Zheng Zhihua , no need for me to introduce him, is one of the most influential Chinese humanistic singers in the 1990s. His songs have deeply influenced many people born in the 1970s and 1980s. He is synonymous with alternative, rebellious and aloof. His representative works are "Sailor" and "Stars Lighted".
As a person born in the 1980s, I have been listening to Chinese songs for more than 20 years. I wonder if this is considered an obsession? But I think it is difficult to change a person’s preferences. For me, listening to music is no different from reading. Although each has its own advantages, it will not be overwhelming. I insist on listening to songs that can soothe the soul and are full of life philosophy. The song is like a song, I will keep listening to it. The Hua Ge albums that
came into contact with in the early days were mainly Mandarin albums, and I must buy every Hua Ge album. At that time, it was still an era of listening to music on cassettes, and I collected a lot of Zheng Zhihua album cassettes. Of course, CDs and VCDs will also be available later, but whenever I see Zheng Zhihua’s albums, I will still buy them and collect them.
Until he went out to study, he still preferred listening to Hua Ge, so whenever he went out for a stroll, he would search for Hua Ge album cassettes in some video stores and street stalls, and thus he was exposed to more Hua Ge, and was more exposed to There are Taiwanese songs such as "Mahjong", "The Last Night City", "Letter" and so on.
It wasn’t until I started surfing the Internet frequently that I found out that in addition to releasing Mandarin albums, Zheng Zhihua also wrote lyrics, composed music, and produced several Taiwanese albums. Therefore, I was overjoyed at that time, and it also made me have more interest in Hua Ge. Deeper understanding and resonance.
Many songs in Zheng Zhihua's Taiwanese album are still full of satire and realism. They use sharp writing, critical vision, and unique singing methods to describe the dark sides of real society. Among them, "Wild Flowers" and "Soliciting" are still the most popular ones. I feel deeply. The reason why
wants to talk about these two songs together is because the themes reflected in these two songs have something in common. They both describe the lowest level of people living in real society - prostitutes. The singer uses a few lyrics to sing about the living conditions of these prostitutes, as well as the helplessness and bitterness of facing real life.
1. "Wild Flowers", album: "The Last Night City" Lyrics and Music: Zheng Zhihua Arranger: Wang Jikang
Album "The Last Night City"
"The Last Night City" is Zheng Zhihua's first Hokkien released in 1998 album, an alternative album with authentic Taiwanese flavor. The
album contains ten songs. Except for one song "Kite", the other nine are Hokkien songs. The song "Wild Flowers" to be introduced today is ranked first in the album. The lyrics will not be posted. Interested netizens can check it out.
In "Wild Flowers", the singer enters the scene as a "guest", and more expresses his sympathy and pity for the young woman who has fallen into the dust of life, leading to many sighs.
"Young woman fell into the world of romance." Although there is no explanation as to why she fell into the world of romance, phrases such as "the original infatuation turned to ruthlessness," "drunk and lost her mind" and other phrases can already make people understand the original reason. What I learned: There are always some unbearable past events, a heart-wrenching relationship, and an unknown bitterness, which makes a young and beautiful woman reluctantly give up her "infatuation" and become depraved. She becomes intoxicated in a brightly lit nightclub and gradually becomes... It makes you numb.
"You don't have to think about anything when you're drunk." When you're drunk, you don't have to think about anything, and you don't have to worry about anything anymore. When dealing with customers who are trying to make fun of you, the promiscuous woman always seems cold and callous, and she resents the customers for being "indulgent" to her. ", which means that she hates the guests who always pester her.
"People are talking about wild flowers, and they should be placed in vases." The guest has a "good impression" of the woman and feels that bright and beautiful flowers should be placed in the vase. Famous flowers have their owners. But "Wild Flower" doesn't have a good impression of the guest, and just makes fun of it. When he has money, he treats him as a guest. When he has no money, he will ignore others. It can also be seen that although the woman fell into the world, This was not something she did willingly, she was just forcing herself to look happy.
In the lyrics that follow, the singer sighs and laments in succession: "Wild flowers, wild flowers, blooming so muddy, why do they fall into the dark alley? Wild flowers, wild flowers, blooming so muddy, how dare you know when the flowers have faded." What a waste of effort..."
The singer asked why such a young and beautiful woman fell into the dark world, and lamented that the young woman accepted the mercy of fate. Arrangement, forcing a smile, but in the end it becomes heartless and unintentional, "the feelings are fake".
Therefore, the last sentence of the author "resentment" is also like a kind of advice to the promiscuous woman, "You dare to know that when the flowers wither and fall to the ground, you have no merit?": Do you know that when the flowers wither and fall to the ground, what do you do? Everything is in vain, that is to say: when youth disappears, everything is irreversible. Sighing with frustration!
The whole song is full of lamentation and regret, and it also embodies a feeling of powerlessness.
