Movement 01
– Overture (instrumental)
[Recital]
My fellow friends, nowadays if someone asks you “Are you Japanese or Vietnamese?” I’m sure your answer will be unmistakably loud and clear: No. I am Chinese and I’m from the mainland China. Indeed, we are all proud of being the Chinese today because China is no longer what it was over a century ago, when our forefathers were forced to leave their war wrought homeland to seek opportunities overseas. The early Chinese immigrants suffered immensely to make their way across the Pacific Ocean and finally settled down in the unwelcome West of U.S., only to experience tremendous strains and stresses in their new life. Let’s hear the grievances from the bottom of their heart:
Movement 02 –
Farewell, My Dear Ones
(Baritono )
[Recital by Singer]
[Song]
My motherland is a giant full of bruises inflicted by the war.
How I want to help but I’m helpless – I deplore.
My dear motherland, I know you are powerful but just sleeping
But when will you wake up and start fighting
And give us a life free of coercion and poverty
And give us a life with all dignity?
Where there is a will there is a way.
I have a will, where is my way?
I’m leaving, with expectations from my family
And hopes for my nation.
I’m leaving to cross the Pacific
And I don’t know when I’ll be back again.
Good bye my dear motherland,
I’ll be away and maybe for very long.
I promise I’ll be your worthy child
And I’ll be fearless and strong.
I am fearless and I am strong.
I’m forging ahead and will never slow down.
I’m seeking a new life across the ocean
And greeting a new dawn.
Movement 03
– The Chinese Railroad Men (Tenor & male chorus)
[Recital]
[Singing off stage]
Haiyo, haiyo, hai
Haiyo, haiyo, hai
My worst memories!
[Chorus, Part I]
Haiyo, haiyo, haiyo, haiyo!
We brave storms and waves of the Pacific
To join the Gold Rush in the American West,
We dig tunnels, build bridges, and lay railway tracks,
And we swallow injustice and put our will to test.
Haiyo, haiyo, haiyo, haiyo!
We brave storms and waves of the Pacific
To join the Gold Rush in the American West.
We dig tunnels, build bridges, and lay railway tracks.
And we swallow injustice and put our will to test.
We work in bitter cold or burning heat
To perform the impossible feat
In the intricate terrain where every task is perilous –
Mountains too high, canyons too deep, and rivers too treacherous.
Each day I go to work I wonder if I’ll live to see you
Because we’re doing dangerous jobs that the white won’t do.
But we’re clever, brave and skilled – come what may
And we know how to chisel the crags or blow them away.
Each day I go to work I wonder if I’ll live to see you
Because we’re doing dangerous jobs the white won’t do.
But we’re clever, brave and skilled – come what may
And we know how to chisel the crags or blow them away.
Here’re our hands and shoulders if you need to move the railroad tie
And our dynamite can blast off the mountain tops no matter how high.
Hundreds of tunnels we’ve dug through
And we’ve also built bridges, not a few.
But they repaid us with hostility and jealousy
And shot us in cold blood out of lunacy.
There are bears in the wilderness lurking on foot.
And we are often attacked and become their food.
Sometimes the rope may snap,
On which we are hanging to light the explosive
And send us down to the rapids
Drowned and washed away for good.
The railroad finally comes to completion.
It stretches 3000 miles across the continent.
At the exciting event to celebrate
Why are the Chinese left out of the appreciation?
Worse still is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1886
That plunges us all in fear and trepidation.
We are now closing this chapter of shame
Which will be remembered by the coming generation.
We’ll never forget those Chinese Railroad Men
And their heroic efforts and excellent tradition –
These we will carry forward
To all our children.
Movement 04 –
My Home Is Far Away (Soprano Solo )
[Song]
Mountains, you are tall
But my love for my country you can’t block from me at all.
Oceans, you are deep.
My home is in my heart and I don’t need a ship.
In my mind I often see the snow peaks of northern China moving and dancing;
I also dream of the ripples of the southern lakes shining and turning.
I love the weeping willows on the riverside –
They witnessed my days of young heart and mind.
How can I forget that blossoming spring?
What a carefree child I was back then!
Yellow River, you gave me strength to pursue my career progress
Great Yangtze, I owe it to you for showing me the way to success.
My dear motherland,
How I want to come back and share with you
All the years I went through, weal and woe!
My dear motherland,
I will return
And serve you with all I learn
And serve you with all I learn!
.
Movement 05
We Want to Make a Difference
(Tenor & male chorus)
[Song, Part I]
Listen to the horn on the Great Wall:
We are entering an age of a new call.
Gone are the days when China was at others’ mercy.
Good bye to “Sick Man of Eastern Asia”, once and for all.
We are the children of a great nation.
And we come to this new land to fulfill a great mission.
To learn the advanced technology from the West
We must not procrastinate.
To introduce and promote our culture
We are passionate.
We pursue facts and seek truth
With a scientist’s precision and perseverance
And we make big strides in life
With courage and intelligence.
We are nobody’s inferior or superior.
We’ll never be arrogant for being the better.
