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)