Life Chases Faith Years Shine Brightly - Interview with "Follow" composer Meng Wenhao

【The Ninth Batch of New Songs on the Theme of "Chinese Dream" (2)】

"Follow" began with the song titled "Chase", and later changed to "Follow", with a clearer intention. In 2020, the song was selected into the list of outstanding songs of 2019 " Hear China Hear You " , a fine project of Chinese contemporary song creation sponsored by the China Music Association.

The lyricist Yao Wei is a famous planner, producer, producer, and lyricist, whose lyrics are not many, but quite distinctive. The lyrics of "Follow" written by him this time made the composer Meng Wenhao's eyes shine. The lyrics of this song are analogous and complex, using many images to express a theme in turn. This technique is not uncommon in literature.

The Song Dynasty Chen Qi's "Wen Ze" said: "The image of "Yi" is to do its best; the "Poetry" is compared to achieve its feelings." The work of the text is also incomprehensible? In the Analects, Confucius criticized Zaiyu for sleeping in the daytime, even using two similar analogies: "Rotten wood cannot be carved, and the wall of dung and soil cannot be carved." The end of He Zhu's "Qingyu Case" is more famous, "If you ask how much leisure? A river of tobacco, full of city wind, plum yellow when the rain", with three images in a row to express the author's mood.

Analogies are not uncommon in modern lyrics. However, like "Follow", the proportion of analogies and metaphors in the lyrics is so high that it is rare. This is what makes Meng Wenhao feel most novel. "Following" writes the youthful inspirational posture of the builders of the new era who closely follow the correct leadership of the party, highlights the beauty of faith and lofty beauty, carries forward the Chinese spirit, unites China's strength, and encourages the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country to march vigorously into the future.

Meng Wenhao quickly composed the song. Because the lyrics are more consistent in form, the song has to jump out of the limitations of the lyrics and change more.

At the beginning of the song, Meng Wenhao arranged for the children to sing, and then the male and female voices entered. "If it's a male and female voice as soon as it comes up, it lacks freshness." Meng Wenhao said. At the end of the main song, "The Phoenix Chases the Fire, Nirvana", the music suddenly lightens down and weakens, and then enters "You are my consciousness, I am your guardian", so that the listener has a memory point to understand the connotation of the work.

In the chorus section, "Youth chases dreams, good times." Life chases faith, and the years shine" These few sentences are full of rhythm and movement, which is completely different from the main song, and then the melody returns to the theme. "Through some means to make the arrangement richer, but it is not complicated, and it is surging with freshness." Meng Wenhao said that the melody changes in simplicity, making people catchy when singing.

Singers Zhang Yingxi and Cao Fujia's bel canto and popular singing methods well interpret the connotation of the song. The song has both the feeling of pop music and the texture of a symphony, with both choral parts, solo and lead singers, suitable for a variety of singing forms. (Reporter Guo Chao)

Source: Guangming Daily