Chinese Underground

( Your friends won't find you. )

I thought Mao Zedong was dead and buried, the
Kind of man who never married
Now that he’s back up on his throne,
You Better watch out or he’ll break your bones. He

Climbed back up from the Chinese Underground
Chinese Underground
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

I don’t wanna see you with a beard. And
Tell those girls, “Don’cha dress so weird.” You
Don’t wanna live where it’s cold and damp. And
There’s plenty of room in the training camp. You’ll

Find yourself in the Chinese Underground,
Chinese Underground
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
(Marimba solo verse)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

Chinese Underground
Chinese underground

You don’t wanna be caught with a cross. They
Don’t want Jesus to be the boss.
Now that he’s back up in his room
Never again in the fam’ly tomb, but you’ll

Rise right up from the Chinese Underground
Chinese underground. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

I thought Mao Zedong was dead and buried, the
Kind of man who never wearied, for
Now that he’s back out on the roam. You
Better watch out ‘cause he’s not alone. But your

Friends won’t find you in the Chinese Underground
Chinese Underground
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

If you watch "Chinese Underground", you might think it's deliberately provocative, but I never intended the song to be heard like that. It really all started with just a few observations in the global press about some of the mean things that get perpetrated by the mainland Chinese government. Maybe one of them was the crackdown on Hong Kong, that detail I can't really remember.

Usually when I start a song, it's because of one line or couplet that comes to mind; I don't have an entire song and story outlined before or during songwriting. It's often just a matter of finding some words to sing with some chords on the piano, and after many iterations, more music and lyrics get added. If I end up with a product I love, then I'll start thinking about recording and producing a music video that could be loved by others.