My Motherland

1.

Chorus

This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Solo

This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Chorus

This is the beautiful motherland
The place where I grew up
In this expansive stretch of land
Wonderful landscape can be seen everywhere

2.

Solo

Young ladies are like flowers
Young men have a big heart and grand visions
In order to construct a new realm
They have waked the sleeping mountains
And made the rivers change their appearance

Chorus

This is the motherland of heroes
The place where I grew up
In this stretch of ancient land
There is youthful vigour found everywhere

3.

Solo

Great mountains, great rivers and an amazing place
Every road is flat and wide
When friends are here, there is fine wine
But if the jackal comes
What greets it is the hunting rifle

Chorus

This is the strong motherland
The place where I grew up
On this stretch of warm and friendly land
The sunshine of peace is everywhere


"My Motherland" was called as "A Big River" (Chinese: 一条大河) by the author initially; it represented the hundreds of rivers that flowed by the homes of the Chinese people. The title was changed when it was published with movie.

Although the song was written for the movie about Korean War in 1950s, there is no mention of the war at all. It describes a soldier (or anyone who is away from home) thinking about his home and his family. Thus, this song is extremely popular even when the movie itself is almost forgotten.
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A chinese nationalist song, played on the piano by Lang Lang, for Hu Jintao and Barry Soretto in the white house.