Flight Mode AKA Fly Mode (飞行模式)
First released at “Mars Concert 2021” on November 26, 2021. Officially released on December 20, 2022.
Be included in Hua Chenyu’s 5th album “Hope Forget”.
1. About the song
MV was released on February 7, 2023, which is Hua Chenyu’s birthday. The English title of the MV song also took into account the meaning of “fly away, fly freely”, so “Fly Mode” was chosen.
- Hua Chenyu Writing About His Creation of “Airplane Mode” on Weibo:
The reason I picked this song as the first one on the album is that I want to quickly convey the idea that this album is about everyday life. It is also a good way to start a journey between virtuality and reality. The whole song is very understandable by just looking at the lyrics, which are about working-class people in the current society.
Whether it is due to the pressure of work, the pressure of family, or the pressure of personal life, whenever you want to relax after doing something, you may find that there will always be countless things waiting for you. Under this high pressure, many people have developed the habit of putting down their phones as the last thing to do before going to bed and picking up their phones to see if anyone has sent a message as the first thing to do in the morning after opening their eyes. You don’t know from whom you are waiting for a message, be it your lover, your boss, your friends, your family, or the layer of pressure in your heart.
Have you ever noticed that if you wake up one day and pick up your phone, you may even feel a little lost if there is not a single message? In fact, people’s hearts are very strong, so most people can easily adapt themselves to a new way of survival, whether it’s good or bad. Even if it is a stressful life, many people can quickly adapt to it. But this is only the adaptation of the body and the living routines, yet in the depths of their inner world, it may bring some hidden negative emotions that they cannot detect themselves, and the venting of these negative emotions may hurt them or the people around who love them. Therefore, when we are adapting to the environment, we must learn to find a way to relieve mental stress. If we can occasionally turn on the “airplane mode” to empty our minds, take a break, and slow down, maybe we can find a little bit of ourselves in our own spiritual world.
If you turn on the Airplane Mode for 10 minutes and it makes you anxious, then others have successfully changed you to live in a way that they imposed on you, and your heart is no longer under your own control. You will make yourself feel better by going out and taking breaks. I see many people call this song “the song of wage slaves”, I think there is nothing wrong with wage slaves. It depends on how you face the state of being a wage slave. In short, I hope everyone can find a better way to relieve stress after listening to this song!
Let me talk about the creation of this song briefly. A few special things are that there are a lot more intermezzos in this song, and each paragraph is connected by a light intermezzo. I want to express the difficulties that working-class people face in a humorous way– the humor of them being tired obviously, yet they still have to maintain their pretty appearance in front of people. It took me a long time to find the right timbre for the intermezzo solo instrument at the end of the chorus. I tried a variety of crisp timbres, but they didn’t seem to express the humorous feeling I wanted, either it sounded too yuppieish, or it was too serious, or the notes were not jumpy enough. I later thought of a way to play it by using a very high bar chord on the bass, and then we applied some effects to the timbre. Then this crisp and somewhat heavy yet jumpy sense of humor came out. In addition, I added an instrument that I like very much, the Irish bagpipe, to make everyone feel that they are flying all over the world after listening to it. I remember the first time I released a short demo video on Weibo, everyone who listened to the chorus mistakenly thought that I had written a song about traveling in the mountains and grasslands and the sea. In fact, everyone got it right after listening to it, because I did want to convey the sense of traveling around the world when you close your eyes through this chorus. Another detail is that I used the 6345-chord progression in the first two choruses. In the last chorus, I changed the chord progression to 4165. Simply put, although they sound like the same melodies at first, I changed it from a minor to a major chord progression to make the last chorus more open and happier to the ear!
