He dedicated another song, Thank You My Love, to his wife, Taiwan actress Joan Lin, whom he describes as "tolerant, strong and always by my side, no matter what happens".

The song Don't Give Up is for Chan's son, Jaycee Chan, a musician and actor, who was arrested on drugs charges in Beijing in 2014. The song was written by Jaycee Chan before Jackie Chan became a leading ambassador for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and released an album to mark the event.

"I decided not to use that song at that time to avoid talk that I was helping to promote my son. When Jaycee was in trouble, I took that song and changed a little, addressing it to him," says Jackie Chan, adding that his son also sings one part in the song. "I'm probably not the best father, but I am responsible. At that moment I didn't blame him for the bad things that happened but instead blamed myself for not educating him properly. I believe in the future he will emerge from this shadow, and I wanted to cheer him up."

Other songs on the new album include Love Got Old, where Chan pays tribute to his parents, and Everything Is Like Before, Only You Are Gone, which he sings for loved ones who have died, such as the late Taiwan pop star Teresa Teng, with whom Jackie Chan had a relationship, his former manager Willie Chan Chi-keung, who helped establish Chan's career, and some of his stuntmen friends.

"Chinese people tend to be reserved. We always hold our feelings back. For the people I love, I rarely say 'I love you' to them. But with music, I can express my emotions," Chan says.

Chan's new movie, The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, is due to premiere on Feb 5.

The kung fu star also adds that the opportunity to record songs alone in a studio offered him a different experience from making movies, where hundreds of people often join him on the set.

"I can totally be in the zone when I'm singing by myself in the studio. This might be my last album so I completely devoted myself to it. I'm looking back on my life and this is what I want to say to my family, my friends and my fans," he says.

On Dec 4, he released an English autobiography, titled Never Grow Up, in which he confesses to the darker side of his personality, involving gambling and alcohol. First released in Chinese in 2015, the book courted controversy and propelled the mega star into international headlines. The book inspired the opening song on the album, bearing the same title, which he chose to frame the album.

He also recorded another song that didn't make it to the final playlist. "It's a song that you may hear at my funeral," Chan says.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn