Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies

"海闊天空 (Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies)"
Song by Beyond
from the album Rock and Roll
Language Cantonese
B-side "What For" (無無謂)
Published May 1993
Released May 1993
Recorded April 1993
Genre Pop rock, art rock
Length 5:24
Label Warner Music Group
Songwriter(s) Wong Ka Kui
Producer(s) Beyond, Kunihiko Ryo
Music video
Music video (Rock Records edition) at YouTube
Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies
Traditional Chinese 海闊天空
Simplified Chinese 海阔天空
Literal meaning sea wide sky empty

"Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies"[1][2] (Chinese: 海闊天空; Jyutping: hoi2 fut3 tin1 hung1; lit. "sea wide sky empty") is a song written and recorded by the Hong Kong rock band Beyond. Released in 1993 on the Cantonese album Rock and Roll, the song was and remains massively popular.[3] The song has been also translated as "Under a Vast Sky",[3][4] "Ocean Wide Sky High",[5] "Vast Seas, Clear Skies",[6][7] and "Clear Skies, Vast Ocean".[8] The song is an anthem of Cantonese rock music and one of Beyond's signature songs.[9] It has been adopted for several events in Cantonese-speaking regions, such as the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and most prominently as the unofficial anthem of the 2014 Hong Kong protests.[10]

The song was written by Wong Ka Kui and other band members. It was a tribute to the release of then president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Ka Kui was inspired by his trip to Africa in 1990 (after which he also wrote one of his most popular songs "Amani" ("Peace" in Swahili).[11] Its theme – personal freedom and the pursuit of dreams – flowed from Wong's disillusionment with the music industry.[12][3] It was written to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band's formation. However, the band vocalist Wong Ka Kui died on 30 June 1993, around two months after the song's release. It went on to gain critical acclaim and commercial success.

Beyond recorded a Mandarin version, "Hai Kuo Tian Kong" (same Chinese characters pronounced in Mandarin), for the 1993 Mandarin album of the same name and a Japanese version, "Haruka naru yume ni ~Far away~" (遥かなる夢に 〜Far away〜, literally "A Faraway Dream").

In the 2003 Hong Kong movie Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat, the song was performed live by Teresa Carpio, where it was interpreted as the sacrifice a mother had made for her son.

In 2010, Cai Xiuqing (蔡岫勍) performed the song for China's Got Talent, earning her third place.[13][14] In 2012, Hong Kong a cappella group Metro Vocal Group released a cover on their album No Borders.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Hong, Brendon (23 October 2014). "Chinese Tourists Are Taking Hong Kong Protest Selfies". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Vittachi, Nury (14 October 2014). "Hong Kong's Pop Culture of Protest". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Wang, Joyu (1 October 2014). "The Story Behind the Hong Kong Protests' Unofficial Anthem". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Schumacher, Mary Louise (6 November 2014). "The enchanting art of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Yap, Ricky (20 October 2003). "Great 'reunion' and Beyond". New Straits Times. Retrieved 11 November 2014. Record no. 0FE60E1F039EA4FE from NewsBank.
  6. ↑ Lee Yueh Shien (19 October 2003). "Beyond music". New Straits Times. Retrieved 11 November 2014. Record no. 0FE60E268F3754F8 from NewsBank.
  7. ↑ "Greatest hits". The Star. Malaysia. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Lee Wing-Sze (8 July 2001). "Interviews 'a form of art'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Seto Kit Yen; Angelin Yeoh. "The '90s: When Cantopop ruled". The Star. Malaysia.
  10. ↑ "5 things about Canto-rock band Beyond's Boundless Oceans Vast Skies, unofficial anthem of Hong Kong protesters". The Straits Times. Singapore. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.greenpeace.org. "www.greenpeace.org." 雍容 政府與公共事務主任. Retrieved on 27 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Hong Kong's rock song of freedom, BBC, 3 Jul 2018
  13. ↑ "Armless musician who plays the piano with his feet is crowned winner of China's Got Talent". Daily Mail. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  14. ↑ 沒有雙臂又如何 中國頭號達人就是他 [How can an armless person be China's top talent?] (in Chinese). CRI. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "元氣堂無伴奏唱廣東歌鬼佬正過你". Apple Daily. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
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