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The Wandering Songstress
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Wikipedia article
"'Tianya gen'" , or "'The Wandering Songstress'", is one of two theme songs from the 1937 Chinese film 'Street Angel'; the other being the "Four Seasons Song" . It was composed by He Luting based on an older Suzhou ballad, with lyrics by Tian Han. The song was sung by Zhou Xuan in the film, playing the role of Xiao Hong.YAndrew F. Jones ellow Music: Media Culture and Colonial Modernity - 2001 - Page 134 "Indeed, Zhou Xuan's two musical sequences in the film, 'Song of the Seasons' (Siji ge) and 'Sing-Song Girl at the Ends of the Earth' (Tianya gen) by ... - Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles - 2003 Page 716-"Outstanding also are the two songs performed in the film by Zhou Xuan: Four Seasons (Siji ge) and Songstress at the End of the World (Tianya gen), with lyrics by Tian Han. These beautiful songs were extremely popular at the time and ...
It is one of the most notable of the Chinese popular songs from the 30s and 40s, and has been described as a song that has "a lingering fame" in China like "As Time Goes By" from the 1942 film 'Casablanca' in the United States. The song has also been described as "a classic Chinese love song".
Song title
singing "The Wandering Songstress" in 'Street Angel'
In the film, this song was called "'Tianya Ge'", "'The Wandering Song'" , but became better known as "'Tianya Gen'". "'Tianya Gen'" has been translated in various English sources as "The Wandering Songstress", "Singing Girl", "The Songstress of the World", "The Wandering Singer", "Singer at the Sky Edge", and "Singing Girl at the Edge of the World". The varying translations came from the different possible readings of the song title. "'Tianya'" literally means "sky horizon" that carries the meaning of "at the end of the world", but within the context of the song it also has the figurative meanings of "separation by a long distance" from the phrase "'tianya haijiao'" (, originally from a Tang dynasty poem that describes someone wandering looking for a person far away), which is part of the lyrics that describe someone seeking to find her intended. Note: Comes from a Tang Dynasty poem by L Yan - A Critical History of New Music in China - Page 256 Jingzhi Liu - 2010 ".. duets and rounds, including the famous Siji ge [Song of four seasons], Tianya gen [Wandering sing-song girl], Qiushui yiren [Longing for her love], Jialing jiang shang [On the banks of the Jialing River], Pusa man [To the tune of Pusa man], ...
Composition and orchestration
According to the composer He Luting, the director of the film 'Street Angel' found two urban folk ballads from Suzhou he wanted to use on the film, "Crying on the Seventh Seven Day Cycle" () and "One Who Knows Me Well" (), which He Luting then adapted to become "Song of the Four Season" () and "The Wandering Songstress" respectively. The songs were arranged according to principles of Western music composition.
"The Wandering Songstress" was performed in a traditional Chinese vocal style, accompanied by Chinese music instruments such as erhu, pipa, and sanxian in the manner of a Jiangnan ballad. According to He, the recording was done quickly as Zhou Xuan grasped the idea of how the song should be performed very quickly.
Popular usage
"The Wandering Songstress" is often used in film soundtracks, usually in Chinese language films, but also in some Western language films, for example in the 2006 ensemble film 'Paris, je t'aime' and its 2009 sequel, 'New York, I Love You'.Yau Shuk-Ting Kinnia - East Asian Cinema and Cultural Heritage: From China, Hong Kong 2011 "He Luting (19031999), head of Shanghai Conservatory of Music since 1949, first achieved fame in the movie industry by composing the sound track and arranging the accompaniment for Zhou Xuan's (19191957) evergreen Tianya genu' ...Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature -Li-hua Ying - 2009 Page 153 "Tianya genu' (A Female Street Singer), Qingming shijie (At the Qingming Festival ), Xin taohua shan (A New Version of the Peach-Blossom Fan), and Yehuo chunfeng (Blustery Wind and Wildfire in Spring) are among his most memorable films.
One of its most notable uses in films is in Ang Lee 2007 film 'Lust, Caution', in which it is sung by Tang Wei who played the role of Wong Chia Chi.
When it is used in the film 'Lust, Caution', its "pathos and poignancy" is strengthened by the evidence of the Japanese occupation in the film's setting. 'The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas' says the song's use in 'Street Angel' was an attempt to replace "the old 'vulgar' connotations of 'shidaiqu' with feelings of national awareness", while its use in 'Lust, Caution' was "a defiant expression" of 'shidaiqu' under Japanese occupation.
Cover versions
The song has been covered by numerous singers, including Li Xianglan in the 1944 Japanese film 'Yasen gungakutai' (, Military Combat Music Band), Bai Guang, Teresa Teng, Tsai Chin, Wakin Chau, Adia Chan (in Cantonese), Lin Bao (, in Wu dialect), Song Zuying, Zhang Yan ().
References
Category:1937 songs
Category:Chinese songs
Category:Songs with music by He Luting
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