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Portrait of James Gan
In loving memory

James Gan

June 2, 1952
Singapore
Life story

Oh yes, (oh yes) I'm the great (the great) pretender

Yes, pretending that I'm doing well

Yes, my need (my need) is such (is such) I pretend (I pretend) too much (too much)

I'm lonely but no one can tell (no one can tell)

Oh yes, (oh yes) I'm the great (the great) pretender (yes)

Adrift in a world of my own (yes)

My need (I play) to be (the game) all I am not (but to my)

You've seen (real shame) and you've left me to dream all alone (to dream all alone, yes)

Too real is this feeling of make-believe (yes)

Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal (oh-oh-oh)

Yes, I'm the great pretender

Yes, just laughing and gay like a clown

Yes, I seem (I seem) to be oh, yes what I'm not (I'm not) you see (you see)

And I'm wearing my heart like a crown

Oh yes, I'm pretending and praying that you're still around (still around)

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The world James knew

Family milestones in gold, history for context

1952
Born June 2
1953
James was 1 when the double helix structure of DNA was discovered
1962
James was 10 when the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war
1975
James was 23 when Saigon fell, ending the Vietnam War
1989
James was 37 when the Berlin Wall fell
1991
James was 39 when the Soviet Union dissolved
2008
James was 56 when Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing
2019
James was 67 when fire badly damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
2022
James was 70 when ChatGPT was released to the public
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