Lament as a Genre in Contemporary Christian Music: A Grassroots Theology in the Hong Kong Protests

Lament has not been a popular genre in contemporary Christian music (CCM), whether in the West or in Hong Kong. However, in the late 2010s Hong Kong saw an increasing number of compositions related to this genre, especially during the protests surrounding the anti-extradition law between June 2019 and early 2020. This article aims to explore that phenomenon and argues that these laments illustrate a type of grassroots theology by Hong Kong Christian musicians. Categorising these compositions as ‘Hong Kongese City Lament’, the article begins by examining the usage of the city lament in the ancient Near Eastern world, especially in the context of the Hebrew Bible. It then discusses the adaptation of the city lament into CCM and how lament has become popular since the Hong Kong protests. Three CCM laments from Hong Kong are analysed in terms of their musical composition, visual effects illustrated in the music videos, and the texts in the lyrics and captions. The article offers an alternative voice for the way in which grassroots Christians construct their theologies through music in the Hong Kong context.