1001 Songs Challenge #336: Dum Maro Dum (1971)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

 

Asha Bhosle – Dum Maro Dum (1971)

Farewell to the US and hello to India once more, dear reader. Yes, our love of long flights continues with a return to this beautiful country and we are in the company of a singer by the name of Asha Bhosle. We’ve previously enjoyed the work of Lata Mangeshkar and she was supposedly considered for the song we are featuring today but instead it ended up being performed by Asha Bhosle instead. The song is Dum Maro Dum.

Dum Maro Dum translates as “take another hit” and was recorded for the 1971 Bollywood film, Hare Rama Hare Krishna. The film tells the story of siblings, Prashant and Jasbir, whose parents separate. Prashant moves to India with his mother while Jasbir remains in Montreal with her father. When the siblings are reunited years later, Jasbir is a hippie in Nepal, heavily reliant on alcohol and drugs, with her brother trying to help her. Dum Maro Dum has few lyrics but Bhosle sings a series of questions about the world and why we should care for anyone but ourselves. She insists we take the hit of the title and find solace by singing, Hare Krishna Hare Rama, a popular chant by hippies in the 1960s/1970s that followed the Hare Krishna sect.

It’s always good to listen to music in different countries and a second visit to India was most welcome after the work of Lata Mangeshkar. Asha Bhosle is another delightful singer and even without a translation Dum Maro Dum is really pleasant to the ear. Lyrically there is not a lot there and watching the film, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, would likely give this more substance but it’s still an engaging song to listen to and makes me eager to sample even more Indian music.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows (1966)

The Doors – The End (1967)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Kinks – Days (1968)

Derek & The Dominos – Layla (1970)

David Bowie – Life on Mars? (1971)

Rod Stewart – Maggie May (1971)

Led Zeppelin – When the Levee Breaks (1971)