Musical ode to disiplined officers

Erin Chan

The Correctional Services Department is marking the 100th anniversary of its establishment today by launching an album about the work of frontline prison officers and volunteers over the past hundred years.

The album, a special gift dedicated to the anniversary, titled The Glorious Years of the Correctional Services Department, is a joint effort by CSD assistant commissioner Lam Wai-on and a group of CSD officers.

It contains five songs, including the title track The Glorious Years of the Correctional Services Department, as well as the songs The Same Mission, Because of You, My Bond with Correctional Services and The Last Line of Defense.

The album is available in three formats, including vinyl records, CDs and MP3 files that can be found online for the general public.

To celebrate its centenary, the CSD will display a vinyl record and a CD version of the album inside the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department Museum, in addition to distributing a signed CD by Commissioner Woo Ying-ming to some 7,000 officers.

Lam emphasized that the album was made in-house: "From the composition of the melody, the lyrics, accompaniment, vocals of the songs, to the design of the album cover, they were all covered by our colleagues.

"Even though we are not a professional music production crew, every step our colleagues took was a painstaking effort Every detail in the album reflects our devotion to the CSD It is similar to preparing an ordinary meal - despite it not coming with exquisite delicacies, it reflects our sincerity."

The title track is an upbeat song which showcases the "heroic" side of officers.

The melody of My Bond with Correctional Services mimics the style of 1970s Cantopop songs, bearing a strong resemblance to the theme songs of television dramas featuring martial arts heroes. It tells the story of officers' yearning for social justice.

The production team behind the album described the two songs as "yin" and "yang" due to their contrasting musical styles and that they depict two different duties of the officers - "punishing" and "teaching" inmates.

Meanwhile, Because of You pays tribute to CSD's 4,000-member volunteer team, which was established in 2005.

Similarly, The Last Line of Defense demonstrates the inclusive, diverse composition of officers at the CSD, with the song sung by officers of different ranks, positions, genders and ethnic backgrounds.

The production crew hopes that the tracks on the album will help citizens better understand the work the CSD does.