介绍:
XH: Recently, the Ministry of Education releases the Top 10 University alma maters that are welcomed by net users. The top three songs are from Zhejiang University, Fudan University and Communication University of China. So a school song is also known as an alma mater, which can also refer to, you know, 校友 in general. Oh no, sorry, 母校 in general， so the university you graduated from. So do you think that why is there a need to have a song for universities? Why is there a need to have 校歌？
Amy: I’m not really sure what the need is but I do know that most universities have one if not all universities, even in America, even your high school has a high school song, fight song, and then some high schools may even have an alma mater as well.
LY: I guess because this type of song tends to be anthem, and when you are singing anthem, you tend to be in a high spirit. Maybe, you know be, proud of where I come from, be proud of my school, that kind of thing.
Amy: But I feel like the fight song should be enough, right, cause I think a lot of people in the US don’t even know their alma mater, they only know the school fight song.
XH: so the fight song is?
Amy: the one you sing at the football games, or you know at other sporting events usually, and it’s the one that the cheerleaders, well you know, pom pom to yeah, and the marching band will play it.
LY: yeah, I have to agree with Amy. I think, you know, a fight song is probably a better idea for most people, but I guess when it come to Chinese universities again, you know, sometimes they just want something that’s attached to their face because face value is very important. If somehow they don’t have a school-wide song that is a representative of their school, they just don’t feel like this is complete, something is missing.
XH: Yeah, that’s probably true, and also I think Mark Griffiths of China Drive was saying that in Britain, there weren’t a lot of those school songs, but it seems that in the US there are a lot, in China there are lot. So I guess there’s a sort of difference country to country.
Amy: maybe he doesn’t remember his school song.
XH: in fact, I think that a lot of people don’t even know that their schools have a song.
LY: Guilty as charged, I never know my school had one song.
Amy: Really? Which school? Is yours on this list?
LY: It’s actually ranked No.1, Zhejiang University.
XH: So actually, let’s take a listen at part of the clip.
It’s like a Waltz. You know, it’s like a tune you dance to.
Amy: Yeah, it’s very formal.
XH: let me get your opinions as DJ’s, cause you guys are DJs as well.
Amy: Hehe, terrible.
LY: Hahaha, well since it’s my school. I shouldn’t use the word terrible, but that’s how I feel as well, because melody-wise is just it’s not one of those songs that can immediately put you in a good mood. I think as a school song, it should be able to do that. And also, lyric-wise, it’s not modern Chinese. It’s . . . just imagine if we’re talking about a school song in the United States, and the lyrics actually are full of words like Thou, you know, that kind of thing. Of course, it doesn’t make any sense. People would not remember.
Amy: Well, actually I think a lot of school songs in the States do have Thou, Thee. I think I’m trying to remember all the words to my alma mater, and it’s like Minnesota~, something, something, I know there’s a Thee like there, ends with Thee, so I think a lot of the school songs were written like a long time ago, in university of Minnesota opened in I think like 1850s something maybe 1860s somewhere in there, but I think a lot of the school songs use this old language, and it’s just not relevant to us now.
LY: See, that’s the point, I mean it’s not relevant to us, but we are still the ones who are supposedly singing these songs, so of course it’s very difficult for us to like the song. On the other hand, you can argue that “oh it’s all about tradition, so of course such language is necessary,” but who is your target audience?
XH: Yeah, also I think when these songs are chosen a lot of it is about showcasing how long a history we have, so we’ve got use the ancient language. I remember there’s a song in a US university I forget whether it’s Harvard or some other university that’s written in Latin. Actually, there’s not a word that we can understand.
Amy: so it has, you know probably a little prententious
XH: Yeah, I guess. Also let’s take a listen at a part of the songs and which are the runner up, which is Fudan University and also the third which is the Communication University of China.
LY: so this one is from Fudan, right?
XH: Yeah, that one.
