Lin Songtao

254238712@qq.com

DURING the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Shenzhen, Angelo Castagneto, an Ecuadorian musician, with Chinese partners composed a song named “Spring Knows All” to pay tribute to frontline workers.

The Shenzhen Daily recorded the process of the production and interviewed the main participants.

The lyrics were written by Wang Fang, the secretary general of the Green Pine Care Foundation in Shenzhen, and is sung by Liu Xiao, a young singer graduating from Shenzhen University.

The creation of the song is by chance. Wang said she met a friend who had been away from home for over one week. His residential compound was locked down and he chose to stay at work. “He said that he must stay in the frontline. His words kept ringing in my mind. I couldn’t fall asleep that night and the line ‘spring knows all’ suddenly occurred to me.”

Castagneto met Wang last year in the Shenzhen Concert Hall during the “Multiethnic Children’s Choirs in Concert” that was supported by the Green Pine Care Foundation. The Ecuadorian recalled that when he received the lyrics, he was at his home studio. “I didn’t think about anything. I went directly to the piano. I started to play and found the melody. I think the first feeling is most important. The process was very fast based on my experience creating songs for over 30 years.”

“I tried to understand the lyrics quickly; it gives people encouragement to face the problems we have, not only the pandemic in China, also the problems that affect us all as human beings,” he said.

Castagneto thinks that emotion is extremely significant when creating music. “I asked Wang Fang what she wanted to express. I understand the emotions that the song wants to convey are compassion and kindness, like the first hug. That’s why I started to create a song just with the piano because it’s my favorite instrument.”

Wang speaks highly of Castagneto’s composition. “When I finished the lyrics, the first composer I thought of was him. What surprised me was that in less than five minutes, he sent me a demo, in which he hummed a simple tune. It sounds gentle but with determination. Instantly, I felt a connection with him.” She said that Castagneto came up with something new every day, and finished writing the melodies quickly. “After listening to the full song, I felt the same emotional power that touched me while I was writing the lyrics.”

The lyrics, which have Shenzhen elements such as Bougainvillea and mangroves, came out in Chinese first and an English version was later translated by Shenzhen Daily. Talking about the expression in the two languages, Castagneto commented that the Chinese version is so beautifully written and the lyrics in English have the same power as in the Chinese version.

He said that the lyrics express the uncertainty and the questions to which people may not need a real answer directly. “Just listen to the birds, nature and the spring, you will find the answer. I hope the words can really touch everybody’s heart.”

“Just as spring will always come after winter, Shenzhen will soon embrace a spring with full blossoms,” Wang said.

Usually, Castagneto spends about one month creating a song, but not this time. “I’m so moved. How a group of strangers can come together in such a short time to create a song that is so beautiful and supportive,” he said emotionally.

Shenzhen Daily fully participated in and recorded the production of the song, and made an MV for it. As the first media institution that reported this story, Shenzhen Daily also made a bilingual video which was promoted by Shenzhen Musician Association, Shenzhen Federation of Literature and Arts Circles as well as Futian Public Culture and Sports Development Center. This music cooperation also attracted other media outlets such as web portal sina.com to cover.

《春天的回答》

Spring Knows All

Lyrics writer 作词: Wang Fang

Composer 作曲: Angelo Castagneto

你问我 问我

You ask me

春天为什么乍暖还寒

Why is it still chilly in spring

你听 你听 这是鸟儿的回答

Listen to the birds. They know why

你问我 问我

You ask me

生命为什么充满磨难

Why is life so tough

你听 你听 这是青草的回答

Listen to the grass. They know why

你问我 问我

You ask me

这条河两岸何时绿染

When will the trees on the banks turn green

你听 你听 春风的回答

Listen to the spring breeze. It knows when

你问我 问我

You ask me

疫情的苦雨何时停下

When will COVID perish

你听 你听 旗帜的回答

Listen to the flags. They know when

你的眼里有许多疑问

Many questions in your eyes

我的行动有一个方向

One destination in my quest

手持玫瑰 心向阳光

Roses in my hand, I run into the sunshine

你听 你听 春天的回答

Listen, spring knows all

我问你 问你

I ask you

海潮为什么汹涌澎湃

Why are the waves raging

你说 你说 红树林在回答

You said, the mangroves know why

我问你 问你

I ask you

夜晚为什么灯燃如火

What lights up the night

你说 你说 队伍在回答

You said, it’s the frontline workers

我问你 问你

I ask you

肃穆的群山为何沸腾

What brings bustle to the silent mountains

你说 你说 簕杜鹃在回答

You said, it’s the Bougainvillea

我问你 问你

I ask you

征途的勇士何时归家

When will the brave come home

你说 你说 人民在回答

You said, the people know when

我的心中有许多梦想

Many dreams are in my heart

你的行动有一种坚强

A strong will in your quest

手持玫瑰 心向阳光

Roses in my hand, I run into the sunshine

你说 你说 春天在回答

You said, spring knows all