Sentiments of a wise man, quiet and subtle, may you remember them;Brave hearts and heroic words, wild and gallant, who else can boast but I
Wong Chi-wah
The above couplet written by the author refers to certain characteristics of lyricist Jimmy Lo’s verses.It encapsulates at least four kinds of lyrics that he excels in, with all showing the dual components of power and deep love: those that are contemplative and philosophical; those on romantic themes; those for martial arts dramas; and those portraying historical figures.
In the past decade or so, Jimmy Lo has received various honours from RTHK and the Arts DevelopmentCouncil of Hong Kong. He is known familiarly by many as “Lo the Chivalrous” for the unrivalled, to-thepointwords of expressiveness and heroic gusto of his lyrics written for television dramas on martial arts themes.
But martial arts drama aside, he is also outstanding in other kinds of lyrics such as the philosophical, theromantic and the uplifting. Notable examples are Whenever There Are Changes, When Love Becomes Hateand Oretachi no Tabi (Our Journey), with We Met Because of Destiny combining deftly the subject matters of philosophy and love.
From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, Jimmy Lo, James Wong and Cheng Kwok-kong were hailed as thethree great lyricists of the time, which happened to coincide with the golden age of TV drama themesongs. That is why even today, whenever Lo’s lyrics are heard, one is reminded of the heydays of the TVand Cantopop culture of the time, for which that generation would be proud to have been a part.
It is noteworthy that Lo wrote for all three TV stations, from HKTVB’s localised version of the Taiwanseries, Shen Feng (Valiant Phoenix), their own productions of Luk Siu Fung, The Romantic Swordsman,Commercial TV’s Meteor, Butterfly and Sword, Gold Dagger Romance, to RTV (later ATV)’s drama series in later years. Among the three stations, Lo served longest at RTV/ATV and wrote lyrics for the largestnumber of TV theme songs there, so most of his most well-known masterpieces Hong Kong people arefamiliar with, were written for RTV/ATV dramas.
One of the salient features of Lo’s lyrics is that they often carry subtle personal messages from the lyricist. At times he even seemed to be speaking on behalf of the TV station he was serving, and Reincarnated is atypical example – as the underdog in the TV industry, RTV boasted a vehement fighting spirit and neverconceded defeat. This spirited and never-say-die attitude was also uplifting for the public at the time. Infact, many drama theme songs of RTV/ATV were on a par with those of HKTVB – the then dominant TV station.
Now we tend to believe that all Cantonese lyrics are written for music already composed. But it isa fact that at least six of Lo’s lyrical works were written prior to the music, of which Move On, Water Margin and Fatherland are the most well-known. In the 1980s, Michael Lai was writing a column fora monthly magazine, Singers and Their Songs, and in one issue he wrote about the lyrics of the drama Fatherland. Originally Lo wrote three stanzas only, and after Lai composed music for the lyrics, thesong was used as the opening theme song of the drama series. What Lai did not mention was thatwhen the song was to be made into a record, it was probably deemed a bit too short, and so anotherstanza was added, which goes like this: “Man amongst heaven and earth are like ants in the millions; but I, filled with indignation and grievance, smile a bitter smile, alone and far from the crowd!”
That the lyrics of Fatherland came before the tune is probably a surprise for many. It shows that such a creative mode in Cantopop can also produce a masterpiece that takes the public by storm. It also attests to the high point of Cantopop during that time.
This concert that takes a retrospective look at Jimmy Lo’s lyrics by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra with Fatherland as its title will likely bring back memories of a golden age. The select pieces in the programme will also take us back to the heyday of TV and Cantopop culture and fill us with mixedfeelings and memories, be they personal relationships or love for one’s home and country. Mui Kwongchiu,music programme coordinator for the concert, has also been commissioned to rearrange theopening suite. Apart from instrumental performances, Bo Luk and Mischa Ip will provide the vocals forsome of the numbers. As a nod to Hong Kong’s golden oldies the Fatherland concert promises to beworth waiting for.
