Friday, November 23, 2007

A song that makes me cry

"Do you hear the people sing?" is yet another song which makes me cry.
I first learned this song at the half-a-million July 1 Demonstration in 2003.
The lyric was recomposed into Cantonese and it was just soooo touching, especially when you were singing with 500,000 people!

The writer of the Cantonese version actually wrote 3 different versions of the songs. This is how the writer thinks about the song.

Here is the Cantonese version

<人民之歌>
詞:金佩瑋 30/1/1997

看吧!人民在挽手
爭取正義和自由
歌聲裡群情似火
滿溢激昂震撼著四週

捍衛人權護眾生
不分社會還是個人
方可叫無限理想
每日每天漸近

人民意願求實踐
自由的風不怕遏止
每刻也願勇敢
背負這革命旗幟
忘記畏懼勇踏前
正面迎接歷史

After the demonstration, I searched the song on the Internet and found out the original song is actually one of the songs from the musical Les Miserables. And the lyric of the original song is also brilliant! Few years later I got a chance to watch Les Miserables in Canberra and I heard this song live, it was still very touching.

English version:


ENJOLRAS
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a 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!

COMBEFERRE
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Courfeyrac:
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

ALL
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a 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!

FEUILLY
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!

ALL
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a 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!

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