In any line of work we do we try to excel
To achieve a great goal with a strong will.
Good soil provides for good seeds.
A tall tree does not grow from weeds.
We are the tall tree in a solid form
That’ll not bend in a storm.
In this broad land of the world
We are pursuing a lofty ideal in life.
To that end we are charging forward
Ready for any strife.
[Song, Part II]
Listen to the horn on the Great Wall:
We are entering an age of a new call.
Gone are the days when China was at others’ mercy.
Good bye to “Sick Man of Eastern Asia”, once and for all.
We are the children of a great nation.
And we come to this new land to fulfill a great mission.
To learn the advanced technology from the West
We must not procrastinate.
To introduce and promote our culture
We are passionate.
We pursue facts and seek truth
With a scientist’s precision and perseverance
And we make big strides in life
With courage and intelligence.
We are not particular about a job title.
We can start with the salary of an entry level.
Either moving up or down we have an easy heart
Because we are intelligent and diligent people.
The Silicon Valley is a great stage for our show
To display skills and talents that only we know.
The Chinese oversea students have a great ambition
And in all walks of life we are outstanding.
On this fertile land we are marching forward
To greet a brilliant morning!
[Song, Part III]
Listen to the horn on the Great Wall
We are entering an age of a new call.
Gone are the days when China was at others’ mercy.
Good bye to “Sick Man of Eastern Asia”, once and for all.
We are the children of a great nation.
And we come to this new land to fulfill a great mission.
To learn the advanced technology from the West
We must not procrastinate.
To introduce and promote our culture
We are passionate.
We pursue facts and seek truth
With a scientist’s precision and perseverance.
We make big strides in life
With courage and intelligence.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
This applies to us all, no matter who.
Abide by the law wherever you stay
Remember all the rules that you must obey.
You should make more friends as you move on
But don’t forget your old buddies in your hometown.
When two cultures merge between east and west
We have a better world to expect.
Movement 06
Motherland is our root
(Duet of Soprano and Tenor)
If you ask me where I came from,
Mountains echo and rivers roar.
If you ask me where I came from,
Mountains echo and rivers roar.
We came from China, and we bathe motherland’s love
We should not forget her,
just like rivers remember where they originate, and trees rely on their roots.
If you ask me where I came from,
Mountains echo and rivers roar.
If you ask me where I came from,
Mountains echo and rivers roar.
We were born in the states,
and we bathe motherland’s love
We should not forget her,
just like rivers remember where they originate,
and trees rely on their roots.
Ah! Ah! We came from our motherland, and we came from all over the world
Motherland is our root, and we share her feelings
We love our motherland, and our love is as deep as ocean
We wish her beautiful scenery, and colorful landscape.
Motherland is our root.
We are willing to give up anything for her, just to keep her being young forever
We are willing to give up anything for her, just to keep her being young forever, and ever
Movement 07
<This World Needs Peace >(Mixed chorus)
What a peaceful sky tonight
With all stars shining bright.
I wish the whole world would stay like this
No misery, but peace!
We do not want hatred
We do not want war.
We want unity
And peace to us all.
We do not want hatred
We do not want terrorism
We want harmony
We want stability.
We do not want hatred
We do not want war.
We want unity
And peace to us all.
Let’s toss the seeds of hatred out of door
And leave no place for the monster of war.
Let’s hold a peaceful flag up and high
Fluttering to the four winds in the blue sky.
We are the world, we are the family.
Shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand,
We are brothers and sisters, we are the family.
We are marching forward, united as one.
We are the artists to paint our future
We can change the world to a green community.
We are closely related in this global village
And cherishing our peace and happiness to eternity.
Shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand,
We are marching forward
To meet a brilliant tomorrow,
United as one.
Shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand,
We are marching forward
To meet a brilliant tomorrow,
United as one.
Movement 08
We Are the World, We Are the Family
(Quintet and Mixed Chorus )
[Recital]
[Song Part I]
Let’s open our hearts
And look into the sky –
What a surprise to see us in the same world
With goals just as high.
We do not have the same skin color
But we came from the same ancestor.
Let’s put aside our differences
And pursue our common interests together.
[Song, Part II]
Let’s open our hearts
And look into the sky –
What a surprise to see us in the same world
With goals just as high.
We each may have a different faith
But we are working towards the same destination.
Let’s put aside our jealousy and hate,
And bathe in His warmth and illumination.
[Chorus]
We are the world, we are the family
You are my brother and sister
We are the world, we are the family
Together let’s march towards a brilliant future.
[Song, Part III]
Let’s open our hearts
And look into the sky –
What a surprise to see us in the same world
With goals just as high.
Each nation may have its own interests
But we share our ultimate goals together.
So we must help those in need
And make accommodations for each other.
Let’s seek to achieve from what we agree
And learn to respect and not to interfere.
Together let’s move forward
Towards the century’s splendor.
[Chorus]
We are the world, we are the family
You are my brother and sister
We are the world, we are the family
Together let’s move towards a brilliant future.