"Which Way, Robert Frost" (Chinese: 找對你) is a song by

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...

, written by

Roxanne Seeman Roxanne Joy Seeman is an American songwriter and lyricist. She is best known for her songs by Billie Hughes, Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, The Sisters of Mercy, The Jacksons, Jacky Cheung, and ...

and

Philipp Steinke Philipp Steinke is a German songwriter, film composer, record producer and musician. Steinke is a member of the band Asher Lane. Philipp Steinke was born and resides in Berlin, Germany. Songwriting and film composing career Steinke scored the s ...

for Cheung's ''

Private Corner Private Corner is a studio album by Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung, known as God of Songs and one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It is the first jazz album of Cantopop, a concept album recorded in the style of " Canto-jazz", coined by Cheung to de ...

'' album. The title and lyrics refer to the

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need to rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may ...

The Road Not Taken "The Road Not Taken" is a narrative poem by Robert Frost, first published in the August 1915 issue of the ''Atlantic Monthly'', and later published as the first poem in the 1916 poetry collection, '' Mountain Interval''. Its central theme is ...

" written by the American poet

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

. The lyrics were adapted into

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

by Kenny So ( 乔星 Qiao Xing). It was released on January 29, 2010, by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. Jacky Cheung performed "Zhǎo Duì Nǐ 找對你 (Looking for you)" at his Private Corner Mini Concert at the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

on April 30. Cheung's Private Corner Mini Concert DVD was released on July 23, 2010.

Composition and lyrical inspiration

The title and theme makes reference to the

poem "

". The inspiration for the writing of the lyrics came from the sentiments that Seeman felt, after attending a screening of the Disney/Pixar animated movie " Up". Roxanne Seeman provided an explanation of the concept and writing of the lyrics for the song to be adapted into Cantonese language. Kenny So was the author chosen to write the Cantonese adaptation. The song is a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

Style

Zhǎo Duì Nǐ 找對你 (Looking for you) is a song in the style of “Canto-jazz”, a genre coined by

for the style of songs on

, his first jazz album.

Recording and production

Zhǎo Duì Nǐ 找對你 (Looking for you) by

was produced by Andrew Tuason (杜自持). The rhythm section was recorded in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Tollak Ollestad Tollak Ollestad is an American harmonica player, singer, keyboardist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica feature performance on the Northern Exposure tv series theme and on recordings by artists including Christopher Cross, Al Jarr ...

is featured on harmonica. His harmonica part was recorded in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Cheung's vocals were recorded in Hong Kong.

Critical reception

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

described the swaying sketch with harmonica as the main accompaniment, writing "the many semitones in the tune, show a unique sentiment in Jacky Cheung’s interpretation." Tencent rated Finding the Right You (Zhǎo Duì Nǐ 找對你 (Looking for you)) as best composition on the Private Corner album explaining that Jacky Cheung is called "God of Songs" because he can sing a slow ballad "straight into people's hearts". The song was described as being the one that "most easily reaches into people's hearts intoxicatingly touching their souls. In the case of excellent lyrics, music, arrangement, and production, the composition is even more outstanding because this song can capture the key to the human heart."

Live performances and usage in other media

Cheung performed "Looking for you (Which Way, Robert Frost)" at his Private Corner Mini Concert held at the Polytechnic University

on April 30. The show was taped, with the Private Corner Mini Concert DVD releasing July 23, 2010.

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. *

– lead vocals *

Andrew Tuason Andrew Tuason (born 30 November 1962) is a Hong Kong musician, record producer, composer, songwriter, arranger, conductor and musical director. He has been a producer and musical director for notable artists including Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Jacki ...

(杜自持) – arranger, piano, conductor * Ted Lo – arranger, strings * Lewis Pragasam – drums * Andy Peterson – electric bass * Tollak Ollestad – featuring, harmonica * Sham Kamikaze – guitar * Kenny So ( 乔星 Qiao Xing) – Cantonese lyrics *

– songwriter * Philipp Steinke – songwriter * Steve Thornton – percussion * Beijing Love Orchestra – strings

Paolo Onesa version

"Which Way, Robert Frost?" was recorded by

Paolo Onesa Paolo Giovanni Plaza Onesa (born 10 October 1993) is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He began his career as a contestant in first season of '' The Voice of the Philippines'' with a live performance of the James Bond film song " Skyfall" that w ...

in English on his Pop Goes Standards album, released on

Valentine’s Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it ha ...

, February 17, 2014, by MCA Music, Philippines. It was produced by Francis Guevarra. The track is included in The Crossover Cafe II compilation album released by Universal Music, alongside songs by

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and others. In BusinessWorld Online, Jeffrey O. Valisno described the song as having "“romantic” written all over it" saying "Mr. Onesa sings like a guy smitten with a lovely girl while paying a tribute to the American poet of “The Road Not Taken.”

Awards

"Which Way, Robert Frost?" received multiple

Awit Award The Awit Awards are music awards in the Philippines given annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) to recognize the outstanding achievements in the music industry. The word "Awit" means "song" literally in Filipino ...

nominations at the

28th Awit Awards The 28th Awit Awards were held at Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan. They honored the best of Filipino music for the year 2014. It was originally scheduled on August 25, 2015 but due to unforeseen technical problems and inclement weather bro ...

: * Best Performance By A Male Recording Artist,

* Best Musical Arrangement, Benjie Pating * Best Vocal Arrangement, Arnie Mendaros * Best Engineered Recording, Ferdie Marquez & Efren San Pedro, Freq Studio & 12 Stone Studio

References

External links

* * {{YouTube, id=D8S27nnTi5I, title=Which Way, Robert Frost? by Paolo Onesa 2010 songs Jacky Cheung songs Songs written by Roxanne Seeman Songs written by Philipp Steinke Cantonese-language songs Songs about nostalgia Songs based on poems Songs about writers Waltzes