Since it's May, it is only apt that we tune in to... Mayday. :D I got to know this Taiwanese alt-rock band by way of wlh. I was reading about him from a blogger who adores this band (if you still remember). So I decided to check them out. This was the first of their songs I heard on youtube. And guess what, by virtue of writing about it here, I obviously like it! A lot!
The main singer, Ashin 阿信, is apparently a prolific songwriter. He has written many songs for many artists, and especially worth noting is none other than Lee Hom's Beside the Plum Blossoms 在梅邊. Ta-dah! ^_^
The background of [Beside the Plum Blossoms] is based on the story behind The Peony Pavilion, an old Chinese play written by Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty. Wang gave tapes of this play to Ashin of Mayday, who later wrote the lyrics. Wang also wrote the rap lyrics which can be heard at the end of the song. He rapped 295 words in 50 seconds. The song is performed with ancient kunqu music.That's one mammoth of a song I won't be ready to translate anytime soon. Especially when it requires knowledge of ancient Chinese written works. Anyone who can write something like that for lh has done good in my book. Hahaha.. I think he wrote another song for lh, but I'm too lazy to verify it right now. The band has been making music since 1997, about 2 years aft lh's debut, so they are up there with the other veterans on the Mandopop industry. That's a lot of music to check out, which I am not very inclined to doing... because I am a creature of comfort. And I am very comfortable with just listening to wlh day in and day out, still. I am sure I'm gonna get bored of it soon, and then maybe I'll rehash some Switchfoot or Relient K or some other very familiar sounds. But who knows... Oh btw Ashin is one of the four people I follow/stalk on Weibo :)
Update: I found it! The other song that Ashin wrote for Lee Hom, that is. It's called Boya Severs Strings 伯牙绝弦. Read the full article here (it's old but rather hilarious, I might add).Back to the song, I have a weakness for songs that wax lyrical about the splendorous starry night that get my thoughts shuttling off to matters merry and melancholic, and this song, Starry Sky 星空, does just that. How could I not melt? And now that I've finished translating it, I have to confess that its beauty has taken me captive emotionally. *sighhh...*
The new album has a song about ancient Chinese musician Bo Ya, a qin player from the Spring and Autumn period. There’s already a Beijing opera about the star, and Leehom adds his composition, “Boya’s Broken String (伯牙绝弦)” to the legend. It tells the story of Boya and Zhong Ziqi; the latter loved to listen to the former’s music, and when she died, he broke the strings of his instrument in mourning.
When Leehom wanted to write this song, he was quickly struck by the difficulty of getting it formulated into lyrics that would tell the whole story, but still be singable. It’s a major challenge, and one Leehom finally decided might be a job for the man who helped him put the Peony Pavillion story into lyrics: Ashin. He excels at bringing these old stories to life in song, so he was clearly the only man for the job. He went to work, and he left Leehom once again explaining over his genius. (In the interest of full disclosure, Ashin shares a writing credit on the song with a second lyricist.)
...
Btw, on my often-spoke-off-but-non-existent wishlist of Things To Do Before I Die is to behold the glory of Aurora Borealis with my own naked eyes. Watching Lee Hom in concert is high on this list too. Star-struck, I am.
 |
| If it looks this great in picture, the real thing will reduce me to a sobbing worshiper |
习惯 xíguàn - accustomed to
初衷 chūzhōng - original intention, aspiration
苦衷 kǔzhōng - predicament, difficulty
陨落 yǔnluò - fall from the sky, decay, die
线索 xiànsuǒ - trail, clues
联络 liánluò - communication, contact
伸手 shēnshǒu - reach out
细数 xìshù - count down, list, enumerate
繁星 fánxīng - a sky full of stars
闪烁 shǎnshuò - flickering, twinkling, evasive, vague (of speech)
此生 cǐshēng - this life
奔波 bēnbō - constantly on the move
获 huò - catch, reap, harvest
触摸 chùmō - touch
仅 jǐn - barely, merely
摸不到的颜色 是否叫彩虹
看不到的拥抱 是否叫做微风
一个人 想着一个人 是否就叫寂寞
Colours that you can't touch - do you call them rainbow?
