift in tone – the shop is silent when they sneak in at night.

There is a sense of excitement here – reflecting the physical unity between the two and the comfort that romantic love brings to a person.

from behind di chocolate bars

vee stare past di half-price window signs

at di beaches ov di UK in di brightey moon –

The speaker explains that he and his wife stare out of the window at the moon

There is a quiet romance to this moment as they find beauty in the mundane.

There is a combination of cultures again – the British culture with the Indian.

There is comfort in their togetherness.

from di stool each night she say,

        how much do yoo charge for dat moon baby?

from di stool each night I say,

        is half di cost ov yoo baby,

The poem moves to dialogue – between wife and narrator.

The wife continues to mock the father – asking how much the moon costs.

There is a playful, flirtatious banter between the speaker and his wife.

from di stool each night she say,

        how much does dat come to baby?

from di stool each night I say,

        is priceless baby –

The speaker continues in dialogue form – ending the poem sentimentally.

The end is a final romantic statement – their love is priceless.

There is a romantic justification for neglecting his father’s business.

Writer’s Methods

This section aims to support your revision by providing you with concrete and clear examples of methods that Daljit Nagra’s uses.

Remember: methods support meaning, not the other way round. You will gain more marks focusing your essays on the big ideas of the poems and then supporting these ideas with the methods that the writer uses.

Form

Daljit Nagra’s "Singh Song!" is a dramatic monologue that presents a light-hearted and affectionate portrayal of a young Indian husband deeply in love. His overwhelming passion for his new wife leads him to neglect his work, leaving him distracted and unfocused. The poem, told from a first-person perspective, captures the speaker’s excitement and struggle as he navigates his new marriage.

The free verse and irregular form mirror the speaker’s scattered thoughts, emphasizing his preoccupation with love over responsibility. Nagra reinforces the speaker’s passion through the shifting rhythm of his voice, reflecting his inner conflict—torn between his work duties, his daydreams, and his longing to be with his wife.

The varied stanza structure enhances the poem’s animated tone, alternating between expressive monologue, where the speaker shares his emotions and fantasies, and dialogue, which conveys the complaints of dissatisfied customers.

Through this extended dramatic monologue, Nagra highlights the tension between romantic idealism and real-world obligations. The speaker’s absent-mindedness, his failure to restock goods, and his inattentiveness to customers all reveal his struggle to balance love and duty. Ultimately, "Singh Song!" captures the passionate, almost chaotic nature of romance through the unpredictable and excitable voice of a young husband caught between love and responsibility.

Structure

"Singh Song!" carries a hurried yet informal tone, reflecting the speaker’s excitement and preoccupation with his new marriage.

Nagra uses enjambment to convey the speaker’s restless energy, mirroring the fast-paced nature of his day in the shop and the passionate moments he steals with his wife, as seen in “after vee hav made luv/ like vee rowing through Putney.” This structure captures his eagerness and inability to focus on his work.

The speaker’s desperation to be with his wife highlights the intensity of their love, portraying the passion of new marriage. However, as the poem progresses, the tone slows. Shorter lines with regular pauses depict a tender, romantic moment between the couple, shifting from excitement to intimacy.

The poem concludes with rhyming couplets, alternately spoken by the narrator and his bride. This use of rhyme enhances the magical quality of the setting, with imagery such as the “silver stool” and “concrete-cool” adding to the dreamlike atmosphere.

Though the poem’s rhyme scheme is irregular, occasional rhyming lines reinforce its musical and playful tone. Nagra incorporates assonance to reflect the melodic nature of the Punjabi accent, as in “O’clock” and “lock.” Similarly, the rhyme in “chapatti,” “chutney,” and “Putney” adds rhythm and humor.

Nagra’s conversational style uses rhyme for comedic effect, portraying the relationship as fun and light-hearted. While the speaker’s animated voice presents marriage as romantic and passionate, the informal, playful tone ensures the poem remains full of warmth and humor.

Language

Nagra uses imagery to highlight both the intimacy of the young couple’s relationship and the generational and cultural tensions that challenge their marriage.

Despite being a husband, the narrator adopts childlike language, referring to his father as “daddy” and using playful expressions like “brightey.” This suggests that, within his family, he is still seen as a dependent child, emphasizing his close but somewhat constrained role within the traditional structure.

The speaker’s phonetic accent reflects his complex relationship with his Punjabi heritage. His mixed identity is evident as he describes eating “chapatti” with his wife but later returning to work with his “pinnie untied”, symbolizing his struggle to balance cultural expectations with his personal desires.

Nagra’s poem explores cross-cultural challenges, depicting a speaker caught between maintaining his heritage and embracing life in Britain. However, the young couple actively rebels against traditional family values. The narrator’s disinterest in his father’s business is clear as he neglects his duties, stating “but ven nobody in, I do di lock –” showing his defiance.

His wife also challenges conventions, swearing at his mother, stumbling like a drunk, and “making fun at my daddy” while wearing a “Tartan sari”. This blend of cultures in her clothing and behavior underscores their playful rejection of rigid traditions.

Together, the young couple’s alliance against family expectations reflects the tensions of generational and cultural differences. Nagra presents a modern marriage in which love exists within the pressures of tradition, capturing the complexities of navigating romance and independence in a closely-knit, traditional family setting.

Context

At MyEdSpace, we use this analogy to discuss context – ketchup, salt and chips.

If you ordered a portion of chips, and asked for salt, you wouldn’t then dump the salt into the corner of your chips and start dipping each individual chip into the salt.

