Chapter 578 [The Great Wall Will Never Fall Down]
"Mr. Zhou, nice to meet you!"
"Hello, Director Nie!"
At this time, Nie Er was very young, only 22 years old, but he had already become the director of the music department of China's largest record company, and he could definitely be regarded as a young talent.
Thinking of what happened to Nie Er, Zhou Hexuan felt extremely sorry.
Historically, Nie Er will die next year, unfortunately drowning while swimming in Japan. Although he died young at the age of 23, he left a precious legacy for China - "March of the Volunteers".
Li Kaisheng said to Nie Er: "Ziyi, Mr. Zhou wants to record a few songs, you are responsible for it yourself."
"Okay, I'll take care of it." Nie Er said with a smile.
Li Kaisheng turned around and said to Zhou Hexuan: "Mr. Zhou, I'll go to the legal department to get a contract first, please wait a moment."
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "Please go ahead."
When Li Kaisheng left the office, Nie Er said enthusiastically, "Please sit down, Mr. Zhou. What song do you want to record? Have you brought the score?"
"Do you have a sheet music book here?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Nie Er immediately took out a song book from the drawer, handed it to Zhou Hexuan and said, "Mr. Zhou has studied music before? Your song "On the Songhua River" is very well written."
"Amateur." Zhou Hexuan smiled, and quickly wrote the lyrics and music of the three songs "Orchid Grass", "On the Songhua River" and "Swan Goose".
Nie Er was surprised: "Record three songs at once?"
The number of three songs is not a lot. Vinyl records in the period of the Republic of China often only recorded two songs (front and back).
The oldest 78-rpm vinyl record can only be recorded for 4 minutes per side. The 45 rpm vinyl takes a bit longer, but also about 10 minutes per side. These two records belong to the mainstream of the market, and the price is relatively cheap.
Just three years ago, Radio Corporation of America developed the 33 1/3 rpm LP compact record, which allowed the recording limit of each side of the record to reach 18 minutes (increased to 22 minutes in the 1950s). This record became the standard vinyl of the future and remained on the market well into the 1980s.
Nie Er said: "The number of three songs is embarrassing, it's a waste of record space."
Zhou Hexuan didn't understand the current market situation, so he asked, "What's the situation?"
Nie Er explained with a smile: "Based on the standard of 5 minutes for a song, if you choose a 45-rpm record, you can record four songs on the front and back. If you choose an LP compact record, you can record six songs on the front and back. Or, How about you add another one, and make a 45-rpm record?"
"Let me think about it." Zhou Hexuan immediately pondered.
Zhou Hexuan did not intend to copy the song "March of the Volunteers". This is a respect for the original author, because it will come out in a few months. And maybe, Tian Han has already written the lyrics at this time, and it would be too embarrassing if the car crashes.
"My Motherland" is the most suitable, this song can be called the originator of Chinese pop music. In the future, there will be a few Taiwanese musicians who will set off a revolution in national pop music in Taiwan after secretly listening to "My Motherland".
But "My Motherland" is suitable for female vocals, Zhou Hexuan felt that he couldn't play it, so he had to give it up temporarily.
As for "Serving the Country with Loyalty", it might be better to release it after the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance, and it can be used as a propaganda song for conscription.
Zhou Hexuan thought over and over again, and felt that "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" was the most suitable. After all, the Great Wall War of Resistance was just finished last year, and it was completely defeated. The title of the song "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" is very meaningful.
Although the original version of "The Great Wall Never Falls" was sung in Cantonese, because the lyrics are written to a high degree and the rhyme and rhythm are completely in line with Mandarin habits, this song can be sung in Mandarin without changing a single word.
Zhou Hexuan immediately began to write, and said while writing: "This is a song I wrote when the Great Wall War ended last year."
Nie Er immediately came over to watch, and saw that Zhou Hexuan wrote the lyrics first:
Sleeping for a hundred years, the people of the country are gradually waking up,
Open your eyes, look carefully,
Who wants the subject to admit himself?
Because of shrinking and forbearance,
People's pride is growing day by day.
Cry out, cry out,
Here are the soldiers of the whole country,
Robbers always want to invade,
Will die in the end.
The Great Wall will never fall down,
Thousands of miles of Yellow River is surging,
Beautiful rivers and mountains, colorful peaks and ridges,
How does my country look like being infected?
Break through the blood, wave your hand,
To be committed to the rejuvenation of the country,
How can we let the country be trampled on again?
Everyone takes on a mission
...
How can we let the country be trampled on again?
The sleeping lion is gradually waking up! "
When seeing the two lines "The Great Wall will never fall down, and the Yellow River is surging for thousands of miles", Nie Er's blood surged all over his body, and he couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised: "Mr. Zhou wrote good lyrics!"
"What good lyrics?" Li Kaisheng came in suddenly.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "Is the contract out?"
Li Kaisheng explained: "It has been drawn up and is being printed by a typist."
Nie Er pointed to the song book and said excitedly: "Manager Li, please read this song about the Great Wall War written by Mr. Zhou. The lyrics are really good."
Li Kaisheng tilted his head curiously, and his eyes sparkled immediately. This song is different from "On the Songhua River". The latter makes people sad and indignant, but the former can arouse the fighting spirit of countless citizens, and it will definitely not worry about sales when it is recorded.
After Zhou Hexuan finished writing the lyrics, he began to write numbered notation according to the lyrics, and said with a smile, "Manager Li, the 25% record royalties are not a loss, right?"
"It's not a loss, it's not a loss," Li Kaisheng said happily, "But I'm going to ask someone to change the contract, and include this song "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" into the contract."
Li Kaisheng immediately left the office and ran to the legal department to have the contract changed, while Nie Er looked at the numbered notation and hummed softly.
When Zhou Hexuan finished writing the score, Nie Er was amazed: "Mr. Zhou, singing this song makes me want to go to the front line to fight against Japan."
"That's the best. If everyone stands up and resists, China will win." Zhou Hexuan said.
Nie Er is also a member of the Communist Party. He officially joined the party last year. He thinks this song should be taken back for comrades to spread widely.
Zhou Hexuan handed the lyrics and music of the four songs to Nie Er and said, "Director Nie, when can we finish the arrangement?"
"The arrangement of the four songs," Nie Er thought for a while and said, "It will be in a week."
The arrangement in the period of the Republic of China was very simple, not as complicated as it was a few decades later. Basically, only the simplest instruments were used, and it was not as fancy as the later generations.
The main reason is that technology is underdeveloped. Before the invention of various electronic equipment, the recording of songs required live band accompaniment. If the arrangement is too complicated, many problems will arise, and good results may not be achieved.
In this era, there are no tuners at all, and singers with poor singing skills will immediately reveal their true colors as soon as they enter the recording studio. Similarly, it also has high requirements on the cooperation between the singer and the band. If there is a slight mistake, you have to start over. If the arrangement is too complicated, you may not be able to record a song in a month.
Zhou Hexuan said: "It just so happens that I have something to do in Fujian, and I will be back in a week."
"Looking forward to Mr. Zhou's singing." Nie Er said with a smile.
There are so many monsters these days, a "cross-border singer" like Zhou Hexuan is nothing. For example, Dai Jitao, Chang Kaishen's think tank, veteran of the Nationalist Party, and director of examinations, is a master of music. He not only wrote lyrics for the national anthem of the Republic of China, but also composed some "popular songs" himself.
When Zhou Hexuan's album is released, it may cause a sensation, but it will never be too surprising.