Memories of Renowned Lyricist: Richard Lam Chun Keung's Manuscripts
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Introduction

Richard Lam’s manuscripts of his lyrical works are an important documentation resource on music. This precious primary resource of manuscripts enables research into the lyricist and his works, as well as into the development of Cantopop culture in Hong Kong. Regarding Richard Lam’s manuscripts of lyrical works, there are a few points to note:


  1. Richard Lam wrote lyrics for over a thousand songs, only a part of them are in the present collection, mainly from donation made by the family of Richard Lam.
  2. Some of the manuscripts are final draft of Richard Lam’s lyrics, while the others are rough drafts during his creative process, so for some songs there are more than one version of manuscripts. Agnes Yen, the wife of Richard Lam, once wrote that every time Richard Lam finished the lyrics for a song, he would copy it by hand again. Many of the manuscripts have neat handwriting, while others are less legible, presumed to be the manuscript of his first drafts, for only very few songs are both versions of manuscripts preserved here and those are very valuable.
  3. Besides some manuscripts showing revisions made, behind some released songs, there are other, probably unreleased, versions with different lyrics on the same tune, with almost or completely different lyrics based on the same music, some retaining a sentence or two or have several words the same while others have totally different lyrics; these different versions usually carry different song titles too, e.g. the initial title of Weeping of guitar was called Just before death.

    Version adopted with few or no changes Probably unreleased versions
    Ten bicycles
    (sung by Teresa Cheung, composed by Fujimaru Yoshino; 1981)
    Rocket-boosted heart
    (sung by Teresa Cheung, composed by Fujimaru Yoshino; 1981)
    Heart
    (sung by Lydia Lam, composed by John Lennon, Yoko Oono; circa 1981)
    The kiss
    (composed by John Lennon, Yoko Oono; 1981)
    The moon is a balloon
    (sung by Frances Yip, composed by Bob Barratt; 1981)
    Wandering singer
    (composed by Bob Barratt; circa 1981)
    How high is the sky?
    (sung and composed by George Lam; 1981)
    Flying snowflakes
    (composed by George Lam; 1981)
    Feeling fantastic
    (sung by Yeung Siu Ching and Chung Yuen Yee, composed by Chen Yang; 1982)
    Not mad
    (composed by Chen Yang; 1982)
    Buddy
    (sung by Brenda Lo, composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1982)
    Unstoppable beats
    (composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1982)
    Wind lady*
    (sung by Flora King, composed by Yoshitaka Minami; circa 1982)
    Monroe walk
    (composed by Yoshitaka Minami; unknown year of writing)
    I’d rather
    (sung by Brenda Lo; 1982)
    The twilight before dawn
    (1982)
    At the centre of laser beams
    (sung by Roman Tam, composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1982)
    Singer
    (sung by Roman Tam, composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1982)
    Fiery rage
    (sung by Ken Choi, composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1983)
    Heart bolted
    (sung by Ken Choi, composed by Mahmood Rumjahn; 1983)
    Endless trail
    (sung by Danny Summer, composed by George Yanagi; 1985)
    A broken pair of boots
    (sung by Danny Summer, composed by George Yanagi; 1985)
    Fun comes first
    (sung and composed by Sam Hui; circa 1985)
    Orange lover
    (sung and composed by Sam Hui; circa 1985)
    Absolute Solitude
    (sung Ken Choi; composed by Kimio Mizutani; 1985)
    Let me be alone
    (composed by Kimio Mizutani; circa 1985)
    Saturday night
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Anthony Baker, Angelina Kyte; 1986; lcs-richard-0252)
    After a minute
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Anthony Baker, Angelina Kyte; 1986)
    Saturday night
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Anthony Baker, Angelina Kyte; 1986; lcs-richard-0251)
    Lone wayfarer
    (sung by George Lam, composed by David Foster; 1986)
    The pigeon's story
    (sung by George Lam, composed by David Foster; 1986)
    Old letters
    (sung by Alan Tam, composed by Hiroaki Serizawa; 1986)
    Second choice
    (sung by Alan Tam, composed by Hiroaki Serizawa; 1986)
    City girl
    (sung by Tina Lau, composed by Wu Dawei; 1987)
    Checked baggage
    (sung by Tina Lau, composed by Wu Dawei; 1986)
    Cloaked hero
    (sung by George Lam, composed by Thierry Geoffroy, Christian Loigerot; 1986)
    Come together
    (composed by Thierry Geoffroy, Christian Loigerot; circa 1986)
    Loners too
    (sung by David Lui, composed by Michael Cretu, Klaus Hirschburger; 1987)
    Hey Lonely Guy
    (sung by David Lui, composed by Michael Cretu, Klaus Hirschburger; 1986)
    Earth sings in unison
    (sung by various artists, composed by Joseph Koo; 1987)
    Hearts should be boundless
    (composed by Joseph Koo; 1987)
    Still the same
    (sung by Kenny Bee, composed by Andrew Lam; 1987)
    City in grey
    (sung by Kenny Bee, composed by Andrew Lam; 1987)
    Free-spirited
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Masayuki Suzuki; 1987)
    Breakdown
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Masayuki Suzuki; 1987)
    Cuddle
    (sung by Samantha Lam, composed by Masayuki Suzuki; 1987)
    Concede
    (sung by Ken Choi, composed by Keiko Matsui; 1987)
    Agony
    (sung by Ken Choi, composed by Keiko Matsui; circa 1987)
    The gale gang
    (sung by Leslie Cheung, composed by Mitchell Bottler, Gary Zekley; 1988)
    Fight of the century
    (sung by Leslie Cheung, composed by Mitchell Bottler, Gary Zekley; 1988)
    Weeping of guitar
    (sung by Danny Summer, composed by M. Nasir; 1988)
    Just before death
    (sung by Danny Summer, composed by M. Nasir; 1988)
    Dancing Boy
    (sung by Priscilla Chan, composed by Takayuki Inoue; circa 1989)
    I'll return
    (sung by Priscilla Chan, composed by Takayuki Inoue; circa 1989)
    Linda
    (sung by Jacky Cheung, composed by Keiji Katayama; circa 1989; lcs-richard-0579)
    Linda
    (sung by Jacky Cheung, composed by Keiji Katayama; circa 1989; lcs-richard-0580)
    Dust in a whirlwind
    (sung by Chow Yun Fat, composed by Lo Tayu; 1989)
    Roar
    (sung by Chow Yun Fat, composed by Lo Tayu; 1989)
    Hello, sorrow
    (sung by Priscilla Chan, composed by Antonio Arevalo Jr; 1989)
    Despair of the storm
    (sung by Priscilla Chan, composed by Antonio Arevalo Jr; 1989)
    Carnival of life
    (sung by Aling Choi, composed by Ulises Hermosa; 1990)
    Worldwide carnival
    (sung by Aling Choi, composed by Ulises Hermosa; 1990)
    Don't keep me waiting
    (sung by Shirley Kwan, composed by Philip Chan; 1990)
    Bet on it
    (sung by Shirley Kwan, composed by Philip Chan; 1990)

