Abigail Washburn: Building US-China relations ... by banjo

If you had caught me straight out of college

in the halls of the Vermont State House

where I was a lobbyist in training

and asked me what I was going to do with my life,

I would have told you

that I'd just passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi,

the Chinese equivalency exam,

and I was going to go study law in Beijing,

and I was going to improve U.S.-China relations

through top-down policy changes

and judicial system reforms.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

I had a plan,

and I never ever thought

it would have anything to do

with the banjo.

Little did I know

what a huge impact it would have on me one night

when I was at a party

and I heard a sound coming out of a record player

in the corner of a room.

And it was Doc Watson

singing and playing "Shady Grove."

♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫

♫ Shady Grove, my darlin' ♫

♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫

♫ Going back to Harlan ♫

That sound was just so beautiful,

the sound of Doc's voice

and the rippling groove of the banjo.

And after being totally and completely obsessed

with the mammoth richness and history

of Chinese culture,

it was like this total relief

to hear something so truly American

and so truly awesome.

I knew I had to take a banjo with me to China.

So before going to law school in China

I bought a banjo, I threw it in my little red truck

and I traveled down through Appalachia

and I learned a bunch of old American songs,

and I ended up in Kentucky

at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention.

And I was sitting in a hallway one night

and a couple girls came up to me.

And they said, "Hey, do you want to jam?"

And I was like, "Sure."

So I picked up my banjo

and I nervously played four songs that I actually knew with them.

And a record executive walked up to me

and invited me to Nashville, Tennessee to make a record.

(Laughter)

It's been eight years,

and I can tell you that I didn't go to China to become a lawyer.

In fact, I went to Nashville.

And after a few months I was writing songs.

And the first song I wrote was in English,

and the second one was in Chinese.

(Music)

[Chinese]

Outside your door the world is waiting.

Inside your heart a voice is calling.

The four corners of the world are watching,

so travel daughter, travel.

Go get it, girl.

(Applause)

It's really been eight years since that fated night in Kentucky.

And I've played thousands of shows.

And I've collaborated

with so many incredible, inspirational musicians around the world.

And I see the power of music.

I see the power of music

to connect cultures.

I see it when I stand on a stage

in a bluegrass festival in east Virginia

and I look out at the sea of lawn chairs

and I bust out into a song in Chinese.

[Chinese]

And everybody's eyes just pop wide open

like it's going to fall out of their heads.

And they're like, "What's that girl doing?"

And then they come up to me after the show

and they all have a story.

They all come up and they're like,

"You know, my aunt's sister's babysitter's dog's chicken went to China

and adopted a girl."

And I tell you what, it like everybody's got a story.

It's just incredible.

And then I go to China

and I stand on a stage at a university

and I bust out into a song in Chinese

and everybody sings along

and they roar with delight

at this girl

with the hair and the instrument,

and she's singing their music.

And I see, even more importantly,

the power of music to connect hearts.

Like the time I was in Sichuan Province

and I was singing for kids in relocation schools

in the earthquake disaster zone.

And this little girl comes up to me.

[Chinese]

"Big sister Wong,"

Washburn, Wong, same difference.

"Big sister Wong, can I sing you a song

that my mom sang for me

before she was swallowed in the earthquake?"

And I sat down,

she sat on my lap.

She started singing her song.

And the warmth of her body

and the tears rolling down her rosy cheeks,

and I started to cry.

And the light that shone off of her eyes

was a place I could have stayed forever.

And in that moment, we weren't our American selves,

we weren't our Chinese selves,

we were just mortals

sitting together in that light that keeps us here.

I want to dwell in that light

with you and with everyone.

And I know U.S.-China relations

doesn't need another lawyer.

Thank you.

(Applause)