107. Please Don't Spit! (Original)

Much as I love China and the Chinese people, I can never come to terms with the constant spitting so prevalent in this country. I wrote this little song on my recent trip to Guizhou province.

Lyrics:

...Please don't spit.
...Please don't spit.
...It's not very nice to see.
...Please don't spit.
...Please don't spit.
...Please don't spit near me.

Standing on a Chinese station,
All I hear is expectoration,
Not a very appetizing sound.
While I'm waiting for my train
Gobs of mucus fall like rain,
Making a mucky mine-field of the ground.
Whenever I go out for a walk
People clear their throats and hawk,
Spitting, spitting, spitting all around.

Spitting on the train,
Spitting on the bus,
On the restaurant floor
In front of us.
Spitting, spitting
Spitting everywhere
A sudden gust of wind
Can blow it in your hair.

...Please don't spit on me.

Beijing's streets are just as spitty
As any other Chinese city.
Efforts to keep them clean have come to nought.
Olympics are coming in '08,
So now if you expectorate
You'll be fined a lot of money - if you're caught.
But habits are hard to change you know.
So why not just go with the flow
And make spitting a new Olympic sport?

You can hear a playlist of my original songs (in alphabetical order) here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B9F8E3B7A8822951

My website: raymondcrooke.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• folk
• song
• China
• Chinese
• culture
• Hong
• Kong
• habit
• Beijing
• Olympics
• spitting

[darvishjo]

This song seems preachy to me. Why do the Chinese spit? Is it to annoy you or for some other reason? I doubt if you've ever actually be spat upon by a Chinese! They're either doing what they've been taught to do or what they feel they need to do. I see no value in an injunctive song that neither offers alternative suggestions nor offers insight about the reasons for the behavior.

[raymondcrooke]

It's meant to be a humorous song showing the typical Western reaction to one of the less pleasant aspects of travelling in China. Not meant to be taken too seriously. I believe the authorities did campaign successfully to change this habit at least in Beijing for the Olympics.

[darvishjo]

In their campaign, I doubt if the Chinese authorities were any less preachy. What was that like? Did they try to teach the habit of carrying tissue paper to be used when the the urge to spit hits, then deposited in a trash can? Oops gotta go. I'm feeling an urge .. ahem ahem

[raymondcrooke]

I don't know the details but I'm sure they were very preachy, and possibly quite ruthless in policing anti-spitting laws - as indeed Singapore is! This kind of unhygienic habit is one of the reasons the Hong Kong Chinese tend to look down on the mainlanders.

[darlingtester1982]

Hello Raymond One of funny song i heard really good well done Hugs Kisses Love Gizmo xox

[raymondcrooke]

Not so funny when you experience it!

[joalencastro]

Excellent! Spitting a new Olympic sport would be hilarious, not to say disgusting!

[Qwerty1233210fwdfgg]

Very nice video. I live in China and I can not understand how this people do not care about each other. Spitting is just one small point of the primitive behavior here. Impolite people.

I hope some of them learn with this very funny and intelligent video you did :-)

[Qwerty1233210fwdfgg]

Chinese people spit all over Chine. What a impolite people !!!!

[raymondcrooke]

So it's not only in China?!