When listening to the Cantonese version of Beyond's classic song "Glorious Years", I inadvertently found a problem, the lyrics were written by a dark-skinned person, and when I checked it, I found out that it was Wong Ka-koo's song to former South African President Mandela.
It is said that from August 3 to 6, 1990, Beyond lead singer Wong Ka-koo participated in a program called "First Brigade of Love" on Hong Kong television and went to Papua New Guinea, a very poor country in Africa, where people are suffering from war and famine. This trip to Africa was shocking to Wong, and after returning to Hong Kong, he happened to see the story of Mandela, a black leader who had been imprisoned for a long time, in the newspaper, and he couldn't help but be touched.
At the age of 26, Mandela joined the African National Congress of South Africa, which advocated nonviolent struggle, and has since devoted himself to the cause of anti-apartheid, fighting for the rights of blacks. South Africa was once a British colony, and the living conditions of black people here are very harsh, for example, in 1958, when white Prime Minister Hendrick Frensch Wievold took office, he enacted a "Bantustan Law" that limited more than 10 million black people to 12.5% of South Africa's territory. In March 1960, South African military police shot and killed blacks who demonstrated, resulting in 69 deaths and 180 injuries, and Mandela was also arrested and imprisoned, but was not acquitted shortly after.
After that, Mandela turned to an underground armed struggle to protest and resist white racists.
However, in August 1962, the United States intervened, and with the help of the CIA, Mandela was arrested by the apartheid regime in South Africa and imprisoned again. This time, he was not so lucky, the South African authorities asked him to sit on the bottom of the prison and let him die of illness and old age in prison.
On 10 February 1990, South Africa's last white president, De Klerk, announced mandela's unconditional release. Mandela, who had been in prison for 27 years, finally got out of prison alive, at the age of 72, but his will was still unusually strong, and he wanted to fight for the rights of black people. In April 1994, he was elected president, becoming the first black president in South Africa's history, and he was also affectionately known as the "Father of the Nation of South Africa" by black people.
Back in August 1990, Wong Ka-ju went to Africa, and after returning to Hong Kong, he learned mandela's story and was deeply touched, and wrote a song full of resistance and hope, paying tribute to Mandela, "Glorious Years". The Glorious Years is included on the Cantonese album Destiny Party, which was released in September of the same year. I have to say that the inspiration came, and I couldn't stop it, and I created a classic song in a short time.
"Glorious Years" this song has been sung all over the motherland for 31 years, and now I know the background of the song's creation, and it is strange that I can't understand Cantonese. Unfortunately, there are many good Cantonese songs, only hum to tune, but can not understand the lyrics, like an "illiterate". Now I want to learn something, but I find that there are too many messy things, and I can't calm down. Therefore, when I was a child, it was necessary to learn more things and cultivate more hobbies!
"...... After a lifetime of wandering struggles, self-confidence can change the future, ask who can do it, today there is only a residual shell, to meet the glorious years, hugging freedom in the wind and rain ..."
May those who are struggling and struggling in the wandering can confidently change the future and embrace your glorious years.