The Olive Tree－Folk Song by Li Tai-Hsiang (橄欖樹－李泰祥)
I. Lyrics (translated from Chinese)
Don’t ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away...
Why am I roving...roving to a distant place, roving…
For flying little birds in the sky, for flowing creeks in the mountains,
For broad and wide grasslands, roving to a distant place, roving…
And, and for the olive tree in my dream. The Olive Tree.
Don’t ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away...
Why am I roving…Why am I roving…to areas far away.
For the olive tree in my dream.
Don’t ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away...
Why am I roving…roving to a distant place...roving...
Theme of the work:
Theme of the work - In “The Olive Tree,” Sanmao stressed that it was the complex of her dream and Spain. For Li Tai-Hsiang, it symbolizes a life without restraints; it represents complete freedom in a person’s life and the pursuance of a perfect ideal.
Summary/ Story:
When I was in touch with Sanmao’s “The Olive Tree” for the first time, I did not know what to do because it was a little different from what I recognized. Sanmao stressed that it was the complex of her dream and Spain. The 2nd section of the original lyrics, “For little birds in the sky, for the little donkey, for the young girl in Spain, and for the big eyes in Spain,” was not neat enough; the work was just barely pieced up. Until I went to the U.S. in 1973, I had broader contacts with people and I learned to express emotions by the technique of metaphor. Under the spiritual inspiration of liberalism, I also looked forward a life without constraints. Thus, without Sanmao’s consent, I changed the lyrics to be, “For flying little birds in the sky, for flowing creeks in the mountains, for broad and wide grasslands, roving…” So, the song was given the spirit of freedom, and the olive tree in a dream was recognized by all the people. In order to express free and unrestrained ideal, I changed the lyrics to “for flowing creeks in the mountains, for broad and wide grasslands.” I, myself, am often bounded by traditions. I always feel being restricted by so many frameworks in life and hope so much I can be writing and creating freely without any restraints. Thus, “The Olive Tree” represents completely freedom in a persona’ life and the pursuance to a perfect ideal, so that we can open our minds and not rigidly adhere to certain traditions. These are comments out of my real personal feelings.
III. Manuscript
An early manuscript of “The Olive Tree in C minor”
(1970)
Copied guitar manuscript of “The Olive Tree in D minor”
(1971)
A Slice of Wonder
