Singing the song of angry men? It is the music of a people Who will not be slaves again When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the drums There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes. The young students, who had never been trained in combat, were picking up rifles to fend off the advancing French army. They had little ammunition left, and were hopelessly outnumbered; yet they still stayed behind the hastily made barricade, doing what they thought was right for themselves and their countrymen.
The song touches my heart in so many ways, and every word of that song reflects the message. Even though they knew the situation was hopeless, no one walked away. As the beating of the heart echoed the beating of the drums, they kept giving what they could give, so that the banner might advance; knowing well that some of their comrades would fall and not be able to see another daybreak. History repeats itself, all over time, and all over the world. Why would there be revolutions if all the people are happy and lived a stable and healthy life?
The ruling class — kings, emperors, czars, etc. Common folks were tired of suffering, and finally, they had no choice but to fight, to revolt, and to demand a change. Change is an ugly word, as no one wants changes; except that it has become inevitable that only change can bring freedom, a better place to be, and a worthier place to live.
However, just with courage alone, could the students accomplish that? On a very general basis, Jeremy Gilbert has argued:. Sound vibrations are registered by parts of the body which do not register changes in vibrations of light.
Music has physical effects which can be identified, described and discussed but which are not the same thing as it having meanings, and any attempt to understand how music works in culture must, as many commentators over the years have acknowledged, be able to say something about those effects without trying to collapse them into meanings.
Songs are more than intellectually stimulating texts; they help to create emotions stimulating an atmosphere of community and solidarity that very often draws on the power of utopia and stimulates people to dream.
Among structural factors are the tempo, mode, loudness, melody, and rhythm of music, which contribute to the induction of different emotions. From their point of view, music has enormous manipulative force which might be used for both the good and the immoral essentially because of its emotional dimension, which withstands an easy, straightforward, and predictable rational analysis.
In this sense, music is more than a cultural representation because as an integral and inseparable part of social movements, music exerts its own force toward social and political change.
By means of performing protest, political values and political legacy are transferred into political action, which not only helps to sustain contentious politics, but also significantly shapes the character of the demonstrations and how they are perceived.
It is the cultural effects that often live on; it is through songs, art, and literature — and as ritualized practices and evaluative criteria — that social movements retain their presence in the collective memory in the absence of the particular political platforms and struggles that first brought them into being.
Furthermore, I do not neglect the political meaning verbalised in the lyrics, but carry out a content analysis of them. It is difficult to calculate how many citizens took part in the protest, but estimates put the number at 1. This challenges the trust in traditional media and creates its own imagery of the protests for example through video footage from mobile phone cameras uploaded to YouTube.
I approached my interviewees a by way of different groups and organisations that supported the protest, b by contacting people on Facebook who had been active at least digitally during the occupation, and c by talking to students on university campuses. In order to avoid a narrow and biased perspective, I ensured that my interviewees had demonstrated at different protest sites Admiralty, Mong Kok, Causeway Bay and took different perspectives on the most contentiously discussed issues such as growing anti-mainland Chinese xenophobia.
However, it became a striking feature that many interviewees introduced me to music videos. Although I firmly believe that I have covered a wide spectrum of perspectives from the movement, I cannot claim representativeness of either the selected music videos 52 or the meanings attributed to the music videos by my interviewees. Consequently, these universal values are closely attached to what Hong Kong stands for.
Its melodies are composed outside Hong Kong, being mainly imported from Japan, Korea, Taiwan or the Euroamerican countries. The lyrics are rewritten locally, and the arrangement may also be reworked, although sometimes the record company uses the original one. The use of cover versions has been a common practice in Hong Kong since the s.
This form of political communication ties in with Hong Kong and mainland communicative cultures. At the same time, the example of Gau wu Every Day represents xenophobic jokes that remind us that the usage of a certain artistic style has to be separated from its actual content.
These young activists considering more forceful protests openly reject singing and the promotion of non-violence embedded in the songs. In the musical, student revolutionaries sing the song on a barricade in early nineteenth-century Paris. Prior to the UM, the Cantonese version was performed at least once in a flash mob on 1 July, resulting in the song being censored in mainland China.
We should all carry the responsibility to defend our city We have inborn rights and our own mind to make decisions. Interestingly, some of my interviewees told me that they were aware of the fact that the song is popular in European protest movements as well.
The following is a typical quotation from a year old female protestor:. I am quite aware that the song is popular internationally. But I think the Cantonese version is kind of different, so it does not provide me with a strong sense of transnationality. This makes the song, which is also taught in many Hong Kong schools, 63 simple, catchy, and easy to remember.
At the same time, the marching tempo is suitable for serious occasions such as ceremonial processions. The video shows a young anonymous girl performing the song. This is due to the fact that well-known artists were not willing to sing the Cantonese version of Do You Hear the People sing? Her childishness is highlighted by the teddy bear she holds in her arms. Her young age, smallness, short-winded singing, and childish facial features create the impression of weakness and loneliness.
It demonstrates not only which city the song is talking about but also that vitality would leave the city if people go silent. In other words, the video depicts a silenced, functioning, but bloodless Hong Kong. Musically, the heightened expectations created by means of the break are fulfilled by adding further instruments, mainly strings, to the orchestra.
But at the same time she has not lost her hope: as the first refrain starts, she looks up and smiles, full of hope, and at the end of the video she jumps around childishly, plays and dances. This seems to emphasise the vitality and energy of her dreams. Ever since then, the song has gained a tragic aura that distinguishes it from other political songs in Hong Kong.
Under the Vast Sky is spiritually composed and its lyrics successfully recall the traumatic personal stories and memories of Hong Kong. When I hear the song I think of the long-term inequality and stifling of social mobility. This song really bridges generational differences: I sang it last year during the Occupy movement and I found that all of us, regardless of age, were familiar with the same song. This really raised our spirits.
It mentions the mockery the narrator has faced over the years and that makes him think about his situation:. All these years confronted by jeers and mockery Never have I abandoned the dream in my heart A sudden hesitation and the fear of getting lost Slowly cool down the love in my heart.
Forgive me for being wild and yearning for freedom Yet fearing someday I might fall down… oh no. IT was an angry song!!! France is now Muslim for their crude revolt against nobles annointed by God!!! Who saved Spain from Maurish Muslim invasion?! Say IT France!!! The Queen Isabela monarchical noble inteligent Queen! Save yourselves!
You see The consequence of non-annointed by True God not Jesus! The people wont be slaves to imaginary 'gods' anymore. This is the hymn of a new era for mankind.
Without bowing your head to Tyrants and to fantastical deities created by the human mind. Get out! Brainless PM Prayut dictator! Please bring back our freedom in Thailand. Singing the song of angry men? Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see? Some will fall and some will live Will you stand up and take your chance? Still cry. It's one of the greatest crimes against art ever committed that this trash has replaced Victor Hugo's masterpiece in the popular imagination.
A true desecration of literature. Ive still never seen it performed. Or anything else. You keep yours , which i heard is good , and ill keep mine. Which could be good.
French people were fighting for not to be slaves while Hong Kong people are fighting because Keep enjoying the filtered facts propagated by you beloved media. It is so interesting that, when it comes to domestic matters, you do not believe everything your media told you, but when it is about Hong Kong, you just totally bought it without second thought. We are facing similar things. We also have a lot of people "missing" and some young kids were raped. We stand with all the people fighting for their freedom.
Stay strong.
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