As its name suggests, The Peasant Workers (农民工) is a Beijing band consisting entirely of migrant workers. Discovered late last year singing in an underpass in Beijing, the group started getting more serious attention after several recordings made in their dorm began spreading online. It took less than two months for the band to hit the apex of popularity when it was invited to perform at China's annual New Years gala.
The recording above is their most well-known song, and it's definitely a good one. Filled with nostalgia for youth, spring and a China long-past, it's easy to see why this song has provoked such a strong response. Viewers in China having difficulty watching this on Youtube are encouraged to watch the Youku version instead.
Echo
said on March 31, 2011
这首歌深深地感动着我，视频里的这两个人曾经没有名气、没有钱。在北京这样的大城市里，他们处在贫苦的社会下层，做一份薪水微薄的工作，几个人挤在一间小小的宿舍里，爱唱歌，就窝在地下通道里唱。可是看到这个视频，听着他们歌声里的沧桑和真挚，我却有点儿羡慕他们，因为他们有梦想，因为虽然经过几十年人生的磨砺，他们依然有梦想，他们喜欢唱歌，所以他们每天快乐地去唱，不管是在狭小的宿舍里，还是在人来人往的地下通道里。现在他们红了、火了、出名了，也应该不再贫穷了，我衷心地希望他们的歌声还能保持住这份快乐这份朴实。
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
richard
said on April 1, 2011
had the same reaction Echo. is this an existing popular song?
and if that's their own composition i wish them a better life.
Echo
said on April 2, 2011
@richard,
This song was originally written and sung by a famous singer 汪峰 http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE3MDI1NDc2.html . However, I like the peasant workers' version better. I like the sense of vicissitudes(?) in their song.
After performing at China's annual New Years gala (春节联欢晚会）, they have got their own record company, and I heard they have recorded a few new songs. I haven't listened to them. You can search for those songs with the singers' name 旭日阳刚 (xu4ri4yang2gang1). Now they are much wealthier and popular. I hope money and fame will not change them or their songs.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
huyilin
said on April 2, 2011
Speaking of 汪峰, this song (北京，北京) shows a very different side of him. 我特别喜欢他的这首歌曲！
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMrA7nnV7sE
Echo
said on April 2, 2011
@huyilin,
旭日阳刚 did a cover of 北京，北京 too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxQEtW8tTUs&feature=related . I have to say they really got melting voice. 这首歌真让我想家，呵呵～～
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
richard
said on April 6, 2011
@Echo, can you explain the 'zhe5' to the verbs chang and ningshi in the text. i have also seen it in expression 'dengzhe qiao ba' which i interpret as meaning > wait and see! (who is right)
perhaps a lesson at elementary level of when and how to use 'zhe' after verbs
Echo
said on April 6, 2011
@richard,
"Zhe5" is a signal of progressive tense, just like "le5" is the signal of past tense. You can use "zhe5" right behind a verb whenever you want to talk about an action that lasts for a period of time.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
meganrose89
said on April 6, 2011
I absolutely love this song, especially this version of it.
meganrose89
said on April 6, 2011
maybe this line
如果有一天我悄然离去
rúguǒ yǒu yī tiān wǒ qiǎorán líqù
And if one day I die
would be a better translation as "And if one day I quietly pass away"??
I'm not really that familiar with the Chinese so I don't know.
Echo
said on April 7, 2011
@meganrose89,
Your translation is very good. I like it :)
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
palafx
said on April 7, 2011
The next KTV should be Bob Dylan.
Brendan
said on April 8, 2011
@Echo - technically zhe5 is progressive *aspect,* not progressive *tense.*
Echo
said on April 10, 2011
@Brendan,
哈哈，谢谢！
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
richard
said on May 26, 2011
@Echo/David,it's been a while for KTV Wednesday. may i suggest 'Zang LiangYing'you pick the song. i think her voice is as equal if not more precise than 'Wang Fei' i have been trying to download her albums/songs with 2P2shareaza fron canada without success. youku is not useful for me since i 'hanzi kanbudong' any other tool for me to use?
richard
said on May 26, 2011
@Echo/David,my mistake it's 'Zhang liangying' also forgot to mention they are equally good looking
trevelyan
said on May 26, 2011
@richard,We'll take a listen - thanks for the recommendation.Best,--dave
richard
said on September 5, 2011
@popup,anybody know if Zhang LiangYing has made a new album recently?if so, a song i could download would be appreciated.wenhao,richard
pefferie
said on September 6, 2011
Can you guys go through your KTV wednesday songs and add their Chinese titles as well as the artists names in Chinese? It is always difficult to locate the audio or video (in countries where youtube cannot be reached) for a song without that.
