The bridge connecting World-Wide House and Central MTR station is a popular weekend hangout among Filipinos, where they can blow some steam off with hometown food and great music. Despite the coronavirus-induced prohibition on group gatherings, William Elvin sat on the stairs with a guitar in his arms and sang a song he wrote.

“Gilbert lives in Hong Kong/ But was born in Bangkok/ Gilbert can’t pick up the language though he tried…” The lyrics resonated among the Filipino domestic workers nearby, who started to gather and applaud around him. His performance also attracted busy passersby to stop and listen.

Elvin used to work as a folk singer and a theatrical musical director in the Philippines. Struggling to make ends meet back home, he followed his father’s footsteps in 2013 and started looking for jobs in Hong Kong. He is now a copywriter at an advertising company, after being told off multiple times when he distributed flyers at World-Wide House. After clocking out for the day, he performs at bars or lounges in the evening.

Apart from busking in Central or writing his own songs at home, he also pursues his music dream by pouring his heart into his music videos shared on YouTube and Spotify. His folk melodies tell the stories and anecdotes of common Hong Kong people.

The video for “The Tragedy of Gilbert”, the song he played in Central, was shot at Tsuen Wan Centre. Elvin said, “I live in Tsuen Wan. I have not been able to go far out during the epidemic, so I filmed the video near my home.” As most of his friends and colleagues are Hongkongers, he finds himself deeply rooted in the city. It is just natural for him to write local issues and scenes into his local English songs.

That said, he still feels like an outsider sometimes. “Unlike in the Philippines where people hang out together every week, people are quite distant from each other in Hong Kong. But as an introvert, I feel quite comfortable.” Such detachment also allows him to understand and capture the struggles of the city’s outsiders.

“People always think of Filipinos as either domestic workers or lounge singers. But not every Filipino can sing – my wife is an example!” He explained with a smile, “Filipinos are diverse. Look at me, I work in an office.” Racial discrimination does not bother him much, but propels him to pair the struggles with brisk melodies for a light-hearted contrast.

“Living in Hong Kong, we are all like Gilbert. We struggle to find our place in the city, and each of us has our own way to be engaged.” Working in Quarry Bay, he loves exploring every part of the city in his spare time. He sometimes takes a tram to Admiralty after work, then hops on a bus to Tsuen Wan. “I probably do it to avoid the crowds. I do not want to be squeezed in a metro.” One of his songs “Tram” is his love letter to the trams as well as to slow living.

Apart from love stories and daily delights, Elvin has also turned politics into songs since the pro-democracy movement broke out in 2019. While on a holiday in the Philippines, he saw a photo of two young lovers kissing while still with their respirators on. Deeply moved, he wrote the song “Somehow, Something.”

“It was probably because we had the same experience in the Philippines,” said Elvin. “We have a phase in our history where we were under a very oppressive martial law and were deprived of freedoms. So I wanted to write a song to respond to the situation in Hong Kong.” He completed the song when watching the protests on the news.

“Somehow, something still shines so bright/ In this cage they have both locked us in/ Outside these chains, poison fills up the air/ In this jail cell, your love makes me feel it’s a fight we can win.”

“As an artist, you need to have beliefs. You should have a stand on where things are politically. It is ridiculous to think arts and politics are mutually exclusive. Everything is related to politics.” The “cage” and “something” in his lyrics is open to interpretation, either about a romantic relationship or charged with political meaning. “This is what artists do – instead of giving answers, we keep raising questions through art, until we reach the truth.”

While the national security law has sparked a fresh wave of emigration, Elvin is here to stay. He has not participated in any street protests, but he found his means to resist. “I believe artists always find a way to discuss. This is the way I have found, like other artists in Hong Kong.”

The “Somehow, Something” music video he shared to YouTube last month was filmed in an abandoned village in Ma Wan. “For that video, I kept asking my Hong Kong friends where I could find an abandoned place.” He felt that a deserted place was needed for the song, “because in some people’s eyes, Hong Kong is an abandoned place.” The city is losing its roots as more desperate Hong Kong people are leaving, and it is something Elvin wants to address.

“Even when people want to lock you up, or want to take away certain freedoms from you, there is still something you can hold on to.” As said in his lyrics, “Your love makes me feel it’s a fight we can win.”

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