[Verse 1: Hong Kong Cantonese-accented male MC, punchy Cantonese delivery over the pounding lion dance drum and crashing cymbals] New Year mornin' on Shanghai Street, the firecrackers poppin' red I'm Wing, I wear the lion, and Ah Keung is on the back instead Every shop along the block hangs a lettuce and lai see And the lion has to eat it, that's the luck for you and me Uncle Chan at the herbal shop, he hangs his every year And every year he hangs it higher, like he wants me out of here First year off the awning, I just stretched and it was mine Second year the second floor, Ah Keung's shoulders, perfect line Third year off a bamboo scaffold, fifth floor, in the wind Wah, the whole street held its breath, and then the lion grinned [Hook: Cantonese MC, shouted over the lion drum, gongs on the one] Hang it higher, uncle, I'll be up there when you wake Every floor you lift it, that's another floor I take Gaa yau, the drum is knockin' in my chest Kung hei, put it on the moon, I'll do the rest [Verse 2: Cantonese MC, faster, the cymbals crashing harder] Fourth year off the seventh floor, a pole out of the glass Three men stacked and a ladder, and the lion went up fast Fifth year off the rooftop, twelve floors of an old tong lau And the whole street started sayin' "Uncle Chan wants Wing out now" Aunties bettin' at the noodle stall, the minibus pulls in Old men on the corner say "He's done, he'll never win" Kids up on their fathers' shoulders, taxis stoppin' in the lane Every head on Shanghai Street tipped back like it's lookin' for the rain And Uncle Chan just shuts his shop and walks inside the door And I hear him on the stairs, wah, goin' up to the top floor [Verse 3: Cantonese MC, the drum pounding, every line further up the building] Up the bamboo on the side, the lion head across my back Ah Keung below me shoutin' and the cymbals goin' crack Ten floors, eleven, wah, my arms are burnin' through Twelve, and I roll onto the roof, and Uncle Chan is there too Sittin' on a plastic stool, a teapot and a grin Says "Every year you climb it, Wing, my shop does twice again First year I sold to the block, now I'm sellin' to the town The higher that you take the luck, the more of it comes down" So it never was him against me, it was him believin' I could And the whole street's roarin' up at us, the way he knew it would [Final Hook: Cantonese MC, tom fill across the bar line into it, then the lion drum and the gongs land together] Hang it higher, uncle, I'll be up there when you wake Every floor you lift it, that's another floor I take Gaa yau, the drum is knockin' in my chest Kung hei, put it on the moon, I'll do the rest [End]
