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The "Happy Happy Song"
words kevin mao
 Turn on the television, the radio or even YouTube and you will hear a light, upbeat song by a group of local stars. If you don’t know already, ask any Hong Konger and they will tell you it is the memorial song for the reunification celebration. Called Just Because You Are Here, it was composed by that marvel of countless Cantopop tunes, Peter Kam, with lyrics by the legendary Chan Siu-kei (who has penned lyrics for the likes of Anita Mui and Anthony Wong Yiu-Ming). bc talked to the chief producer and current head of RTHK Radio 2, Lee Joi-tong, for some valuable, first-hand information about this new anthem.
Just Because You Are Here was recorded in March 2007 by a whole collection of Hong Kong popstars like Eason Chan and Joey Yung. “Not all the singers could be recorded at once,” Lee told us. “Some parts of the song were recorded with a few singers and some were recorded individually and then pieced together to generate the full song.” Lee says no central theme or message was envisaged for the song. “We wanted to create a pop song which acknowledges the Hong Kong people, and how the sweat and tears they’ve shed have helped build Hong Kong. These are the people who’ve broken their backs to make Hong Kong what it is,” he says.
Primarily the song had to be popular yet also capture the traditional Hong Kong essence. “As you can see from our artists list, we have popular icons like Hacken Lee and Andy Lau, but we also have world-famous tenor Warren Mok, Chinese opera-singer Wan Fai-yan and the Hong Kong Children’s Choir in our song as well. At first, having a traditional Chinese opera singer in a pop song seemed weird, but it really does bring out long-established features of
Hong Kong.”
Not only a TV fill-in, the song will be performed at all the public celebration events. As Mr Lee says, “I believe this song will be performed in the Hong Kong Coliseum along with other performances organized by TVB on June 30.” And then gives bc a minor scoop. “Organized in line with the Shenzhen government, a slightly longer performance is arranged for the Window of the World, Shenzen. Details have yet to be confirmed but you guys are the first to know this information!”
If you have yet to hear the song, (it’s in Cantonese), the link to the official site is www.gov.hk/en/theme/10/song.htm where you can download the song, the video and even the lyrics.
A parody called Folk Guy’s Always With You is an anti-propaganda ditty by PlasticHK (a blogger) expressing discontent with the Hong Kong government and the fight for universal suffrage. Visit http://youtube.com/watch?v=v9pI4dTvaEQ to watch the full video in Cantonese with English subtitles. Full English lyrics can be found at http://plastichk.blogspot.com/2007/05/english-version-of-folk-guy-always-with.html.
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Folk Guy Parody
Every time comes a pitfall, you just have to fall,
Tung Chee Wah rises as Superstar.
IQ Tong brings you Harbour Fest, tickets free-of-charge,
If there’s surplus, spending spree starts.
Roll out tanks to smash the piggies, that must be crazy,
Yet he’s a golden baby.
Incompetents kept rambling on,
Who just buried MALICE, the five stars traitor?
Folk Guy’s always with you! (Folk Guy’s always with you!)
Flattery noise lasts for whole century.
Universal Suffrage! (Universal Suffrage!)
When properties crash it’s worse than death.
Pawn your pants! Pawn your socks! Pawn Triumph!
Arrogance and mockery is everywhere,
Brown nosing you dare. Folk Guy’s always with you.
Star Ferry triggered riot, but that was history,
Your grenades brought serenity
Roll out tanks to smash the piggies, that must be crazy,
Yet he’s a golden baby.
Incompetents kept rambling on,
Who just buried MALICE, the five stars traitor?
Tanks roll over piggies! (Folk Guy’s always with you.)
Flattery noise lasts for whole century.
Universal Suffrage! (Universal Suffrage!)
Eight hundred crooks pick within a cage.
Play with you, Dine with you, Chairman’s you.
Arrogance and mockery is everywhere
Brown nosing you dare. Tanks roll over piggies!
(Chairman Mao is on fire)
Flattery noise lasts for whole century.
Universal suffrage!(Play with you~ Yeah)
(Anson Chan where are you?)
Eight hundred crooks pick within a cage.
Three Salutes, pray the world, bury the world.
Arrogance and mockery is everywhere,
Brown nosing you dare. Folk Guy’s always with you! |
Just Because You Are Here
Sparkling Lights across the skies,
Fill our hearts with pride
Taking us thru’ the best of times.
Deep within the Dragon’s heart, East and west reside.
Prosperity with love inside.
Let the beautiful bauhinia blossom in the wind.
Flying so strong and free (just because you are here)
Holding on to the fire of our dreams.
There’s a hero in you, a hero in me.
Just because you are here (just because we are here)
Let your voice be heard for a thousand years,
Just because we are here.
Let the good times roll for a thousand years.
Thru’ the joy, thru’ the pain, thru’ the cheers,
We’ll do our best every season
Every moment, Never giving up.
Just because you are here.
Lion Rock leads us all the way, To the ancient Walls.
In harmony we still stand tall.
Let the beautiful bauhinia blossom in the wind.
Flying so strong and free (just because you are here)
Holding on to the fire of our dreams.
Theres a hero in you, a hero in me.
Just because you are here (just because we are here)
Let your voice be heard for a thousand years,
Just because we are here.
