The qinqin (秦琴; pinyin: qínqín; Vietnamese: Dan-tru) is a plucked Chinese lute. It was originally manufactured with a wooden body, a slender fretted neck, and three strings.photo 1photo 2 Its body can be round,photo hexagonal (with rounded sides), or octagonal.photo Often, only two strings were used, as in certain regional silk-and-bamboo ensembles.photo In its hexagonal form (with rounded sides), it is also referred to as meihuaqin (梅花琴, literally "plum blossom instrument").
The qinqin is particularly popular in southern China: in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. A similar instrument, the two-stringed đàn sến, has been adapted from the qinqin for use in the traditional music of southern Vietnam.photo
The frets on all Chinese lutes are high so that the fingers never touch the actual body—distinctively different from western fretted instruments. This allows for a greater control over timbre and intonation than their western counterparts, but makes chordal playing more difficult.
I think I'll bag that trip for two
And pack it up to Kakadu.
Honey, it's not for the weather
Or the lack of loving you.
I got all this in between
Something I could not foresee.
All the deals I made don't matter
If I can't just let you be.
Gone again gone again
There ain't no way I'm gonna let this heart mend
Gone again
I walked in King's Cross for a while,
Gave a junkie girl a smile.
We both trade it in for danger
Or the company of strangers.
She said all her family
Was at the welfare agency,
Then she swindled my last twenty
For a kiss and some poetry.
Gone again gone again
There ain't no way I'm gonna let this heart mend
Gone again
If I don't make Kakadu,
I'll be at the Rainbow Room.
I'll be courting some disaster
With the Melbourne wrecking crew.
Honey, all this is to say
That every dog don't got its day,
If we take the love we're given
And we throw it all away.
Gone again gone again
There ain't no way I'm gonna let this heart mend