Smoke Over Canton

[Intro – vinyl crackle, dizi flute, guzheng, distant harbor bells] Destination... China. Year... Eighteen Thirty-Nine. Traveler... Don't miss your train. [Verse 1 – swing piano, pipa, glitch beat] Pocket watch says Wrong place, right time Pearl River shining Like liquid rhyme Canton waking Ships in the bay Merchants shouting Start the day Silk and porcelain Tea piled high Foreign flags Against the sky Everybody smiling Making deals Nobody knows How tomorrow feels [Pre-Chorus – erhu, brass build] The wind grows bitter... The harbor sighs... History's changing... Before my eyes. [Chorus – Electro Swing explosion] WELCOME TO THE OPIUM WAR! HISTORY'S KNOCKING AT CHINA'S DOOR! TEA FOR SILVER! SMOKE FOR GOLD! ONE BAD BARGAIN NEVER GROWS OLD! SPIN THAT CLOCK! DON'T LOOK BACK! TIME'S GOT ME OFF THE TRACK! [Verse 2 – fast rap, glitch-hop, guzheng riffs] Commissioner Lin Says "That's enough!" Confiscates the cargo Calls the bluff Thousands of chests Thrown in the sea History yelling "Just wait and see!" Cannons loading Smoke in the air Trade turns into A grim affair Empires gamble Kingdoms bleed One man's profit Another's need I'm taking notes As the decades race Trying not To alter the place [Pre-Chorus – dizi, choir] Every second... Every choice... Echoes through... History's voice... [Chorus – bigger brass, EDM swing] WELCOME TO THE OPIUM WAR! CLOCKWORK FATE AND CANNON ROAR! DYNASTIES SHAKE! EMPIRES TURN! SOME LESSONS... HUMANS NEVER LEARN! SPIN THAT CLOCK! ONE MORE TIME! HISTORY'S GOT A CATCHY RHYME! [Bridge – erhu, ambient synths] The streets fall quiet... The smoke rolls in... Not every battle... Is fought for victory. Sometimes... It's fought... For trade. [Fast Rap Breakdown – glitch bass, Chinese percussion] Steamships! Gunpowder! Treaties signed! Changing maps One line at a time! Hong Kong! History turns! Every chapter Still burns! Traveler dancing Through the years Dodging bullets Collecting souvenirs Pocket watch says "Time to flee!" History's bigger Than me! [Instrumental – Swing trumpet solo answered by guzheng, erhu and dizi over glitch-hop beat] [Final Chorus – full band, Chinese orchestra, Electro Swing festival energy] WELCOME TO THE OPIUM WAR! THE CLOCK KEEPS TURNING MORE AND MORE! NAMES MAY CHANGE! THE YEARS MAY FLY! BUT HISTORY NEVER SAYS GOODBYE! PACK YOUR BAGS! NEXT STOP NOW! WHERE TO NEXT? I DON'T KNOW HOW! JUST WIND THE WATCH... AND LET IT SING... ANOTHER CENTURY... ANOTHER SWING! [Outro – ticking pocket watch, dizi flute, vinyl slowing] Destination complete... History recorded... Traveler... See you... In the next century.