amber
said on May 30, 2012
@pefferie Here is a list of the Chinese titles and artists names, from the latest to the earliest.The Peasant Workers- In the Spring《春天里》 演唱：旭日阳刚（组合）Slap- Awesome《让牛逼的》 演唱：耳光乐队5566- Starting Point 《原点》 演唱：5566（组合）Li Wen - Froth《泡沫》 演唱：李炆Avril Lavigne - Chinese Girlfriend《女朋友》（中文版） 演唱：艾薇儿The Little Tigers - Love《爱》 演唱：小虎队（组合）Richie Ren - The Horizon《天涯》 演唱：任贤齐The Mud Grass Horse《草泥马之歌》Carsick Cars - Zhongnanhai《中南海》 演唱：晕车的车Wang Fei - Nothing Remains《不留》 演唱：王菲Chen Qizhen - The Meaning of Travel《旅行的意义》 演唱：陈绮贞Pu Shu - Radio in My Head《Radio in My Head》 演唱：朴树Sun Yanzi - My Happiness《我要的幸福》 演唱：孙燕姿Khalil Fong - Red Bean《红豆》 演唱：方大同Zhang Xuan - Baby《宝贝》 演唱：张悬Lao Lang - The Dust of Love《恋恋风尘》 演唱：老狼Zhao Chuan - I am a Little Bird《我是一只小小鸟》 演唱：赵传Andy Lau - Loving You Forever《爱你一万年》 演唱：刘德华 Jay Chow - Seven Mile Fragrance《七里香》 演唱：周杰伦Spring and Autumn Band - Between the Mountains and the Sea 《山海间》 演唱：春秋乐队Fan Fan - Your Earliest Dream《最初的梦想》 演唱：范范（范玮琪）Wang Fei - Passenger 《乘客》演唱：王菲Li Shengjie - Absolute Foolish Heart《痴心绝对》演唱：李圣杰Joanna Wang - Now《Now》 演唱：王若琳Wang Rong - Father, Mother《爸爸妈妈》 演唱：王蓉Jolin - Sun Never Sets《日不落》 演唱：蔡依琳Stefanie Sun - The Encounter《遇见》 演唱：孙燕姿S.H.E - Superstar《Superstar》 演唱：S.H.EDao Lang - Why are the Flowers So Red《花儿为什么这样红》 演唱：刀郎Wang Fei - Struggle to be Free《挣脱》 演唱：王菲A Niu - Peach Blossoms《桃花朵朵开》 演唱：阿牛Pan Weibo - Have to Love《不得不爱》 演唱：潘玮柏Rene Liu - Afterwards《后来》 演唱：刘若英Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley - My Home《我的家》演唱：小娟&山谷里的居民（组合）Pu Shu - Upset Only Fool《傻子才悲伤》 演唱：朴树Dou Wei - The Sound of Rain《雨吁》 演唱：窦唯Kelly Chen - Notebook《记事本》 演唱：陈慧琳The Pig Song《猪之歌》 演唱：香香Xue Cun - Second Class on Wednesday《星期三的第二节课》 演唱：雪村Tao Jingying - Stand Up Girls《姐姐妹妹站起来》 演唱：陶晶莹Richie Ren - Let Me be Free《任逍遥》 演唱：任贤齐Tao Jingying - Grieved《太委屈》 演唱：陶晶莹Jay Chow - Tornado 《龙卷风》 演唱：周杰伦Xu Wei - A Perfect Life《完美生活》 演唱：许巍Jolin - It's Love《就是爱》 演唱：蔡依琳Cui Jian - Nothing to my name 《一无所有》 演唱：崔健The Flowers - Xi Shua Shua《嘻唰唰》 演唱：花儿乐队Pu Shu - Those Flowers《那些花儿》 演唱：朴树Wang Fei - Sunshine Baby《阳宝》 演唱：王菲--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
pefferie
said on May 30, 2012
@amberFabulous, thanks a lot!
amber
said on May 31, 2012
@pefferie, 不谢。--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
maminglei
said on July 3, 2012
I would also love to see an elementary lesson on zhu5. 我经常碰到这个词，但是还没完全理解它到底是怎么用的呢？跟“着”有什么区别？抓住 vs. 抓着
amber
said on July 4, 2012
@maminglei,“住”本来的意思是“停”，所以我觉得“抓住”强调的是一个东西被抓得很牢固、停在手里的状态。可是“抓着”不太一样，它强调的是“抓”这个动作，而不是状态，可能抓得不牢、不太用力，也可能用力。只说”抓着“，我们是不知道怎么”抓“的。--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
maminglei
said on July 4, 2012
@Amber感谢你的回复，我大概理解！其实这个“抓住”我是在一本中国式摔跤书里看过的，它意思就是去抓对手的跤衣做动作。所以你的说明在这个情况上是非常accurate！
amber
said on July 4, 2012
@maminglei,啊，那就对了，因为摔跤的时候一定要用力抓牢对手的跤衣啊，让它在手里“停住”。：）--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
maminglei
said on July 5, 2012
@Amber,你写的没错，但这里我还要具体说明一下：摔跤的时候抓得一定要牢固，可是也并不要”抓死“，就是说抓得也必要灵活，要有变化，这样才能顺利地“使绊进招对方”。这跟语法没有任何关系，我就想对所有泡泡中文会员中的中国式摔跤迷说清楚这个很关键的要点，哈哈哈！
Echo
said on July 5, 2012
@maminglei,哈哈，谢谢，我们学习了 :)--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
amber
said on July 6, 2012
@maminglei,这位仁兄，多承赐教！--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
maminglei
said on July 7, 2012
@amber中国式摔跤的俗语很丰富，而且它里面有很多些古代的说法，所以再给大家介绍摔跤手法的这些特点之前我还要努力地学中文。I hope you guys can wait, ha ha!@echo不知到你也喜欢摔跤！你今晚有空来我家吗？我想让你认识一下我爸爸，他也喜欢摔跤。。。而且他很寂寞
Echo
said on July 8, 2012
@maminglei,呃呃呃，我不喜欢摔跤，我们还是派Amber去吧 :P--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
amber
said on July 9, 2012
@maminglei&Echo,我也不喜欢摔跤...--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
