The Useless Tree

What you won’t see on PRC TV for the National Day celebration

Here's clip of a HK indie band, My Little Airport, singing an English version of their song, "I love the country but not the party" (我愛郊野，但不愛派對) in Shanghai last Saturday.  Notice the local Shanghai audience cheers for the lyric: "I’d celebrate Christmas Day/ I’d celebrate Easter Sunday/But not this
party of your sixtieth birthday".  That spirit of independence and playful resistance to the manufactured "virtue" of the political center is very much in keeping with Zhuangzi.  Happy National Day!

 

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6765104&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

I love the Country, but not the Party by My Little Airport from btr on Vimeo.

Lyrics:

I love the country
But not the party
If you wanna celebrate
Don’t
even think of calling me
　　
You know it’s not easy
Pretending to be
happy
There’re still many good guys doing time
Can’t you see?
　　

Rich guys get richer
Poor guys get poorer
In a party there’re many
wankers and losers
　　
I’d celebrate Christmas Day
I’d celebrate
Easter Sunday
But not this party of your sixtieth birthday
No, not this
party of your sixtieth birthday

UPDATE:

Here's a clearer soundtrack:

Sam Crane Avatar

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Sam Crane
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9 responses to “What you won’t see on PRC TV for the National Day celebration”

  1. Dr. Red Herring Avatar
    Dr. Red Herring

    Isha will be angry with this post. ANGRY!

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  2. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    I don’t know Cantonese, but it looks like they are using the word “party” as in “birthday party”, not political party. And “country” looks more like “countryside”, not “nation”.

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  3. rory Avatar
    rory

    Peter–it’s sung in English and the political commentary seems abundantly clear.

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  4. isha Avatar
    isha

    Dr. Red Herring:
    小小寰球，有几只苍蝇碰壁。
    嗡嗡叫，几声凄厉，几声抽泣。
    蚂蚁缘槐夸大国，蚍蜉撼树谈何易。

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  5. isha Avatar
    isha

    On this tiny globe
    A few flies dash themselves against the wall,
    Humming without cease,
    Sometimes shrilling,
    Sometimes moaning.
    Ants on the locust tree assume a great-nation swagger
    And mayflies lightly plot to topple the giant tree.

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  6. aa Avatar
    aa

    Richers get richer and poorers get poorer, I thought you are peaking about American’s Democracy right now.

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  7. aa Avatar
    aa

    I know the hint of this song but I would like to ask Dr. Crane, now on the earth, if the Communist “Party” is not qualify to represent China, or if I don’t like or trust the Communist “Party,” who else can I trust to be able to protect Chinese of being humiliated, Westerners, no way? To love my country but don’t love the party that can do the job isn’t it a phrase-mongering.

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  8. Danny Avatar
    Danny

    Ouch.

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  9. Confucian Socialist Avatar
    Confucian Socialist

    Great song, beautiful sentiment. I’m quite tired of people equating “China” with an authoritarian tyrannical government.

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