MEMORIES SOUND LIKE THIS: ZHOU XUAN

You will not like these songs. They probably do not meet your exacting criteria, and they are rather simple and old-fashioned. And they are in a language that is foreign to you besides.

I first heard them at the house of an elderly auntie. She had listened to the songs before the war, at the movie theatre in the Chinese part of town - which her parents had expressly forbidden, of course, because nice girls do not go there.
After the war she bought the records because they reminded her of happier times, before the Jap invasion and the camps.

When she returned to the Netherlands - we say 'returned', because it was called 'repatriation, even though she had never been there - she brought the records with her. During the fifties and sixties she hardly listened to the music, as it did not suit the refined European tastes of the Dutch, and it was embarassing to be 'too Indies'.

In the seventies she lived alone, and started listening again, trying to recapture memories that were fading.

I came back to the US in 1978. For six years I did not hear these songs, or even remember them. Then one day I went to watch a movie at the World Theatre - this was just after it opened, before the owners realized that there is almost no audience for Mandarin oldies in Chinatown.

The next day I bought an entire collection of songs by Zhou Xuan - a set produced in Malaysia, from old recordings - a bit scratchy, a bit warped. Cheap tapes, probably pirated. But it was heaven. I have since acquired better sets, including a remastered cd set. The songs still evoke.

I know most of the songs by heart. Yes, you do NOT want to go to a Chinese Karaoke bar with me.



FIVE LOVELY AIRS SUNG BY ZHOU XUAN
[周璇, born August 1, 1918, died September 22, 1957.]


街頭月 - Moon Above The Intersection
http://californiadream.com/personal/ZhouXuan/moon.html

街頭月，月如霜，
冷冷的照在屋簷上。
街頭月，月如霜，
冷冷的照在屋簷上。
母女淪落在街坊，
飢寒交迫只得把歌唱。
唱呀唱，唱呀唱，
唱不盡悲歡離合空惆悵，
唱不盡白山黑水徒心傷。

街頭月，月如鉤，
彎彎的掛在柳梢頭。
街頭月，月如鉤，
彎彎的掛在柳梢頭。
母女相依沿街走，
低彈緩唱唱到淚雙流。
流呀流，流呀流，
流到了心摧腸斷不憂愁，
流到了天昏地暗有時休。


五月的風 - May Breeze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUYPTylKPLU&feature=related

五月的風，吹在花上,
朵朵的花兒吐露芬芳。
假如呀花兒確有知,
懂得人海的滄桑,
它該低下頭來哭斷了肝腸。

五月的風，吹在樹上,
枝頭的鳥兒發出歌唱。
假如呀鳥兒是有知,
懂得日月的消長,
它該息下歌喉羞愧地躲藏。

五月的風，吹在天上,
朵朵的雲兒顏色金黃。
假如呀雲兒是有知,
懂得人間的興亡,
它該掉過頭去離開這地方。


采槟榔 - Picking Betel Nuts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v8R7caOtPo

高高的樹,上結擯榔,
誰先爬上,誰先嘗。
誰先爬上我替誰先裝。

少年郎,採擯榔,
姐姐提籃抬頭望,
低頭又想
誰能比他強,
趕忙來叫聲,
我的郎呀
青山好呀流水長,
那太陽已殘,
那歸鳥而在唱,
叫我倆趕快回家鄉。


四季歌 - Four Seasons' Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIEUeMiJBhY

春季到來綠滿窗，
大姑娘窗下繡鴛鴦。
忽然一陣無情棒，
打得鴛鴦各一旁。

夏季到來柳絲長，
大姑娘漂泊到長江。
江南江北風光好，
怎及青紗起高粱。

秋季到來荷花香，
大姑娘夜夜夢家鄉。
醒來不見爹娘面，
只見窗前明月光。

冬季到來雪茫茫，
寒衣做好送情郎。
血肉築出長城長，
奴願做當年小孟姜。


天涯歌女 - The Wandering Songstress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxu8Kxuf-Sg

天涯呀海角, 覓呀覓知音,
小妹妹唱歌, 郎奏琴。
郎呀咱們倆是一條心,
哎呀, 哎呀, 郎呀咱們倆是一條心。

家山呀北望, 淚呀淚沾襟,
小妹妹想郎, 直到今。
郎呀患難之交恩愛深
哎呀, 哎呀, 郎呀患難之交恩愛深。

人生呀誰不, 惜呀惜青春,
小妹妹似線, 郎似針。
郎呀穿在一起不離分,
哎呀, 哎呀, 郎呀穿在一起不離分。



You will note that two of the youtube videos given above are clearly the karaoke versions - the visual for the betelnut song is rather gooberish.
The last two are from the original movie (馬路天使).

Would you care to guess what I saw that day at the World Theatre?

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Post scriptum: You may be wondering why I felt moved to post these songs. It could be the mood I'm in, but more likely it is the lilies. You see, Savage Kitten stayed home sick today, so I bought her some lilies from the stand at the foot of the street. They are now on my desk waiting to be taken home, and they smell very old fashioned, very evocative. There's just something about that fragrance.

Savage Kitten NEVER listens to Zhou Xuan's songs, by the way.
She listens to Madonna, disco, Broadway musicals. Some classical music, especially when she is driving.
And songs from Valley of the Dolls.