When you put salt on your chips, you sprinkle it over, sparingly, so as to give a good coverage of salt across the chips as a whole. Context is just like salt on chips.

Context is not ketchup – because it would be appropriate to squeeze ketchup into the corner of your plate and dip each chip in (and in fact, that is advised).

So when you’re including contextual information in your essays, sprinkle it across the essay, just like you sprinkle salt on your chips.

Let’s link the context to the key ideas and themes of the poem.

Romantic Love

Daljit Nagra, a British poet born in 1966, explores themes of modern British life in his poetry, incorporating contemporary references in "Singh Song!".

He grounds the poem in a British setting, mentioning everyday elements such as his “pinnie”, “Putney”, and the “beaches of the UK”, blending cultural heritage with his present environment.

In "Singh Song!", Nagra portrays the strong bond between the speaker and his wife within a modern British context, using imagery to reflect their shared cultural identity. They eat “chapattis” as they defy his father’s expectations, symbolizing their connection to tradition even as they challenge it.

Their love is depicted as both passionate and playful, with the metaphor “like vee rowing in Putney” capturing the intensity of their relationship in a distinctly British location.

Despite the informal and mundane setting of a corner shop, their romance remains deeply intimate. They steal moments together late at night, meeting “from behind di chocolate bars” and staring “past di half-price window signs”, emphasizing how love flourishes even in the most ordinary places.

Family Relationships

Singh Song!" appears in Daljit Nagra’s debut collection, Look We Have Coming to Dover!, which explores the experiences of second-generation British-Indians, reflecting Nagra’s own background.

Nagra frequently employs dramatic monologue in his poetry to give voice to his poetic personas, often challenging cultural stereotypes and exploring identity. In "Singh Song!", as in much of his work, he writes in a phonetic accent, blending English with Punjabi to reflect the complexities of mixed heritage and identity. This fusion is evident in lines such as “effing at my mum// in all di colours of Punjabi”, showcasing the richness of bilingual expression.

The poem also highlights generational and cultural divides, particularly through the strained relationship between the son and his traditional, hard-working father. While the father embodies traditional values and a strong work ethic—demanding his son work “from 9 O’clock to 9 O’clock”—the speaker rejects this expectation. Instead, he prioritizes love and freedom, casually admitting, “but ven nobody in, I do di lock –”, signaling his defiance of rigid familial expectations.

Through humor, passion, and a vibrant linguistic style, Nagra presents a modern, multicultural British identity, capturing the tension between duty and personal desire.

Comparison

You are required to write an essay in your exam that is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two poems from the Love and Relationships anthology. Therefore, it is very important to revise the poems in pairs and to enter the exam with an idea of what poem you will choose to compare once you know what the named poem is.

‘Singh Song!’ and ‘Before You Were Mine’

Both Daljit Nagra’s "Singh Song!" and Carol Ann Duffy’s "Before You Were Mine" explore the perspectives of children reflecting on the evolving dynamics and pressures within family relationships. However, while Nagra’s poem examines the role of a father in shaping a young husband’s life, Duffy’s poem focuses on a mother’s identity beyond motherhood, highlighting her individuality and the life she had before her child was born.

Similarities:

Both poems showcase speakers reflecting their role in a family relationship.

Nagra’s informal monologue captures the speaker’s reflections on his father, as seen in “I run just one ov my daddy’s shops//from 9 O’clock to 9 O’clock”, highlighting his role within the family business.

Similarly, Duffy’s first-person speaker reflects on her mother with a personal and informal tone, recalling her youth with her “pals” and addressing her affectionately: “and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?” This informal approach mirrors the close, conversational nature of their relationship.

Nagra’s speaker also acknowledges the lessons his father tries to teach him. Through the customer dialogue and their complaints, the poet subtly suggests that the speaker is aware of his neglect and understands that it leads to dissatisfaction within the community.

Likewise, Duffy’s speaker reflects on her mother as a mentor, recalling how “You’d teach me the steps on the way home”. The poem uses vivid imagery to present the mother as an inspiring figure, describing her as “stamping stars” as she walks, a metaphor that elevates her presence and influence.

Both poems explore the deep impact of family relationships, using emotive and personal anecdotes to highlight the lasting influence of parental figures on their children’s lives.

Differences:

Nagra’s poem shows a controlling father directing a young husband’s life, whereas Duffy’s poem looks at a mother before the responsibilities of parenthood.

Nagra’s speaker highlights the generational divide, portraying his father as strict yet comical. His wife openly mocks him, as seen in “making fun at daddy”, emphasizing their defiance of traditional expectations.

In contrast, Duffy’s speaker reflects on her mother’s imagined past, before she became a parent. Using vivid imagery and direct address, she nostalgically recalls a time “where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine,” presenting her mother as youthful and carefree.

Nagra’s poem explores a father’s control over his son’s marriage, restricting his time with his vibrant young wife. She is depicted in rich, colorful imagery, wearing a “tartan sari”, while her presence is heard as “above my head high heel tap di ground”, symbolizing her lively energy.

Duffy, on the other hand, describes her mother as a young, independent woman, untouched by the responsibilities of motherhood: “The thought of me doesn’t occur.” She conveys this sense of freedom through dynamic verbs like “dance”, “laugh”, and “shriek”, reinforcing the mother’s uninhibited past.

While both poems reflect on parental figures, Nagra focuses on a young couple constrained by a father’s authority, whereas Duffy imagines her mother’s vibrant youth before becoming a parent, celebrating her energy and independence in a time unburdened by responsibility.