A Love Before Time

"A Love Before Time"
Song by Coco Lee
Released2000
Genre
Length
  • 3:46 (English)
  • 3:38 (Mandarin)
Songwriter(s)
Music video
"A Love Before Time" on YouTube

"A Love Before Time" is a song for Ang Lee’s movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It was sung by Chinese-American singer CoCo Lee[1] and featured Yo-Yo Ma on cello,[2] with music by Tan Dun and Jorge Calandrelli. The English lyrics was written by James Schamus.[1] Released in 2000, the song was nominated for best original song at the 73rd Academy Awards.[1]

CoCo Lee performed the song at the Academy Awards ceremony in March 2001. She is the first, and so far only, Chinese to perform at the Awards.[3][4][5]

The song was introduced by the actress Julia Stiles as an “evocative love ballad” that combined "the flavor and texture of Eastern music with the orchestral color and sensitive lyrics of Western culture" in the ceremony.[1]

Ang Lee also recorded a Chinese (Mandarin) version of the song, 月光愛人. Performed by Coco Lee, the lyrics of this version were written by Kevin Yi during a flight to the US.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d McCarthy, Lauren (5 Jul 2023), "Coco Lee, 'Crouching Tiger' and 'Mulan' Singer, Dies at 48", The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331, retrieved 8 Jul 2024
  2. ^ British Film Institute; British Institute of Adult Education (2001). Sight and Sound. British Film Institute. p. 45. Retrieved 8 Jul 2024.
  3. ^ EFE, Agencia (6 Jul 2023). "Coco Lee, China's only Oscars performer, dies at 48". EFE Noticias. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies by suicide aged 48, siblings confirm". The Guardian. 5 July 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  5. ^ "登奧斯卡首位華人歌手 李玟獻唱英版月光愛人｜三立娛樂星聞 - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023.
  6. ^ "易家扬谈唱片背后的故事 难忘与成龙摸鲨鱼经历". sohu.com (in Chinese). 28 Dec 2012. Retrieved 8 Jul 2024.