The lyrics and music of "Wild Flowers" were all composed by Zheng Zhihua. It is understood that the song has the rhythm of Taiwan's local "Liangshan Love Song". This also shows that singer Zheng Zhihua's talent in song creation also reflects his passion for art. The creative concept of mutual tolerance and quintessence.
2. "Soliciting" album "Mahjong", Lyricist: Zheng Zhihua, Arranger: Anonymous
Album "Mahjong"
The song "Soliciting" is included in the album "Mahjong" released by Zheng Zhihua in 1966. The album "Mahjong" has a total of six songs. It was produced by Zheng Zhihua at the invitation of Taiwanese director Edward Yang for the movie "Mahjong" of the same name. In addition to the theme song "Mahjong", the album also has several interludes, such as "Ain't I" "Flying like a bird", "Happiness alone", etc.
As for "Mahjong", a local Taiwanese film, Chang Chen is one of the leading actors. It tells the story of four young gangsters who are frivolous and confused in their youth. It is also a realistic film full of realism, reflecting the depravity, corruption and distorted thinking of young people in Taiwan at that time. The lines are violent and explicit. Interested netizens can check it out, I won’t introduce it here.
Compared with the blind lamentation and helpless sighs in "Wild Flowers", the theme embodied in "Soliciting" is sharp and naked, with great practical significance of ridicule and irony. Through a song, the author presents in front of the listener a picture of the social beings of prostitutes soliciting customers on the street for business.
When I first listened to this song, I felt a little funny because of the style and rhythm of the song. However, after listening to it a few times and understanding the meaning of the words, it becomes more of a kind of thinking and sighing. Liao Liao's few lines at the beginning of the song describe the relatively prosperous night markets in Taiwan at that time - Dongmen Ding and Ximending : If you want to drink coffee, watch movies, go to the night market, where to go, what to do, everything is available. OK (anything goes).
In this metropolis where neon lights are shining and people are obsessed with life, "pimps" and "ladies" solicit business from passers-by (Ruan's young lady is coquettish and beautiful), and her words are ambiguous and bold. Passing customers can't avoid them, and they give in half-heartedly ( (Don’t be alarmed by the bad news), the two parties bargained (well, I’ve been here, I’ll give you half the price), flirted with each other, teased and cursed (you Boka is bad). The singer of
is also a "guest" (a wandering young boy). The song uses an intuitive way of singing and talking between buyers and sellers, joking and cursing, describing a corner of the luxurious and decadent life of Taiwanese society at that time, giving people a sense of Endless reflection.
Once upon a time, "prostitutes" could also be sold on the streets like commodities? The "coquettish and beautiful" "lady" puts on makeup and shows off her coquettishness to the guests. Although she doesn't understand the meaning of the Japanese in the parentheses, she can hear from the singing tone that it is probably an ambiguous word to please the guests.In the song
, when a guest feels familiar when he sees a "lady" and asks her age, the singer says "Ah! You are my high school teacher!" This is full of irony, that is to say , there is actually a sacred, beloved and respected teacher among the "young ladies" who teaches and educates people. So, why did the teacher become a depraved "prostitute" at this time? So, the female voice behind sang: "Youth is short, debts are heavy, so I have to sell it." The ultimate reason why a woman, who is a teacher with a noble profession during the day, becomes a lowly "prostitute" at night is because She was "deeply in debt" and had to be "thick-skinned" and "solicit" on the street. All this leaves people with a deep reflection on the "deformity" of people's hearts under the development of society, and also a kind of sympathy and sorrow for the disadvantaged groups in real life.
The last chorus is the climax of the song, and it is also a highlight.
In a prosperous world, since "prostitutes" can also be sold on the street without any scruples, then in such a luxurious and degenerate real society, as long as you have money, what else can't be sold: "Cha Mou Ye sells" "Friends are for sale, love is for sale, and presidents are for sale." Women can be sold, friends can be sold, love can be sold, and presidents can also be sold. Affordable price (waiting for your bid).
The most ironic thing is that the singer sang the words that the president can also be sold. This cannot but be said to reflect the common phenomenon of "buying and selling officials" in Taiwan, and is a reflection on certain aspects of Taiwanese society. Bad habits lash out. Of course, Zheng Zhihua’s song is the one that most violently criticizes the reality of Taiwan.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Taiwan's economy was quite developed and it was the first of the "Four Asian Tigers". It is said that "money is all over your feet." However, behind the dazzling appearance, there is always a social reality of the jungle and the gap between the rich and the poor. , therefore, the people at the bottom who are burdened with family livelihoods and are "heavily in debt" can only sell their dignity to survive. The song "Soliciting" expresses the struggle of some people at the bottom in life. In the real society, In order to survive, you have no other choice but to fight for it and face it shamelessly, so: "You are thick-skinned, I am thick-skinned, I am thick-skinned, I am thick-skinned..." Rich people continue their luxurious life In order to survive, the people at the bottom continue to struggle and worry about their livelihood tomorrow. In order to survive, they can only "come to solicit customers"!
