90后河南农民工唱歌救父走红网络 | A Musical Migrant Dream

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Migrant workers are a group of people that emerged following the introduction of reform and opening up policy in December 1978 in China. Many left their hometowns in rural areas and migrated to cities for higher payment and a better life.

农民工是中国改革开放浪潮催生的特殊群体。为了更高的收入和更好的生存资源，许多农村人口背井离乡，到城市打工。

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there were more than 280 million migrant workers in China by 2016, which was about one fifth of the nation's whole population.

国家统计局数据显示，2016年中国农民工总量超过2.8亿人。这相当于全国五分之一的人口。

These workers settled in urban "villages", in suburban low-rent houses, and in the basements of old apartments, etc.

他们栖息在城中村里，在郊区的平房里，在老旧公寓的地下室里……

We could learn their numbers and average wages from the statistics, as well as how they move from one province to another. But what do they think about their own lives? Do they have dreams?

通过数据，我们可以知道他们的人数，平均工资，从一个省到另一个省的流动情况。但他们如何看待自己的生活？他们有自己的梦想吗？

Yuan Chen is one of the most ordinary migrant workers in the city. He got his lifestyle from his father.

袁晨是那种城市街头最普通的工人。他的生活方式沿袭了自己的父亲。

After dropping out of middle school, he became a reinforcement worker like his father. He could bind over 40,000 rebars in one day.

初中辍学之后，他就跟着父亲成了工地上的一名钢筋工，一天绑四万多根扎丝。

Yuan and his colleagues' daily work is to derust, straighten, connect, cut, shape and place the rebars. Despite the monotony that comes with the job, Yuan has nurtured a dream, and once came very close to achieving it as well.

日复一日，他们对钢筋除锈、调直、连接、切断、成型、安装骨架。但其实，在这种单调的生活之外，袁晨有自己的梦想，而且他一度与自己的梦想十分接近。

He wants to be a singer.

他想成为一名歌星。

Yuan inherited the passion for music from his father. He spent most of his spare time listening, practicing and writing. His father was very supportive, and encouraged him to audition for the TV show "Talent in 6+1 Days" in Beijing. Unfortunately, he was eliminated for being amateurish at the time.

袁晨对音乐的热爱也来自父亲。闲暇时候，他总是戴着耳机哼唱曲调，还自己写歌。父亲非常支持他的梦想，鼓励他到北京参加平民选秀栏目《非常6+1》。不过，当时他唱得不好，落选了。

In 2012, Yuan published his original song "Wrong Person Again" on the Internet. The composition cost him over a thousand yuan. To his surprise, it was promoted by some major music websites and  became quite a hit online. Yuan soon had the status of an Internet celebrity. In photos, he looked very much like a professional singer.

2012年，袁晨在网上发布了一首原创歌曲《我又爱错了人》，请人谱曲花了一千多元。没想到，那首歌被各大音乐网站推到了首页，点击率相当高，让袁晨小火了一把。一系列艺术照也让他的歌手身份看上去像模像样。他觉得自己的音乐梦就要实现了。

At a time Yuan nearly thought his dream has come true, life threw another hindrance on his road to success.

Yuan's father and his source of inspiration, was diagnosed with uremia. The family couldn't afford a transplantation and dialysis was the only option. But an additional 4,000-yuan-per-month medical bill was still a huge figure. Yuan had to take the responsibility. He stopped writing and looked for additional part-time jobs.

就在那个时候，袁晨的父亲患上了尿毒症。家里无力承担换肾手术的费用，只能选择透析。然而即使是透析每月也需要四千元。这依旧让他们喘不过气来。袁晨为了负起家庭责任，不得不中断了自己的音乐创作，四处打工。

He always worked hard by the day. When there weren't too much work, he would sell skewers in the suburb. In the evening, he would keep working as a singer at a local bar. Deep in his heart though, he never gave up his dream.

平时他依旧在工地做工。工地不忙的时候，他就支个小摊在村里卖烤面筋，晚上则去酒吧唱歌。但他心中一直没有放弃自己的音乐梦。

Also a music lover, Yuan's father knew what his son was doing. With his experience across the country, the father wrote a song called "Honest Us". This song dedicated to the migrant workers became quite popular and sent Yuan Chen promptly to perform on the shows of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV).

同样是音乐爱好者的父亲，看到了儿子的努力。于是，他把这辈子走南闯北的经历写成了一首歌，《赤诚》。袁晨一直把这首农民工之歌唱到了中央电视台的节目里。

The lyrics are simple and frank. It portrays the life of Yuan Chen and his father, while reflecting the lifestyle of most migrant workers.

这首歌极其质朴，是袁晨父子半生经历的写照，同时唱出了许多农民工的生存状态。

"I waved goodbye to my family / but always keep them in my dream"

“面对亲人我挥挥手/把家乡留梦中”

"I feel needed by the city / honest and loyal/ are us migrant workers."

“这城市需要我/一腔赤诚/是我农民工”

Through the song, Yuan Chen found his own voice. 

"To some extent, my musical dream has come true, he says.

通过这首歌，袁晨终于唱出了自己的声音。他说：“在某种意义上，也实现了我的音乐梦。”

Cameraman: Pei Zhuangzhuang, Huang Zhan

Film editor: Zhuang Yongle, Lu Gengrui 

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Abhishek Gupta Bhaya

 

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