DISCO Protest
DISCO Protest
The song Jimmy Jimmy from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer (1984) has historically enjoyed a global resonance. How did it become a song of playful protest in China during COVID-19?
Co-author & co-curator: Swapnil Rai
Read the full analysis from the original essay at Pop Junctions
In October 2022, following a Covid outbreak, factory workers in China began protesting the Chinese government’s stringent measures to control the spread. What followed was a series of protests against lockdowns and the government’s closed-loop management system that did not allow factory workers to leave the factory; this led to the virus spreading rapidly among the workers. The government came down heavily on the workers in trying to curb the protests. While the factory workers voiced their protest on the street and online, another subtler wave of online protest emerged as humor through the sound of Bollywood. The Chinese Tik Tok Duoyin abounded with videos of Chinese netizens (Internet citizens) singing Jimmy, Jimmy a popular Bollywood song from the 1980s. Jimmy Jimmy, however, is not just any Bollywood song; it was the youth anthem for many soviets and east Europeans in the eighties. In this post, we focus on primarily three aspects of this event. First, what qualities make a song a protest song? Second, how do we account for the transcultural, trans-linguistic flow of the song, and what does this exchange reveal about the cultural dissemination and absorption of Bollywood in China?
Hindi Transliteration
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Aaja re mere saath
Yeh jagi jagi raat
Pukare tujhe sun
Suna de wohi dhun
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Aaja re mere saath
Yeh jagi jagi raat
Pukare tujhe sun
Suna de wohi dhun
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja
Aise gum-sum tu hai kyun khamoshi tod de
Jeena kya dil haarke pagalpan chhod de
Aise gum-sum tu hai kyun khamoshi tod de
Jeena kya dil haarke pagalpan chhod de
Aaja re mere saath
Yeh jagi jagi raat
Pukare tujhe sun
Suna de wohi dhun
English Translation
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Come with me
This night is without any sleep
Listen, it's calling for you
Sing the same tune for me
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Come with me
This night is without any sleep
Listen, it's calling for you
Sing the same tune for me
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, come come come
Why are you quiet, break your silence
Don't lose your heart and live, don't be mad
Why are you quiet, break your silence
Don't lose your heart and live, don't be mad
Come with me
This night is without any sleep
Listen, it's calling for you
Sing the same tune for me
Chinese Transliteration
Jimmy
借米 (jie mi)
[Can I] borrow rice?
Aaja
哪家 (na jia)
Which family?
Jimmy
借米 (jie mi)
[Can I] borrow rice?
Aaja
俺家 (an jia)
[It’s] my family.
俺家里没米了（an jia li mei mi le）
My family does not have rice now
你家里有米吗？(ni jia li you mi ma)
Does your family have rice?
少拿点不需多（shao na dian bu xu duo）
Take less, you don't need more