Let the good times roll for a thousand years.
Thru’ the joy, thru’ the pain, thru’ the cheers,
We’ll do our best every season
Every moment, Never giving up.
Just because you are here.
Just because you are here (just because we are here)
Let your voice be heard for a thousand years,
Just because we are here.
Let the good times roll for a thousand years.
Thru’ the joy, thru’ the pain, thru’ the cheers,
We’ll do our best every season
Every moment, Never giving up.
Just because you are here. |
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Yo yo YO!
 Take your pick or go to both – YO! Park (Shop B46-48, 1st Basement, Site 11, Whampoa Garden, Hunghom, 2356 8811) is offering a pair of gigs this coming week. The first is on Friday, July 6, at 8pm, with amazing groups such as Empty Tomb, Purple Nine, Ever, and the Wing Band (with local band Beyond’s drummer). The second gig commences at 8:30pm the Friday after (July 13) and brings you Josie, Ryan, Hardpack and Audio Traffic. Tickets for both shows are available at RedBox and Greenbox outlets at Miramar (TST), Windsor House (Causeway Bay), Gala Shopping Mall (Mongkok) and YO! Park (Whampoa). Entry is $100 in advance and $120 on the door. |
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Poor Yet Happy
 Poor Yet Happy. That’s the header for the PixelToy LIVE show in Hong Kong. Often live shows first blind you with flashing lights, then deafen you with 10,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs. This one should be different. PixelToy, a musical duo, brings you enjoyable music ranging from Brit-rock to electronica and some of those classic oldies. Formed by university students Ho Shan and Candy Wu in 2001, PixelToy has gone on to produce their own music with three of their songs featured in a triple-disc album from indie music company 89268 in 2002. PixelToy’s unique feel and love for music captured the attention of renowned Hong Kong musician Anthony Wong Yiu-Ming and, in 2004, the duo was signed by that one-of-a-kind local production house People Mountain People Sea. Since then, the band has been involved in beat-mixing work, with Ho Shan as producer and editor and Candy as the main vocalist and lyricist. Tickets for the PixelToy LIVE show on July 14 and 15 at 8pm in the Sheung Wan Civic Centre are on sale now. They are priced at $150 and $100 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009.
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Five Favourites
Pipa player Wong Chi Ching
Favourite pipa music piece?
Armour of the Warlord – it is filled with human passion, feelings and has a unique way of expressing itself. The skill required to play this piece is remarkable.
Favourite Chinese musician?
Pang Shou-Man – a person with the talents of a literature writer fused with the fame and excellence of a person of action; a great contributor to Chinese art and culture.
Favourite book at the moment?
Philosophy and literature books. Books should challenge the mind yet include expression and art. I’m currently reading a book called Song of Ancient China.
What do you like about Hong Kong?
It’s a very multi-cultural society where eastern culture meets western culture; it is a welcoming metropolis, if such a thing exists, and the people are hardworking, eager and filled with creativity.
Favourite movie at the moment?
Gone with the Wind – a film filled with literature and philosophy; a film that fully shows human nature portrayed in a dramatic fashion. Another film that comes to mind is Kung Fu Hustle starring Stephen Chow; it features music played by the HK Chinese Orchestra, but that’s not the only reason I like it, of course!
Wong Chi Ching is Section Leader of Plucked Strings in the HK Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) and an active concert artist in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan. The HKCO Virtuosi - Wong Chi Ching will commence at 8 pm on Saturday, July 14, at the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall. Tickets are priced at $220, $150, and $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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Band Azul
Azul might mean blue, but it is not the blues the band will play at the Water Margin on July 7. More like contemporary Latin jazz with traditional Brazilian and Afro-Cuban rhythms calculated to get your feet punishing the dance floor. So from 7-11pm be in the al fresco dining area at the Water Margin, Discovery Bay. Too shy to dance? Salsa by the Bay from 8-11pm the day before is a beginner’s course and Aldo from Quick Step Productions will be instructing and performing. Not to sound too much like an advert, but spending $100 at specified restaurants at the Water Margin will get you a free ride back to Central by ferry. |
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Jacky Cheung
Dubbed one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop, Jacky Cheung is making 2007 his year with a world-wide musical safari he has labelled The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 07 (what else?). The tour touches down at the Hong Kong Coliseum from August 17 to 29 at 8:15pm. Cheung has won the Best Selling Cantonese Album award many times at the Hong Kong IFPI Awards and was named Chinese Artiste of The World in 1995 at the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo. So, if you are a Cantopop junkie, you know what you’ve got to do... Tickets are available from URBTIX. 2734 9009, at $400, $250 and $150. |
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Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell, The Rhinestone Cowboy, is a bit of a misnomer as it’s hard to imagine this guitar legend riding a horse with a lasso in one hand and a guitar in the other. He was born in Arkansas, USA, in 1936 and has had a 50-year performing career, playing with the likes of The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. He won two Grammy Awards in 1967, one in the folk category for Gentle on My Mind and another for By the Time I Get to Phoenix in the pop category. He may be an oldie but he is definitely a goodie – see for yourself on September 15 at 8pm in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets are priced at $1280, $980, $780 and $580 and are available from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. |
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