Nine million bicycles in Beijing

[horas]

*

One can hear this song several times a day aired on German radio.

http://www.baidu.com/baidu?tn=baidu&cl=3&word=%22Katie+Melua%22+mp3

Katie says:

"We were being shown around Beijing by our interpreter, who also has a qualification as a tourist guide, and was a very sweet girl. She was holding a microphone on the bus and telling us how old the dynasties were, how many people lived in Beijing now, and various other facts, such as "there are nine million bicycles in Beijing". Mike immediately wrote this down as a potential song title and he wrote this song a couple of weeks later, back in England, not long before we finished the album. On the track is the masterful Adrian Brett, who plays all the ethnic flutes. On this track he used an ocarina for the low (first) sound you hear, and a chinese bamboo flute for the very piercing, high flute sound. Mike first met Adrian in 1978 when Adrian played ethnic flutes on Mike's "Caravans" album. He plays most nights in the London production of "Lion King".

I like this song because it is a simple juxtaposition of a trivial idea ("Nine Million Bicycles") against an important idea ("I will love you till I die").

"Nine Million Bicycles"

sung by: Katie Melua

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing

That's a fact,

It's a thing we can't deny

Like the fact that I will love you till I die.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge,

That's a guess,

No one can ever say it's true

But I know that I will always be with you.

I'm warmed by the fire of your love everyday

So don't call me a liar,

Just believe everything that I say

There are six BILLION people in the world

More or less

and it makes me feel quite small

But you're the one I love the most of all

[iNTERLUDE]

We're high on the wire

With the world in our sight

And I'll never tire,

Of the love that you give me every night

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing

That's a fact,

it's a thing we can't deny

Like the fact that I will love you till I die

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing

And you know that I will love you till I die!

[Credits to Franco "FairyKing" Lai (queenjewels@tiscali.it) for these lyrics]

-

[magores]

For what its worth...

I live in Beijing, and listen to CRI-Easy FM quite often.

They play this song.

It not part of the 9 or 10 genres of music that I generally listen to, but I like it. It has a "nice sound".

G

[Lu]

I like the song, and other Katie Melua songs I heard as well.

But ever since I heard this song I've been wondering: is it true? and where did she get this information? (Thanks for answering this last question for me :-) )

Officially there are, what, 13 mln people in Beijing. In fact, there are more, maybe around 20 mln? Sometimes it seems like every Beijingren has a bike, that's not the case of course, but how many of them do have bikes? If it's true about the 9 mln bicycles, less than half of all Beijingren has a bike. I think it's more than that.