Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies Explained

海闊天空 (Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies)
Artist:Beyond
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
Label:Warner Music Group
Producer:Beyond, Kunihiko Ryo
T:海闊天空
S:海阔天空
L:sea vast sky clear
P:hǎi kuò tiān kōng
J:hoi2 fut3 tin1 hung1
Ci:pronounced as /hɔːi fuːt tʰiːn hʊŋ/

"Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies"[1] [2] (; lit. "sea wide sky empty") is a Cantonese 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. 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]

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 Japanese version, .

In the 2003 Hong Kong movie , 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 (Chinese: 蔡岫勍) performed the song for China's Got Talent, earning her third place.[13] In 2012, Hong Kong a cappella group Metro Vocal Group released a cover on their album No Borders.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 23 October 2014 . Brendon . Hong . Chinese Tourists Are Taking Hong Kong Protest Selfies . . 7 November 2014 . 7 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107200119/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/23/chinese-tourists-are-taking-hong-kong-protest-selfies.html . live .
  2. News: Nury . Vittachi . 14 October 2014 . Hong Kong's Pop Culture of Protest . . 7 November 2014 . 27 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141027002958/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/opinion/hong-kongs-pop-culture-of-protest.html . live .
  3. News: 1 October 2014 . Joyu . Wang . The Story Behind the Hong Kong Protests' Unofficial Anthem . . 7 November 2014 . 27 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141027120131/http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/10/01/the-story-behind-the-hong-kong-protests-unofficial-anthem/ . live .
  4. News: Mary Louise . Schumacher . 6 November 2014 . The enchanting art of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution . . 7 November 2014 . 7 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107073933/http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/arts/the-enchanting-art-of-hong-kongs-umbrella-revolution-b99385524z1-281848021.html . live .
  5. News: Ricky . Yap . 20 October 2003 . Great 'reunion' and Beyond . . 11 November 2014 . 4 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220404000754/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XUEhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3531%2C6679056 . live . Record no. 0FE60E1F039EA4FE from NewsBank.
  6. News: Lee Yueh Shien . 19 October 2003 . Beyond music . New Straits Times . 11 November 2014 . 4 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220404000754/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XEEhAAAAIBAJ&pg=5136%2C5995016 . live . Record no. 0FE60E268F3754F8 from NewsBank.
  7. News: 30 June 2013 . Greatest hits . The Star . Malaysia . 14 November 2014 . 29 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020302/http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Entertainment/Music/News/2013/06/30/Greatest-hits/ . live .
  8. News: Lee Wing-Sze . 8 July 2001 . Interviews 'a form of art' . . 13 November 2014 . 18 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141218073344/http://www.scmp.com/article/351831/interviews-form-art . live .
  9. News: Seto Kit Yen . Angelin Yeoh . The '90s: When Cantopop ruled . . Malaysia . dead . 12 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112125917/http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Entertainment/Music/News/2014/08/07/The-90s-When-Cantopop-ruled/ . 12 November 2014.
  10. News: 5 things about Canto-rock band Beyond's Boundless Oceans Vast Skies, unofficial anthem of Hong Kong protesters . . Singapore . 2 October 2014 . 15 November 2014 . 30 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141030121950/http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/5-things-about-canto-rock-band-beyonds-boundless-oceans-vast-skies-the-uno . live .
  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. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-44639427/hong-kong-s-rock-song-of-freedom Hong Kong's rock song of freedom
  13. News: How can an armless person be China's top talent? . zh:沒有雙臂又如何 中國頭號達人就是他 . http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/27564/2010/10/11/108s3015966.htm . 11 October 2010 . 12 November 2014 . . zh . 12 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112115601/http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/27564/2010/10/11/108s3015966.htm . live .
  14. Web site: 元氣堂無伴奏唱廣東歌鬼佬正過你. Apple Daily. 4 December 2015. 7 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160107151500/http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/culture/art/20121129/18083413. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.