2. Videos
MV
Mars Concert 2021 Official Video
3. Lyrics Translation
Lyricist: Lyu Yiqiu |
| 飞行模式 | Flight Mode |
|---|---|
| 烦恼无影踪 丢宇宙 | Worries are gone, tossed into the universe |
| 雷猴 | Leihou (Hello) |
| let me go let me go | |
| 泥土变高楼 | Mud is turning into high-rises |
| 成功该几平米 | How many square meters does success deserve? |
| 生活别考究 | Don’t be picky about life |
| 谁苦谁上头 | Whoever holds grudges will be bothered by them |
| 七姑八姨 唠叨不停 | Aunties cannot stop babbling |
| 年方保密 光鲜亮丽 | Keep the age a secret, looking flashy and pretty |
| RING LIKE A BOMB LIKE A BOMB | |
| (哪有，不烦，您说) | Not at all. I’m not bothered. Please continue your talk |
| 火星撞地球 | Mars collides with Earth |
| 贷款记得缴清 | Please remember to pay your mortgage |
| 奇迹太稀有 | Miracles are rare |
| 生存靠即兴 | Survival depends on improvisation |
| 公交自由 | Freedom of bus-riding |
| 半生通勤 | Commute for half of a lifetime |
| 存款积蓄 | Accumulate savings |
| 化整为零 | Chip away the whole by the pieces |
| RING LIKE A BOMB LIKE A BOMB | |
| (这月蹦迪没我) | No clubbing for me this month |
| 烦恼无影踪 丢宇宙 | Worries are gone, tossed into the universe |
| 雷猴 LET ME GO LET ME GO | Leihou (Hello), let me go, let me go |
| 梦话狂想 全都不听 | I don’t listen to any fantasies and delusions |
| GO 雷猴 | Go, leihou (hello) |
| LET ME GO LET ME GO | |
| 加班到白头 | Work overtime till the hair turns grey |
| 躺平遥遥无期 | No hope to ever lie down and chill |
| PPT协奏 | PPT plays the concerto |
| 没人当歌手 | No one is a singer |
| 千篇一律 高手寂寞 | Amid thousands of repetitive patterns, the maestro is lonely |
| 几十不惑 全都白扯 | It’s nonsense that people will get wiser in their forties |
| RING LIKE A BOMB LIKE A BOMB | |
| (YES SIR，精辟，你说) | Yes sir. That’s sharp. Please continue your talk |
| 交际风雨骤 | Socialization brews storms |
| 浓睡不消啤酒 | Deep sleep can’t get rid of the beer overhang |
| 周报没尽头 | Endless weekly reports |
| 摸鱼半永久 | Sloppiness is semi-permanent |
| 职场失意 | Discontent at work |
| 酒场孤僻 | lonely at bars |
| 三天两夜 熬鹰追剧 | binge-watching dramas through days and nights |
| RING LIKE A BOMB LIKE A BOMB | |
| (老板好像走了) | It seems that the boss has left |
| 烦恼无影踪 丢宇宙 | Worries are gone, tossed into the universe |
| 雷猴 LET ME GO LET ME GO | Leihou (Hello), let me go, let me go |
| 梦话狂想 全都不听 | I won’t listen to any fantasies or delusions |
| GO 雷猴 | Go, leihou (hello) |
| LET ME GO LET ME GO | |
| 烦恼无影踪 丢宇宙 | Worries are gone, tossed into the universe |
| 雷猴 LET ME GO | Leihou (Hello), let me go |
| 别管白云或苍狗 | Don’t care if the white cloud will turn into a grey dog |
| 梦话狂想 全都不听 | I won’t listen to any fantasies and delusions |
| GO 雷猴 | Go. Leihou (Hello) |
| LET ME GO | |
| 现在就飞走 | I’m flying away now |
| 烦恼无影踪 丢宇宙 | All worries are gone, tossed into the universe |
| 雷猴 LET ME GO | Leihou (Hello). Let me go |
| 别管白云或苍狗 | Don’t care if the white cloud will turn into a grey dog |
| 梦话狂想 全都不听 | I won’t listen to any fantasies or delusions |
| GO 雷猴 | Go. Leihou (Hello) |
| LET ME GO | |
| 现在就飞走 | I’m flying away now |
| 在梦里头 | In my dreams |