Agnes Chan
1. Chinese Poem of the Day:
鲁迅 (1881 – 1936)
自嘲
運交華蓋欲何求，未敢翻身已碰頭。
破帽遮顏過鬧市，漏船載酒泛中流。
橫眉冷對千夫指，俯首甘為孺子牛。
躲進小樓成一統，管他冬夏与春秋。
2. Listening to The Circle Game by Agnes Chan brings back a lot of childhood memories.
Agnes Chan has roots in Hong Kong and her cover of The Circle Game came out in 1971.
I was just a few years old and was in Primary school in Hong Kong (= Elementary School in North America) when I first listened to the music of Agnes Chan.
Agnes Chan was just a few years older than me and I suppose I was already a fan of her music at that young age.
3. This is how Wikipedia introduces Agnes Chan: "Agnes Chan or Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan (traditional Chinese: 陳美齡; simplified Chinese: 陈美龄; pinyin: Chén Měilíng; Cantonese Yale: Chan Mei ling; Japanese: アグネス・チャン) is a pop singer, a television personality (gaijin tarento), a Doctor of Education, a professor at Japanese universities, an essayist, and a novelist. Since 1988 Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF, a private corporation unaffiliated with UNICEF."
"Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan" is quite a handful.
"Chan" is her last name.
"Meiling" is the English transliteration of her Chinese given name "美齡".
Agnes Chan married her former manager, Tsutomu Kaneko, in 1986 and she took on her husband's last name as part of her name.
4. Reading Wikipedia's description of Agnes Chan's career makes me realize she has lived a very eventful life.
How does she balance a family life that includes raising three boys, a singing career and an academic career?
Obtaining a Bachelor degree from the University of Toronto and a Doctorate from Stanford University are no mean accomplishment.
And raising three boys must be very hectic in itself.
Wikipedia mentioned Agnes Chan underwent treatment for breast cancer in 2007.
I wish Agnes Chan and her family all the best.
5. The original singer and composer of The Circle Game was the Canadian singer and song writer Joni Mitchell and the song debut in 1966:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMMbmXeQqvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5HXT0bn7QY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIuC9hTY9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FcgPLCtYwM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE5PKLBettc
and many more in YouTube.
6. Agnes Chan singing The Circle Game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPnBwQTz75s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIry6gX3QEs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVxENv-Sv54
7. Partial cover of The Circle Game with video of Agnes Chan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPQOiC9og7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDVE3iXjoC0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyXY9JDHVWA
8. The Lyrics:
The Circle Game -- Joni Mitchell
Yesterday, a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
* And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
Then, the child moved ten times 'round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, "When you're older", must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
Repeat *
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him, "Take your time. It won't be long now.
'Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down"
Repeat *
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.
Repeat *
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game.
References:
"Agnes Chan", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Chan
(accessed 2013-01-23).
“Lu Xun”, Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun
(accessed 2013-01-23).
"陳美齡", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E7%BE%8E%E9%BD%A1
(accessed 2013-01-23).
"魯迅", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%B2%81%E8%BF%85
(accessed 2013-01-23).
End.
