‘Chinese Friends’ – a song by Ben Dalby
Ben Dalby has written this song titled Chinese Friends, uploaded to YouTube today. The Olympic opening ceremony is due to take place this Friday in Beijing, and Chinese Friends offers this suggestion:
Let’s take that torch down to Harare,
We can give it to Robert Mugabe;
he needs a light – he’s got to burn,
a few thousand boxes,
with the wrong crosses on.
But even he must please,
His Chinese friends.
This, sung in a disconcertingly neutral tone against a simple melody. Ben Dalby is out to make you think, and I am guessing he is annoyed: provocatively, lyrically annoyed. It’s a great song, beautifully sung and Ben has a lovely voice.
Ben Dalby’s MySpace profile describes him as an “Eclectic singer songwriter with intelligent lyrics”:
Ben Dalby has been writing and performing his own songs for nearly twenty years. His music is eclectic, covering a variety of styles, but his lyrics are invariably intelligent and thought-provoking, written with the perspective of a humourous but unsentimental natural philosopher.
More about Ben Dalby on his website, and on his MySpace profile. More music from Ben on AmieStreet.
Use the ‘Share this’ feature below to share the song with everyone else.
August 4th, 2008 20:36
It’s a great song, and so are some of the others you can listen to via those links. Why have I never heard of this guy? Feel like I should have??
You know, the Chinese have as much right as any nation to try better their lives. It’s not their desire to sell goods to other countries that I have issues with….. its the disregard for human rights in troubled places that disgusts me, and even the way I think they might help kill people by providing arms and expertise if they think it might earn them a dollar or two. Disgusting.
August 4th, 2008 21:16
The song has been removed?! Getting a message stating that it is “no longer available”
August 4th, 2008 21:20
Tara, YouTube was doing my nut in. Wanted to show it to my partner when he came home and it wasnt working. The song is available for FREE download from AmieStreet:
http://amiestreet.com/artist/ben-dalby/#downloadAlbum-154735
Quicker to grab it there.
Good luck.
August 4th, 2008 21:34
Thanks Diaspora UK!
August 5th, 2008 20:44
The genius of the chinese. using their copy cat gadgets. and copy cat communism.
Yet their murder is not copy cat, it’s policy.
And they have friends everywhere. as seen in the song.
August 6th, 2008 12:43
Yes, the song is great. But it’s not all roses in China. With western economies now in a slump, their headlong rush for growth is now faltering. Their growth rate, currently about 10%, is forecast to slip to 8% next year. Their main export markets are already contracting. Inflation is sky high by western standards, and their wage costs are exploding. Their food prices are rising at a nasty 23% year-on-year. Already now, China’s ports are packed with tankers filled with metals that nobody needs. An appropriate song for them would be: You’ve Got Your Troubles, I’ve Got Mine.