"Tomorrow Will Be Better" (Chinese: 明天會更好; pinyin: Míngtiān huì Gènghǎo) is a Taiwanese Mandopop charity record written by Lo Ta-Yu and sung by over 60 artists. It was inspired by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, and "We Are The World" by USA for Africa. It was recorded on September 15, 1985 and released on October 25, 1985 in order to raise money for World Vision International to help with aid to Africa, especially for a famine in Ethiopia spanning from 1983 to 1985.[1]
| "明天會更好" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single | |
| from the album Tomorrow Will Be Better | |
| Language | Mandarin |
| English title | Tomorrow Will Be Better |
| Released | October 25, 1985 |
| Recorded | September 15, 1985 |
| Studio | Platinum Studio |
| Genre | Mandopop |
| Length | 5:26 |
| Label | Rock Records |
| Songwriters | Lo Ta-Yu, Chang Ta-Chun, Hsu Nai-Sheng, Lee Shou-chuan, Chiu Fu-Sheng, Sylvia Chang, Zhang Hongzhi (Mandarin), Richard Lam (Cantonese) |
| Producers | Lo Ta-yu, Lee Shou-chuan, Peng Kuo-Hua, Tuan Chung-Tan, Chen Chih-Yuan, Wu Zhengde, Sylvia Chang |
| Music video | |
| "Tomorrow Will Be Better" on YouTube | |
Original lyrics
editLo Ta-Yu wrote and prepared the lyrics in advance before summoning more than 60 artists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia to film a music video. They were much darker and felt much more hopeless than the final, published version. When Lo presented the lyrics, many of the artists quit on the spot as they were filled with criticisms of the society at the time. At the time, Taiwan was under martial law, so if the lyrics were not reworked, the artists may have faced various repercussions.
Lo was against self-censorship, even when many persuaded Lo to change the lyrics. He eventually reluctantly did, and as a result, six other artists and songwriters Chang Ta-chun, Hsu Nai-sheng, Lee Shou-chuan, Chiu Fu-sheng, Sylvia Chang, and Zhang Hongzhi came up to him to collaborate and rework the lyrics to be more positive for the song be approved for publishing.
Despite the long-term success of the song, in a later interview, Lo stated that he absolutely hated producing the song, as it was not filled with the direct bluntness and the sense of responsibility which had been present in the original lyrics.[2]
Artists
editThe song was originally sung in Mandarin Chinese and performed by the 60 artists. They were from the four main Chinese music industry markets of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.[3]
| Artist | Market | Song segment |
|---|---|---|
| Tsai Chin (蔡琴) | Taiwan | 1st verse line 1; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Yu Tian (余天) | Taiwan | 1st verse line 2; 3rd, 5th and 6th chorus |
| Su Rui (蘇芮) | Taiwan | 1st verse line 3; chorus; 3rd, 4th and 6th chorus; 6th and 7th harmony |
| Michelle Pan (潘越雲) | Taiwan | 1st verse line 4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Jenny Tseng (甄妮) | Hong Kong | 2nd verse line 1; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Li Jianfu (李建复) | Taiwan | 2nd verse line 2/4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Monique Lin (林慧萍) | Taiwan | 2nd verse line 3; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Jeanette Wang (王芷蕾) | Taiwan | 2nd verse line 4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Tracy Huang (黃鶯鶯) | Taiwan | 1st chorus line 1-2; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Chris Hung (洪榮宏) | Taiwan | 1st chorus line 3-4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Sarah Chen (陳淑樺) | Taiwan | 3rd verse line 1; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Wawa (金智娟/娃娃) | Taiwan | 3rd verse line 2; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Wang Mon Ling (王夢麟) | Taiwan | 3rd verse line 3-4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Lee Pei-jing (李佩菁) | Taiwan | 3rd verse line 4; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Fei Yu-Ching (費玉清) | Taiwan | 2nd, 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Chyi Yu (齊豫) | Taiwan | 4th verse line 1; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Jeng Yi (鄭怡) | Taiwan | 4th verse line 2; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Jody Chiang (江蕙) | Taiwan | 4th verse line 3; 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Yang Lin (楊林) | 4th verse line 4; 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Chyi Chin (齊秦) | Taiwan | 3rd and 4th chorus; 5th and 7th harmony |
| Eric Moo (巫啟賢) | Malaysia | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Bao Xiaosong (包小松) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Bao Xiaobo (包小柏) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Sunnie Wang (王日昇) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Wen Zhang (文章) | Indonesia/Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Ng Guan Seng (黃元成) from Straw (水草三重唱) | Singapore | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Billy Koh (许环良) from Straw (水草三重唱) | Singapore | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| John Koh (许南盛) from Straw (水草三重唱) | Singapore | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Bao Weiming (包偉銘) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 江音傑 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Jonathan Lee (李宗盛) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 吳大衛 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 林禹勝 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Shi Hsiao-rong (施孝榮) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 岳雷 | Singapore | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Hsu Nai-lin (徐乃麟) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 徐瑋 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 姚乙 | Malaysia | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 陳黎鐘 | 3rd and 7th chorus | |
| 黃慧文 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 張海漢 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Angus Tung (童安格) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 楊烈 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 楊耀東 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 廖小維 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 羅吉鎮 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 鍾有道 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Sylvia Chang 張艾嘉 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Stella Chang (張清芳) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 成鳳 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 李靜 (from 百合二重唱) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 周月綺 (from 百合二重唱) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| Li Bihua 李碧華 | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 何春蘭 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 芊苓 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 林淑蓉 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Tai Zhoumei 邰肇玫 | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
| 唐曉詩 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 麥瑋婷 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 許慧慧 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| 賴佩霞 | 3rd and 6th chorus | |
| Pauline Lan (藍心湄) | Taiwan | 3rd and 6th chorus |
In 1985, various Hong Kong singers sang a re-written Cantonese version of the song in 1985 Jade Solid Gold Awards Presentation. In 2010, many Taiwanese singers made their own music video versions of the song.[citation needed]
References
edit- ↑ 尤, 静波; 李, 罡 (2015-09-01). 中国流行音乐简史 [A Simple History of Chinese Popular Music] (in Chinese (China)). Beijing Book Co. Inc. p. 8. ISBN 978-7-5523-0844-0.
- ↑ 江, 仲子 (2023-02-04). "你被騙了！《明天會更好》真正的歌詞原文！". Historyroc 完整版 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-08-16.
- ↑ Ho, Wai-Chung (2016-12-08). Popular Music, Cultural Politics and Music Education in China. Taylor & Francis. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-317-07801-2.