Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
Daniel Chan King-lok’s coursework usually focuses on business and economics, but last semester, he had the chance to channel his love for his grandmother through song lyrics.
The 19-year-old is studying hospitality and management at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. His school’s first Cantonese lyric-writing course gave him a chance to explore his love of music.
Under the guidance of award-winning lyricist Chow Yiu-fai, Chan wrote the lyrics for a song that reflected on ageing, family love and the passing of time. He named it “Kiu Je (嬌姐)” – his grandmother’s nickname.
“My grandmother is getting older. She raised me and took care of me, but now her memory is failing … She may not have much time left. So, I wrote about not wanting to let her go,” Chan said.
Turning family memories into a song
As part of their final assignment, students in the lyrics course organised a mini-concert in March, focused on the theme, “How Much Time Do We Have Left?”
The 19 students interviewed people around them, capturing their stories through Cantonese lyrics.
Chan explained that he was raised by his grandmother, who lived with him because his parents were busy with work.
He described his grandmother as kind and optimistic, someone who enthusiastically greets neighbours and taught him to be grateful and sincere.
Chan’s biggest challenge was fitting all sorts of deep emotions into one song.
“At first, I cared too much about rhyme and technical structure,” he said. “But Mr Chow taught us that meaning is more important than making everything mechanically perfect.”
When it came time for the final performance, his grandmother’s reaction showed him that the technical aspects of a song mattered less than the emotions it expressed.
“I couldn’t see her from the stage, but later I learned that some of my classmates went to interview her during the short break … She was very moved and almost cried,” Chan said.
Observing the world differently
Chan’s professor, Chow, encouraged students to experience life more deeply and to pay closer attention to everyday details.
To Chan, the message behind “Kiu Je” matters most. He pointed to his favourite lines from the song, which translate to “Love while you can, love while you can. The love you planted never changes.”
“In busy city life, people don’t spend much time at home. Sometimes you might be angry or irritable from work or school,” he said. “We might assume our family members understand us, they should forgive us, they know we love them.”
“But sometimes they still need to hear it. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”
