“4 June 1989” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
“4 June 1989” centers on a historical occurrence which is known as the Tiananmen Square incident. Even now, over 3 decades later, what transpired in Tiananmen Square, a location found in Beijing, in mid-1989 serves as the most infamous example of China’s reluctance to accept democracy and willingness to trample on human rights.
Indeed, based on what has and continues to transpire in the name of fighting COVID-19 as of the writing of this post, we all know how the Chinese government can conduct itself sometimes when it comes to keeping citizens in check.
And in the name of suppressing the protests of 1989, which did in fact conclude on June 4 of that year, they utilized certain tactics besides directly confronting the young protestors. For instance, some law enforcement officials were called upon to infiltrate the ranks of those making “noise”. And since this was in fact a student-led movement, accordingly said officials would have to be quite young themselves.
The Lyrics of “4 June 1989”
So with that in mind, what’s actually going down in “4 June 1989” is Mary Chapin Carpenter relaying these lyrics from one of such individuals. This individual is a 17 year old army soldier who was ordered to go undercover in the student-protest movement.
There’s a lot of poetic lingo and what have you being thrown around in this piece. But what it all boils down to is said soldier emerging disillusioned from said assignment. As relayed in the second verse, the way he sees it is that those who were actually being arrested were the likes of “artists and… poets”. These people were not real threats, if you will. In fact he too was an artist “before Tiananmen”, someone who “dreamed of love”.
And actually in the aftermath, as relayed in the third verse, he remained engaged in such a vocation. But what is being implied is that his artistry has changed as a result. And what he is doing now, after all he witnessed, is traveling around the world and basically protesting himself. Simply put, he is using his “artist’s brush” to ideologically bring about systemic change as with those involved in Tiananmen Square.
When was “4 June 1989” released?
American singer Mary Chapin Carpenter released “4 June 1989” on the 27th of April, 2010. It was released as the 5th track on her eleventh studio album, “The Age of Miracles”.
Did Carpenter write this song?
Yes. “4 June 1989” was composed by Mary Carpenter herself. Mary, also being a fine record producer, collaborated with award winning German producer, Matt Rollings on the song’s production.
“The Age of Miracles” Album
“The Age of Miracles” was produced by Carpenter alongside the aforementioned record producer, Rollings.
The album was released through Zoë Records, an independent American record label.
“The Age of Miracles” peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 chart. It received positive reviews from music critics.
The Chinese Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square massacre, also known as the June Fourth Incident in China occurred in 1989 at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. This incident saw military troops fire at protestors, leading to several deaths and injuries. The protests began on April 15, 1989, but were forcibly suppressed on June 4, after the Chinese government declared martial law and ordered the People’s Liberation Army to take over parts of Beijing.
The official death toll and the extent of casualties have remained in dispute since the occurrence of the massacre itself. While the CCP suppressed all discussions around the figures immediately after the event, they later estimated the number of deaths to be around 300. Other estimates suggest that a few hundred to several thousands of people may have died as a result.
The protests were triggered by the death of Hu Yaobang amid the rapid social and economic changes that were taking place in post-Mao China. While the Chinese government was condemned by the international community for the massacre, it did not stop them from making several arrests, controlling media coverage, and suppressing other protests. The Tiananmen Square massacre remains one of the most censored topics in China.
NOTE: The reason Carpenter titled her song “4 June 1989” is because it marks the the day the Chinese authorities brutally crushed the Tiananmen Square protests.