    (Note: Years in the table above refer to the years the lyrics were written. Hong Kong Central Library and the present collection does not hold the manuscript of Wind lady.)

  4. Song titles can bring out the theme of the lyrics, putting the finishing touches to the songs, and can be regarded as part of the lyrics writing. Richard Lam would put forward titles for the songs, sometimes with several choices for a song; at other times he would reuse song titles that were left unused in previous works; although a lyricist may not have the final say on the song titles, those song titles still are part of the creations of Richard Lam. Some of the lyrical works of Richard Lam share the same song titles, but they are not the same songs, with different tunes and lyrics. Lyrics of different content and meaning sharing a single title, bringing out different directions and development, can be seen as a clever way exploit the different meaning of the same phrase. The relevant works are as follows:


    Song title in Chinese Works
    大個女
    1.Grown up girl; sung by Rowena Cortes; 1981
    2.Grown up girl; sung by Flora Cheong-Leen; 1982
    流浪歌手
    1.Wandering singer; singer unknown; circa 1981*
    2.Wandering singer; sung by Lowell Lo; 1982
    最後一次
    1.For the last time; sung by Serina Ha; 1982
    2.For the last time; sung by Anita Mui; 1987
    寵愛
    1.Beloved; sung by Danny Chan; 1982
    2.Beloved; sung by Sandy Lam; 1992
    孤獨路
    1.Forlorn way; sung by Lowell Lo; 1983
    2.Secluded road; sung by Norman Cheung; 1989
    高溫境界
    1.Realm of the heat; sung by Flora King; 1983*
    2.Realm of the heat; sung by Ken Choi; 1984
    無盡的愛
    1.Never-ending love; sung by Teresa Chueng; 1983
    2.Never-ending love; sung by Shirley Kwan; 1993
    休止符
    1.A long rest; sung by Johnny Ip; 1985
    2.A long rest; sung by Anthony Lun; 1992
    困
    1.Cornered; sung by Ken Choi; 1985
    2.Cornered; sung by Jacky Cheung; 1997
    固執
    1.Stubborn; sung by Terence Tsoi; 1985
    2.Grit; sung by Elim Chau; 1987*
    3.Stubborn; unknown singer and year of writing*
    崩潰
    1.Breakdown; sung by Samantha Lam; 1987*
    2.Breakdown; sung by Bowie Lam; 1988*
    衝動
    1.Caprice; sung by Sally Yeh; 1987
    2.Caprice; sung by Yolinda Yan; 1990
    應有此報
    1.So deserving; sung by Wild & Cloud; 1988
    2.You have it coming; sung by Alan Tam; 1989
    你是誰
    1Who are you; sung by Cherrie Choi; 1989
    2.Who are you; sung by Joyce Lee and Anthony Lun; 1992
    愛海
    1.Sea of love; sung by Ken Choi; 1989
    2.Sea of love; sung by Andy Hui; 1998
    每一個明天
    1.Every tomorrow; sung by Sammi Cheng; 1993
    1.Every tomorrow; sung by Eason Chan; 1999
    傾斜
    1.Sloped; sung by Jacqueline Man; unknown year of writing*
    2.Slanted; sung by Sandy Lam; 1990

    Note: The years listed above mainly refer to the years of release of the records, songs marked with “*” may be unreleased and the relevant years refer to the years the lyrics were written.

