“Grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep—just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street…”
And so goes the opening verse of “Sunny Side of the Street,” a cheerful standard that has been covered countless times by some of the most talented musicians. It’s a simple, happy tune that is sure to brighten anyone’s day.
In Malaysia, when you think about it more carefully, we don’t grab our coats or hats when we go out. And there is no need to point your feet to the sunny side of the street, because everywhere we turn, it is always sunny… and balmy.
I think people would find it strange if we started walking with a bounce in our step as we trotted down Jalan Bukit Bintang in a thick coat and fedora, sweating under the hot tropical sun and acting like we didn’t have a care in the world.
Progress has made it such that one doesn’t have to experience the harsh sun when we are comfortably cocooned in our air-conditioned cars, offices, and homes all the time. And we love to blast the air-conditioning to recreate sub-arctic climes.
In our house, I am guilty of that. I love cool temperatures, but my family can sleep with just the fan on. When I try to do the same, I often end up soaked in sweat and panting like a bulldog that has just gone for the run of its life.
The song was never really about coats, hats or even sunshine. It was about the quiet decision not to let minor discomforts, self-inflicted or otherwise, dominate one’s mood. You may not be able to change the climate you live in, the sweat on your back, or your family’s baffling tolerance for warm rooms. But you can choose how much you grumble about it.
And that’s the real “sunny side of the street”: laughing at yourself, turning down the air-con just a notch, and realising that being slightly uncomfortable is not the same thing as being unhappy. Sometimes, all it takes to feel better is not a change in temperature, but a change in perspective.
After all, even a panting bulldog eventually finds a shady spot to stretch out and carries on.