Wang Xiaoling: "I write lyrics as poetry"

If the lyrics were detached from the music, what kind of face would it be? Mr. Zhang Quan, a famous lyricist, once said: "I write lyrics as poems." "Lyrics, as poems that can be sung, are different from written language, but they cannot lack poetry. Although this truth is generally recognized, it is not easy to grasp, especially the theme of promoting the main theme, such as the creation of the "Chinese Dream" song, the scope of participation, the number of works, and the promotion intensity are large, and it is currently expanding from macroscopic and general expressions to specific, subtle, and more popular areas, resulting in excellent works such as "Glory and Dreams", "Tianyao China", "Don't Forget the Initial Heart", "New Heaven and Earth", "Praise the New Era", "I Have a Date with 2035" and so on. However, we should also see that there are not many songs that can arouse the general attention and resonance of society, and there is still a gap between people's expectations for "peak" works. The important way to reach the peak of art is to pay attention to and strengthen the literary nature of lyrics. Chi Zijian, the winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, has made four suggestions for literary creation, and I think these are also fully applicable to lyric writing.

One is writing with feelings. How to understand the rich connotation of the Chinese Dream of "national prosperity and strength, national rejuvenation, people's happiness, and realization of the 'two hundred years' goal"? We should not only stay in slogans and formulaic expressions, but should have the spirit of humanistic care.

The stone of his mountain can attack jade. For dreams, the only Bob Dylan to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lyrics, his "Answers in the Wind" wrote: "How much does a man have to go to be called a real man?" How many seas does a white pigeon have to fly over to sleep in the dunes? How many times would it take for a shell to pass across the sky before it could be banned forever? Dear friends, the answer is wafting in the wind..." The lyrics keenly grasp the thinking of young people of that era on war and peace, and put forward heartfelt torture based on observation and enthusiasm. The answer seems to be difficult to figure out, but it is close at hand, and people are eager to try, and they must not give up their efforts.

Another example is the Classic Irish song "You Inspired Me": "Whenever I am sad and depressed, my heart is so tired and indescribable." Whenever there is a time of worry, the heart is always heavy. In the loneliness I waited quietly, waiting for you to appear and sit down with me for a while. It was you who inspired me to stand on top of the mountains. You were the one who inspired me to ride through the storms and waves. Leaning on your shoulders, I became incredibly strong. It was you who inspired me and made me look beyond myself. Martin Hurkens, who is nearly sixty years old, has warmed countless pedestrians in the streets. The thick male voice makes people sink into the deep sea of music and can't extricate themselves. The "you" in the song is both abstract and concrete, it can be the sky and the earth, it can be a close friend, or it can be a person who guides the way, the person who leads us forward.

The second is brewing writing. The production of lyrics, from the flash of inspiration, through the idea, to the language stereotyping, is a painstaking brewing process. If you do not go through hard thinking, see what to write, and sell it now, it is difficult for the work to have a lasting artistic life.

"The Past Days", written by Keming and sung by the Erguna Band, has undergone such an aesthetic accumulation: "The most beautiful treasures in life are those past times." Although he was so poor that only happiness remained, he was wearing old clothes. In the snowy winter of Hailar, the song of three sets of cars was heard. On a gentle summer night by the River Emin, the sound of the accordion wafts. Now we have changed our appearance and are busy every day for the sake of life. But as long as you think of the old days, your eyes will shine..." There are indelible youth marks and impulses in the song, nostalgic for a happy life despite poverty, and thinking back to the winter and summer we have walked together, my heart will be moist and warm. We have never lacked such stories and experiences on the road of chasing the Chinese dream, and everyone's initial dream can also truly express its realization process.

The third is deep writing. The lyrics are intended to be new, refined, and deep. If the brushstrokes only glide on the surface of life, just the connection and rhyme of big words and empty words, there is no soul present, there is no historical imagination and deep life experience of language fighting, what is left is only a chicken feather.

"Give You a Little Color" sung by Huayin Laolu and Tan Weiwei provides us with a sample of breaking through the bottleneck: "Nuwa Niangniang made up the sky, and the remaining stone is Mount Hua." Birds fly with the sun on their backs, east to west. Why did the sky turn gray, why did the earth not have green... Why sharks don't have fins, why do birds have no wings. ...... We need to stop and give the world a little color. "The song writes about the desire for green mountains and rivers, and also has the meaning of nostalgia, but its ideological connotation is a step deeper, so that we realize how to live in harmony with nature, and then uphold a reverence for nature."

Fourth, it is difficult to write. The lyrics are not simply meant to tell people something, but to present a special brilliance in the statement. It is difficult and cannot be misunderstood as "I write my mouth with my hand". Only by avoiding blindly laying out straight narratives, setting up detailed placement and overall weaving, can it be possible to produce excellent works.

For example, "South of the South Of the South" that was burned a few years ago: "You are snowing heavily in the bright sun in the south, and I am in the cold night in the north like spring in all seasons." If it's time before dark, I'm going to forget your eyes, and I can't finish a dream in my lifetime. ...... South Mountain South, North Autumn Sorrow, South Mountain has a grain pile. The south wind murmurs, the North Sea north, and the North Sea has tombstones. The opening sentence of the song completely broke the usual thinking. How can there be heavy snow in the south, and why is the north full of spring all year round? With this suspense at the beginning, it will naturally arouse people's interest in listening. Constructing this suspense does not rely on flowery words, but opens up a deep-seated perceptual space. The charm of literary language is often not in the words themselves, but in the clever connections that arise between words. The song ends with a frugal vernacular that shows the warmth of the desolation. This is what we often say: the vernacular is not white, the vernacular is poetic.

In short, songs that carry forward the main theme should avoid common sense deviations in lyric writing, clarify the boundaries of political and artistic functions, jump out of the cup of water, and write out big realm feelings. I wish that our songs will ride the east wind of the eleventh literary congress and the tenth literary congress, unfold the wings of literature and music, and fly the new journey of the new era.