This song was written in New Zealand, the city of Hamilton as it happens, a few days before my flight to China. I'm writing about this now in a rare internet moment I have had recently, as it feels appropriate to print the lyrics of this song because in less than 2 days time, I'm heading east again in life...to Taiwan. I wrote the song live in the front room of the wee hostel in Hamilton. I took the last bed in the hostel, JDs Backpackers. I had arrived on a 3 hour bus journey from Taupo and when I got to the bus depot, there appeared to be no vacancies at any of the hostels, it was July 2007, their winter. Then suddenly there was one bed in JDs, but it was a fair few miles out of town. Luckily the lady who worked there, Bex picked me up and took me there in their mini-van! And from entering I realised it was a fun hostel. An old worn acoustic guitar gaped up at me on entering the lounge. I was in urgent need of a strum, having gone more than a month without a guitar, and so I penned the song "Hamilton China", a song written in Hamilton about my trip ahead to China.
It was made even better when I met Yang, a local cleaner, who was from China, a man of international spirit and free talking, and it was a conversation with him about China and the fact I'd never heard of Tiananmen Square that got me strumming the line "the only reason that I've heard of China is because I bought a map and it had China on it..." and so the song progressed, written and sung in front of 4 others in JDs lounge. I later added some extra lyrics and a verse, following on from my actual experience in beijing and badaling, china!
written - 28.07.07
collection - northern range (2007 - track 5)
where - hamilton, north island, new zealand
about - my trip ahead to china
inspired by - yang xixao (from china)
performed live - JDs hostel lounge, hamilton
audience - yang, a danish guy, a guy from bristol and bex, the hostel lady
lyrics -
the only reason that ive heard of china
is because i bought a map and it had china on it
and i hope that we all find out freedom
in china
the day before i had a plane to china
i wrote this song about a plane to china
and its easy to find some freedom
in china
i hadnt even heard/of tiananmen square
and so the forbidden garden's forbidden
this man is english i can understand him
where's the bar around here?
the only reason that ive heard of china
is because i bought a map and it had china on it
and i hope that we all find out freedom
in china
the day before i had a plane to china
i wrote this song about a plane to china
and its easy to find some freedom
in china
so much smog and you say you eat dog
at the huntong's im beijing doubt
yet only by luck i have peking duck
my china nightclub's european
the only reason that ive heard of china
is because i bought a map and it had china on it
and i hope that we all find out freedom
in china
the day before i had a plane to china
i wrote this song about a plane to china
and its easy to find some freedom
in china
my china nightclub's european
my china nightclub's european
Just wanted to say that you don't look 30 to me, you look like you could be 19 (that's a complement) C:
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