The Evolution of Nursery Rhymes
The baby is six months old. Grandpa found some nursery rhymes for him. His favorite is a song called “Little Driver” — “Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep, the horn sounds” (What, you haven’t heard this song? Dude, you’ve been out since childhood). When the baby hears this, he laughs. After singing it for a while, I suddenly realized — the lyrics are different from what I sang as a child! Grandpa said, “What’s so strange about that? They’re different from what I sang as a child too.” Later I searched online and discovered this is a nursery rhyme with strong historical characteristics, a long history, and politically robust lyrics. There are three versions:
Post-50s version:
Little car, so pretty, so very pretty. Beep beep beep beep beep, the horn sounds. I am a little car driver, I am a little driver, I’m busy transporting forrevolution. Wheels fly like wind, motor sings loudly, carryingDaqing high-yield oil, andDazhai bumper harvest grain.
Post-80s version:
Little car, so pretty, so very pretty. Beep beep beep beep beep, the horn sounds. I am a little car driver, I am a little driver, I’m busy transporting forthe Four Modernizations. Wheels fly like wind, motor sings loudly, carryingnew factory machines, andcommune bumper harvest grain.
Post-00s version:
Little car, so pretty, so very pretty. Beep beep beep beep beep, the horn sounds. I am a little car driver, I am a little driver, I’m busy transporting forthe motherland. Wheels fly like wind, motor sings loudly, carryingnew factory machines, andhometown bumper harvest grain.
The parts highlighted in red fully reflect the characteristics of each era:
Post-50s version: Learn from Dazhai in industry, learn from Daqing in agriculture, work for revolution. There’s even another verse: “Hand on the steering wheel, heart toward the red sun.” A fiery revolutionary life.
Post-80s version: Strive for the Four Modernizations, and communes?
Post-00s version: No more revolution, no more communes, no mention of the Four Modernizations. It portrays the bustling scene of peasants migrating to cities for work, hence “hometown” bumper harvest grain. In my humble opinion, the post-00s version completely fails to reflect the era’s characteristics. Its ideological and artistic qualities are far inferior to the previous two versions. It also fails to appeal to both refined and popular tastes, with明显的 empty words and clichés. I suggest the following revised lyrics:
Little car, so pretty, so very pretty. Beep beep beep beep beep, the horn sounds. I am a little car driver, I am a little driver, I’m busy transporting forharmony. Wheels fly like wind, motor sings loudly, carryingShenzhen knockoff phones, andShanxi illegal coal…
If I ever have a grandson, in another 30 years, who knows what this song will be changed to.