  5. A number of manuscripts contain lyrics of songs that have no sound recordings found yet, and likely to be unreleased works of Richard Lam that require further research. The 1980s saw a trend in Hong Kong for cover versions of songs of other languages, and several lyricists may have worked on Cantonese covers of the same songs. For example, Dancing Street by Andrew Lam and Saturday night by Richard Lam are both cover versions of the same song and sung by different singers. Some of the likely unreleased works are cover versions of songs that have released Cantonese covers by the hands of other lyricists, and usually the singers were the same as those intended in the manuscripts, with the exception of three of such cases that have no indication of the intended singers but the date of the manuscripts are very close to the release dates of the related records, so these unreleased works should be the product of record labels inviting several lyricists to write lyrics for the same music, but ultimately chose the works of others, these lyrics by Richard Lam come to light in the present collection. A comparison of the works is as below:


    Works by Richard Lam
    (Sung by; written on)    		 Released works by other lyricists
    (Sung by; lyrics by; released year)    		 Original song
    Bauhinia girl
    (unknow singer; 1982-05)
    Bauhinia
    (sung by Agnes Chan; lyrics by Peter Lai; 1982)
    Bauhinia
    Bauhinia(sung by Agnes Chan)
    Mirage
    (sung by Paula Tsui; 1986-06)
    Take off to the dreams
    (sung by Paula Tsui; lyrics by Andrew Lam; 1986)
    Take off to the dreams
    (sung by Yamaguchi Miyoko)
    Follow the dream
    (sung by Paula Tsui; 1986-06)
    The last dream
    (sung by Danny Chan; 1986-06)
    Separate · reunite
    (sung by Danny Chan; lyrics by Susan Tong; 1986)
    Somewhere
    (sung by Barbra Streisand)
    All for money?
    (sung by Sam Hui;1986-11)
    Sudden wealth dream
    (sung by Sam Hui; lyrics by Raymond Wong; 1987)
    Sudden wealth dream
    (sung by Sam Hui)
    Mr Macho Man
    (sung by Ann Bridgewater; 1987-08)
    Devil’s cauldron
    (sung by Ann Bridgewater; lyrics by Poon Wai Yuen; 1988)
    Hey you
    (sung by Modern Talking)
    Devil woman
    (sung by Alvin Kwok; 1988-04)
    Renaissance
    (sung by Alvin Kwok; lyrics by Keith Chan; 1988)
    Stay in heaven
    (sung by Masami Tsuchiya)
    Won't go home tonight
    (sung by Ken Choi; 1988-12)
    Seduction
    (sung by Ken Choi; lyrics by Ng Lui Wing; 1989)
    Dance if you want it
    (sung by Kubota Toshinobu)
    Superhuman
    (sung by Norman Cheung; 1989-08)
    Your best friend
    (sung by Norman Cheung; lyrics by Calvin Pooh; 1989)
    Superwoman
    (sung by Karyn White)
    There's no fun
    (sung by Candice Tai; 1989-09)
    Homeless angel
    (sung by Candice Tai; lyrics by Albert Leung; 1990)
    Toy Soldiers
    (sung by Martika)
    What’s your name
    (sung by Grasshopper; 1989-10)
    A woman fiery all over
    (sung and lyrics by Grasshoppers; 1990)
    What’s your name
    (sung by Shonentai)
    Happy for my younger brother
    (sung by Leon Lai; 1990-02)
    Come across in rain
    (sung by Leon Lai; lyrics by Kenny Lau; 1990)
    False impression
    (sung by Qu Youliang)
    Lover's tree
    (unknown singer; 1990-02)
    Faded recollection
    (sung by Raymond Choi; lyrics by Keith Chan; 1990)
    Yokohama Daybreak
    (sung by Kyohei Shibata)
    Queen's Road East
    (unknown singer; 1990-07)
    Queen's Road East
    (sung by Ram Chiang and Lo Tayu; lyric by Albert Leung; 1991)
    Queen's Road East
    (sung by Ram Chiang and Lo Tayu)
    Monologue of money
    (sung by Grasshopper; 1990-10)
    Avaricious woman
    (sung by Grasshopper; lyrics by Thomas Chow; 1990)
    Dirty cash (Money Talks)
    (sung by The Adventures of Stevie V)

     

  6. Song titles on the manuscripts may differ from those released, to facilitate searching, the titles used in this collection are those used in the final released songs. However, the lyrics on the manuscripts may not be the final version used in the recording, so even though the song titles of the released records are adopted here, the lyrics may still differ from those used in those records.
  7. Some of the manuscripts donated by the family of Richard Lam could not be shown in this collection or had to have the musical scores blurred, readers who wish to view the manuscripts in the original form can visit Arts Resource Centre at the Hong Kong Central Library for a photocopy of the manuscripts of Richard Lam’s lyrics (《林振強歌詞作品集》; call number: KDW/HK LAM).

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