Fans of Jackie's music will be familiar with this song which was sung by Jackie, Alan Tam, Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung. A few may know it was for a charity.
So here is the rest of the story.
The origin of the Lifeline Express theme song
‘The Longan Tree Back Home’
During my twelve years at Polygram Records, I had the
opportunity of working with most of the singers and
producers in Hong Kong, but none of those experiences was
more special and meaningful than the collaboration this time.
I have always been a supporter of the fund raising events and
promotion of Lifeline Express. I remember that I once followed
the Lifeline train all the way to Chongqing. The visiting group sang ‘A Spot Of Candlelight’ for the patients. The beautiful melody together with the unrehearsed singing won over the patients, this we could tell by their teeth-showing smiles and thunderous applause, which was believed to be a rare scene in such an impoverished village. Actually, they didn’t understand the lyrics of the song but could feel the warmth that came from the
melody and the singing. ‘A Spot Of Candlelight’ was a Cantopop song written twenty years ago, by Cheng Kok Kong (lyrics) and Chelsia Chan (melody). Even though Chelsia was only a teenage girl at that time, she was extremely talented. It was at that moment everyone’s happy faces told me our melodies could really bring comfort to those needy patients, while tailor-made lyrics could serve to awaken our sympathy.
Two years or so ago, when Chelsia accepted my invitation to write a song for Lifeline Express, I had faith that the song would become a national hit. The whole process of writing and production was far from simple and it took around two years to complete. ‘The Longan Tree Back Home’ was keenly supported and sung by four
Chinese superstars – Jackie Chan, Alan Tam, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. To do the recording, Jackie flew back from the US for a day; Jacky managed to squeeze time from the rehearsal of his musical “Snow Wolf Lake”. Alan flew to Beijing to join us in
between his China concert tour and Andy contacted us for arrangements immediately after his Hong Kong concert. This lineup was the first of its kind. Their voices could nourish the land as well as cheer the souls. Thank you.
A glittering longan represents a recovered eye. I hope you share this feeling when listening to the song.
Note: Lifeline Express is a charitable organisation set up in 1997. It is a purposely built four-compartment hospital train that travels to the remote, poverty-stricken, rural parts of China. Free
cataract operations are performed on the train, restoring sight and hope to needy patients. For more information, please visit www.lifelineexpress.org.hk
About the author:
Jolland Chan has been in the music industry for more than twenty years. He’s a renowned lyricist with more than 800 pieces of work and has a great deal of experience with managing various record companies. In 2001, Jolland founded ECD Hong Kong Limited and is now the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He is also the Vice-chairman of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH).
FROM PDF REPORT CASH (Composer and Authors Society of Hong Kong
VIEW HTML HERE
Jia Xiang De Long Yan Shu
Lyrics:
譚：某一年一個寒冬
在車站你把我目送
感覺到一股暖流 存在我心中
成：轉瞬間到了夏天 和你約定在家門前
金光下的龍眼樹 閃耀滿庭院
李：看不見 我的臉 剩下你模糊的視線
譚：我和你 心卻相牽
對你付出的愛永不減
成：醉人的景像 樹上的光亮
總有一天可與你一起分享
憑著那顆心 擦亮你眼睛
為你帶來光明
李：秋天本是團圓季節 奈何忍淚說告別
請你照顧那龍眼樹 不要讓它凋謝
成：盼望春天快到來 和你一起把樹種栽
期待果實快長出來 讓我們來摘
成：讓我們衷心 獻給你熱情
合：帶你重獲幸福與光明
Pinyin:
tán：mǒu yī nián yī gè hán dōng
zài chē zhàn nǐ bǎ wǒ mù sòng
gǎn jué dào yī gǔ nuǎn liú cún zài wǒ xīn zhōng
chéng：zhuǎn shùn jiān dào le xià tiān hé nǐ yuē dìng zài jiā mén qián
jīn guāng xià de lóng yǎn shù shǎn yào mǎn tíng yuàn
lǐ：kàn bù jiàn wǒ de liǎn shèng xià nǐ mó hú de shì xiàn
tán：wǒ hé nǐ xīn què xiāng qiān
duì nǐ fù chū de ài yǒng bù jiǎn
chéng：zuì rén de jǐng xiàng shù shàng de guāng liàng
zǒng yǒu yī tiān kě yǔ nǐ yī qǐ fēn xiǎng
píng zhù nà kē xīn cā liàng nǐ yǎn jīng
wèi nǐ dài lái guāng míng
lǐ：qiū tiān běn shì tuán yuán jì jié nài hé rěn lèi shuō gào bié
qǐng nǐ zhào gù nà lóng yǎn shù bù yào ràng tā diāo xiè
chéng：pàn wàng chūn tiān kuài dào lái hé nǐ yī qǐ bǎ shù zhǒng zāi
qí dài guǒ shí kuài cháng chū lái ràng wǒ men lái zhāi
chéng：ràng wǒ men zhōng xīn xiàn gěi nǐ rè qíng
hé：dài nǐ zhòng huo xìng fú yǔ guāng míng
Translation:
Meaning of the song title - 家乡的龙眼树 Longyan Tree in the Home Town
家乡 (homeland): Home country
龙 (dragon): Descendants of dragon (The Chinese belief)
眼 (eyes): Representing light, hope and future (the charity is a mobile eye care/operation organisation in Mainland China - primarily providing very cheap or free eye-related operations to children)
树 (trees): Representing life, prosperity and development
家乡的龙眼树: is tree of light, tree of hope, tree of happiness, and treee of harmony
(Besides those explanations within the bracket, the explanations after the colons are translations of official definitions.)
