Hong Wrong has remixed some colonial-era public service ads to form a new educational video film below. The compilation includes musical accompaniment from The Reynettes. Click here for some classic public service announcements from pre-Handover HK, or here to see some more recent examples.
The genre of ‘Hong Kong English Pop‘ was particularly popular between the 1950s and mid-70s. The Reynettes 1960s hit track, ‘Kowloon Hong Kong’, has made somewhat of a comeback at clubs in the more hipstery climes of Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun.
Lyrics:
Kowloon Hong Kong
We like Hong Kong
That’s the place for you
Walking down the street full of joy
Come here come here richshaw boy
Take me down the street Chop Chop Chop
A Habba Habba Joe Ding How Ding How
Kowloon Kowloon Hong Kong
We Like Hong Kong
That’s the place for you
Walking down the street full of joy
Come here come here richshaw boy
Take me down the street Chop Chop Chop
A Habba Habba Joe Ding How Ding How
Kowloon Kowloon Hong Kong
We Like Hong Kong
That’s the place for you
I hear the bells go Ding Dong
Deep down inside my heart
Each time you say kiss me
Then I know it’s time for Ding Dong to start
Each time you say hugh me Ding Dong Ding Dong
Each time you say love me Ding Dong Ding Dong
I hope I won’t wait to long
To hear my bells go Ding Dong
To hear my bells go Ding Dong
Kung Hei Kung Hei Fat Choy
Lai See Taw Loy
That’s the thing to do
Kung Hei Kung Hei Fat Choy
Taw Ling Oom Oi
That’s the thing to do
Walking down the street full of joy
Come here come here richshaw boy
Take me down the street Chop Chop Chop
A Habba Habba Joe Ding How Ding How
Kowloon Kowloon Hong Kong
We Like Hong Kong
That’s the place for you
Kowloon Kowloon Hong Kong
A close eye on HK’s burgeoning music scene…
- ‘Hong Kong Kids’ Music Video.
- 9 Maps Album Launch.
- Ambient Monolake Album Mixes Sounds of the MTR.
- Clockenflap 2012. See also: Complete Clockenflap 2012 Guide.
- Clockenflap 2013.
- David Rovics Plays For One Night Only in HK.
- Expat Kid Rapper Returns With New Video: Cool or Cringe?
- Free Space Festival 2012.
- Guitar Duo Rodrigo & Gabriela: Pics + Video.
- Hidden Agenda Raided Again Over the Weekend.
- The Psy Gangnam Tribute: ‘Hong Kong Style’.
- Times Square Musical Flashmob by HK’s Top Indie Bands.
Blog posts charting Hong Kong’s colourful past…
- 1000+ ‘Before and After’ Photos of Old & New Hong Kong.
- Cool Vintage Hong Kong Tourism Posters.
- Execution of Namoa Pirates in Kowloon, 1891.
- Hedda Morrison’s Hong Kong: Photos from 1942, Beautifully Restored.
- HK’s Boom Years: The Best of Fan Ho.
- How Hong Kong Was Made: Iconic Buildings Under Construction.
- Mainland Refugees Fleeing Famine Rejected by HK.
- Margaret Thatcher in Hong Kong.
- More Vintage Photos of Old Hong Kong.
- Newly Unearthed Photos of 1950s Hong Kong.
- Pictures of Hong Kong in 1972.
- Rare Shots from Inside the Old Kowloon Walled City.
- Shing Mun Redoubt, HK’s Secret WWII Tunnels.
- Street Scenes in Dreamy Colour 1954-2004.
- The ‘Great Chinese Takeaway’ – the 1997 Handover.
- The 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship Winner (Bruce Lee).
- The 1967 Hong Kong Riots.
- The Bombing of Hong Kong by the U.S. 14th Air Force.
- The Day a Cargo Ship Washed up on Cheung Chau Beach.
- The Hakka Walled Village of Tsang Tai Uk, Sha Tin.
- The Iconic ‘Two Girls’ Kwong Sang Hong Cosmetics Brand
- The Luxury British Liner at the Bottom of Victoria Harbour.
- Unseen Royal Geographic Photos.
- When the MTR Was New.
Pictorial histories of local landmarks and events…
- A Brief Visual History: HK Police Vehicles & Uniforms
- A Brief Visual History: HK’s Old Airport, Kai Tak
- A Brief Visual History: Kowloon Walled City
- A Brief Visual History: The Evolution of the Hong Kong Skyline.
- A Brief Visual History: The Peak Tram
- A Brief Visual History: Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower
- A Brief Visual History: Yau Ma Tei Theatre
Brilliant video. Were The Reynettes a local group?
Brilliant video. Were The Reynettes a local group?
Yes, though not a lot of info around about them unfortunately. Maybe a one hit wonder?
Yes, though not a lot of info around about them unfortunately. Maybe a one hit wonder?
Any idea what the anglicised chinese lyrics mean? Chop chop! =D
Any idea what the anglicised chinese lyrics mean? Chop chop! =D
‘Chop suey?!’ I haven’t a clue – I think it has some ‘quaint’ political incorrectness about it, despite being performed by a local act.
‘Chop suey?!’ I haven’t a clue – I think it has some ‘quaint’ political incorrectness about it, despite being performed by a local act.
Pingback: Very HK Festival, Freespace Festival and Santacon 2013 | Hong Wrong Hong Kong Expat Blog
Pingback: Hong Kong Woman Slapping Video: The Sequel | Hong Wrong Hong Kong Expat Blog
We can indeed be Ultimate in cases where the dark colored locks never did absorb dyes the best feet and toes brown (proper down to a cuticles.) Up and running keep footie at eso gold is definitely the best feature about the device. I possess 9 unique versions then again be afraid all the time When i look into giving one amongst this schwarze couples. It’s my job to select precious metal shines when the dog’s hair is without question camel internally save for it’s time for almost any home pedicure no matter what and after that I select your ebenholzfarben styles. As a consequence, the actual ebony designs end up unmetabolised often.
I’m really surprised you don’t know what that means:”chop chop” is a pretty standard English interjection meaning “do it quickly.” In the context of the song, “take me down the street quickly”. It probably comes from 19th century Cantonese, though there’s an outside chance it’s from Malay: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=8671#more-8671
Speculating about some of the other Zonglish phrases could “Joe Ding How” be “就頂好” and speculating even more wildly, could “Habba” be “好吧”? Although the record came out at the peak of Flintstones popularity, so I guess the writer could have come across “Habba-Dabba-Do”.
Of course, for listeners to Uncle Ray, Hong Kong English pop has never been out of fashion….. 😉
I just searched, though the comment’s been 4 years… Anyway, http://blog.roodo.com/muzikland/archives/1794400.html According to that page,
The Reynettes was a night club band comprised of 5 Filipinos. They seem to be siblings. Kowloon Hong Kong was written by their father Ray Reynette.
Data from those decades were extremely hard to find, and the song seems to have mixed in:
– Tsai Chin’s Ding Dong Song, which was originally sang by 姚敏 (No English name on that page, but possibly “Iu Man” if romanized in HK Cantonese or “Yao Min” in PinYin) and written by 易文 (No English name found, possibly “Yik Man” or “Yi Wen”)
– 第二春 (The Second Spring, “Dai Yi Chun” / “Di Er Chun”) sang by 董佩佩 (“Dong Pui Pui” / “Dong Pei Pei”), anglicized by Lionel Bart for the English musical The World Of Suzie Wong.