An embrace that you can't see - is it called a breeze?
When someone is thinking of someone else - is that loneliness?
命运偷走如果 只留下结果
时间偷走初衷 只留下了苦衷
你来过 然后你走后 只留下星空
Fate has stolen the maybes, leaving only conclusions
Time has stolen aspirations, leaving only predicaments
You came over and then you left, leaving behind only the starry sky
那一年我们望着星空 有那么多的 灿烂的梦
以为快乐会永久 像不变星空 陪着我
That year we were staring at the heavens above
We had so many brilliant dreams
We thought that happiness would last forever
Like the unchanging starry sky that accompanies me
猎户 天狼 织女 光年外沉默
回忆 青春 梦想 何时偷偷陨落
我爱过 然后我沉默 人海里漂流
Orion, Sirius, Vega (3 well-known constellations)
Light years of silence
Memories, youth, aspirations
When did they fall down from the sky?
I have loved, and later I kept silence
As I float about in a sea of people
那一年我们望着星空 未来的未来 从没想过
当故事失去美梦 美梦失去线索 而我们失去联络
That year we were staring at the heavens above
Thoughts about the future never crossed our minds
When the story loses its beautiful dreams
And the beautiful dreams its story line
And we lost touch with each other
这一片无言无语星空 为什么静静 看我泪流
如果你在的时候 会不会伸手 拥抱我？
This wordless, speechless sky
Why does it watch in silence as I cry?
If you were here, would you reach out and hold me?
细数繁星闪烁 细数此生奔波
原来 所有 所得 所获 不如一夜的星空
Counting the flickering stars across the vast sky
Counting the number of times we are on the move in this life
When in fact, everything that I have, everything that I've gained, everything I've captured
Is nothing compared to one night sky
空气中的温柔 回忆你的笑容
仿佛只要伸手 就能触摸
There's gentleness in the air as I remember your smile
It seems like I only need to hold out my hands to touch it
摸不到的颜色 是否叫彩虹
看不到的拥抱 是否叫做微风
一个人 习惯一个人...
Colours that you can't touch - aren't they called rainbow?
An embrace that you can't see - isn't called a breeze?
When someone is used to being alone...
这一刻独自望着星空 从前的从前 从没变过
寂寞可以是忍受 也可以是享受 享受仅有的拥有
At this moment, staring at the heavens by myself
History is unaltered
I can bear with the loneliness, and I can also enjoy everything that I barely have
那一年我们望着星空 有那么多的 灿烂的梦
至少回忆会永久 像不变星空 陪着我
That year we were staring at the heavens above
We had so many brilliant dreams
At least the memories will last forever
Just like the starry sky that accompanies me
最后只剩下星空 像不变回忆 陪着我
In the end, everything that's left is the starry sky
Like the unchanging memories that accompanies me
星空
Mayday 五月天
摸不到的颜色 是否叫彩虹
看不到的拥抱 是否叫做微风
一个人 想着一个人 是否就叫寂寞
命运偷走如果 只留下结果
时间偷走初衷 只留下了苦衷
你来过 然后你走后 只留下星空
那一年我们望着星空 有那么多的 灿烂的梦
以为快乐会永久 像不变星空 陪着我
猎户 天狼 织女 光年外沉默
回忆 青春 梦想 何时偷偷陨落
我爱过 然后我沉默 人海里漂流
那一年我们望着星空 未来的未来 从没想过
当故事失去美梦 美梦失去线索 而我们失去联络
这一片无言无语星空 为什么静静 看我泪流
如果你在的时候 会不会伸手 拥抱我？
细数繁星闪烁 细数此生奔波
原来 所有 所得 所获 不如一夜的星空
空气中的温柔 回忆你的笑容
仿佛只要伸手 就能触摸
摸不到的颜色 是否叫彩虹
看不到的拥抱 是否叫做微风
一个人 习惯一个人...
这一刻独自望着星空 从前的从前 从没变过
寂寞可以是忍受 也可以是享受 享受仅有的拥有
那一年我们望着星空 有那么多的 灿烂的梦
至少回忆会永久 像不变星空 陪着我
最后只剩下星空 像不变回忆 陪着我...
No comments:
Post a Comment