_____________________________________________________
The Lyrics and its translation:
Longyan Tree in the Homeland
Composer： Chen Qiuxia (陈秋霞)
Lyricist： Chen Qiuxia (陈秋霞) / Xiang Xuehuai (向雪怀)
Tune arranger： Zhang Yadong (张亚东)
Sung by： Alam Tan (谭咏麟) / Jacky Cheung (张学友) / Andy Lau (刘德华) / Jackie Chan (成龙) {They sing in this order}
In a winter of a certain year (某一年一个寒冬)
You eyes sent me off in a train station (在车站你把我目送)
Feeling of a strand of warmth (感觉到一股暖流)
Left within my heart (存在我心中)
Within a blink, summer arrived (转瞬间到了夏天)
And I promised meeting you in front of the door of the home (和你约定在家门前)
Under the golden shines of Longyan Tree (金光下的龙眼树)
Sparklingly covering the whole of the garden (闪耀满庭园)
Unable to see my face (看不见 我的脸)
Only your own failing eyesights (剩下你模糊的视线)
You and I our hearts still connected (我和你 心却相牵)
The love I have for you never diminished(对你付出的爱永不减)
Intoxicating sceneries light shone from the trees (醉人的景象 树上的光亮)
There will be a day when I can share all these with you (终有一天可与你一起分享)
With such a heart ease clear your eyes (凭着那颗心 擦亮你眼睛)
Bringing light and brightness to you (为你带来光明)
Autumn should be a season of reunion (秋天本是团圆季节)
But enduringly keeping the tears I said goodbye (奈何忍泪说告别)
Please take care the Longyan tree (请你照顾那龙眼树)
Don't allow it to shed its leaves and die (不要让他凋谢)
Hope spring will come really fast (盼望春天快到来)
And I can plant trees with you (和你一起把树种栽)
And fruits to be born quickly (期待果实快长出来)
allowing us to pick them (让我们来摘)
Unable to see my face (看不见 我的脸)
Only your own failing eyesights (剩下你模糊的视线)
You and I our hearts still connected (我和你 心却相牵)
The love I have for you never diminished (对你付出的爱永不减)
Intoxicating sceneries light shone from the trees (醉人的景象 树上的光亮)
There will be a day when I can share all these with you (终有一天可与你一起分享)
With such a heart ease clear your eyes (凭着那颗心 擦亮你眼睛)
Bringing light and brightness to you (为你带来光明)
Let us rededicate the passion to you (让我们重新献给你热情)
Let you re-receive happiness and brightness (在你重获幸福与光明)
(Translation thanks to Anthropy - jc-news.net/forum
LIFELINE EXPRESS
LIFE LINE EXPRESS WEBSITE
Well worth a look - it is in English - they have clear explanations on all the work they do with a few videos as well. The song plays on the Chinese site as the background music.
PROJECT VISION
While looking at the Lifeline Express information I found this link to another eye charity Jackie is involved with:
PROJECT VISION
A little about the organisation:
"Giving is a major blessing." Project Vision, endorsed by the Chinese Government, is a new sustainable medical relief project targeting at eliminating unnecessary blindness in China. We plan to establish 100 charity eye centers in poverty-stricken regions of China over a ten-year period (2006-2015). The first charity eye center was established in 2007 and a total of 5 centers are in operation at the moment.
"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats forever." The key feature of Project Vision is providing intensive training to the local medical team so as to build a self-sufficient "permanent medical team" in providing sustainable quality eye care services. For those who cannot afford to pay, we provide the sight-restoring surgery free. For those who can afford, we charge them at cost.
We start from cataract surgery but will expand to provide comprehensive eye services over a 5-year period. Each charity eye center will perform at least 1,000 cataract surgeries per year. When the plan is fully realized, from cataract surgery alone, Project Vision can help restore vision to 100,000 blind countrymen every year.
"We make a living by what we get, but a life by what we give." Let's join hands to make a difference for the blind, bring light to them and help them say goodbye to darkness!
Prof. Dennis Lam
Founder of the Project Vision
A Message from Jackie Chan,
Hi, everybody, I'm Jackie Chan, Ambassador for Project Vision.
China's very first Charity Eye Center is now open for service in Inner Mongolia! Project Vision plans to establish one hundred Charity Eye Centers in China over the next ten years. Following a model designed to promote self-sufficiency, an initial donation of equipment, and intensive training of local doctors in cataract surgical techniques, allows the establishment of a ''permanent medical team'' to aid the poor. By offering medical care at cost when the plan is fully realized these centers will provide 100,000 sight-saving cataract operations alone to poor patients. A one- time donation can provide sustainable development: ''Project Vision'' really deserves our support!
They have a video of Jackie in both Mandarin and Cantonese
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