Some persistent youtubing on my part has unearthed this song by Lee Hom, written way back in 1996 (for his third album; he was 20!~ so young~), and having listened to a handful of his English songs (I honestly think that lyrics writing esp in his native tongue is not his forte, and I sure hope that he is aware of it too :P), I must say that this is one of the better ones.
Mayday's song, meanwhile, is from their latest album released late last year. I was looking through the track list of that album and realized that I've heard many of those songs on Youtube and liked them, so I erm.. download the whole album. *happy!* I think I'll purchase the album one of these days. :) I really like their music videos -- they are very.. well directed and cohesive [compared to *cough* Lee Hom's, which sometimes make me wanna pull my hair out (have mercy, monsieur Wang, for I have very little left). Yes, yes, I'm still a huge fan. Haha!]
Incidentally, these two songs reminded me of this fictional book by David Maine called The Flood that I was reading halfway sometime and never got to finish because I was.. distracted or something.. (And I have no idea where the book is now! *sad face*) It was an interesting book; each chapter was a first-person narrative by Noah and members of his family of the events leading up to and after The Great Flood. I tend to romanticize the entire endeavor when I read the Bible as it happened yonks ago (in Genesis!)(read the biblical account *here*) so the personal retelling of the story (albeit fictional) painted a clearer picture of what could have happened. Lee Hom's version reminds me of the book. Mm, where could the book be?!Anyway, here are the songs. I didn't have to do the translation this time because (1) Lee Hom's song is in English (2) I nicked the translation from Mayday's song from another blog (link below) weehehe.. I'm putting them side by side because I like the way it's displayed and I like both songs equally. Plus I can't make a fair comparison, as they are written by different people in different languages at different stages of their lives. Lee Hom's song hints of a psalmist's lament while Mayday's Ashin is a contemporary poet. The only thing in common being the reference to that one ancient figure.. butttt if there was a gun to my head, I'd go with...
So I'll leave you to enjoy both songs while I go and listen to Mayday's latest album. Toodle!
| Noah Wang Lee Hom 王力宏 On the first of December I was commissioned to sail away On a ship that was sinking Forty nights and forty days And while I went under The tears of a murdered land Were turning the earth into sand I'm too cold to be sleeping So I light up a candle of regret To burn the secrets I'm keeping And pray that someday I can forget The cries of my people The voices of doubt inside my head I think of the things that you said Am I alone here？ Are there others like me too Safe in my capsule Unable to move？ How long has it been now？ And where will this journey end? Will it end...ohhh.. Got the hands of a farmer The words of a preacher's tongue Got the heart of a sailor To believe till your work is done I will stand in the ocean With these wooden planks under my feet I will come to your table After my journey's complete I believe in the future I can feel the blood rising in my veins It's the sound of a battle cry When only the echo remains I will serve you forever I will build you a nation of love I'm relying on luck, oh God The four-leaf clover from a dove And isn't it crazy For me to start life brand new？ And when I find Ararat The first thing that I'll do is drive cross the country side And nap in that sweet sunlight...yeah I'll be singing a love song For my, my dear dear wife And nap in that sweet sunlight Before the night is over I'll be crying on your shoulder My wild imagination Is keeping me from losing patience Why did you make us Only to tear us away？ Why have you chosen me？ It was your fault anyway... | Noah's Ark 諾亞方舟 Mayday 五月天 再見 草莓甜甜圈 街角咖啡店 落下雨點 再見 黑白老照片 回憶電影院 埋進地面 Good-bye strawberry donuts, the corner coffee shop, falling rain Good-bye old black and white photos, the buried and nostalgic movie theater 再見 我們初識的那個公園 那天是誰先吻了誰 被誰遺忘的鞦韆 再見 那麼多名車名錶名鞋 最後我們只能帶走 名為回憶的花園 Farewell to the garden where we first met Remember who kissed whom first that day? And the forgotten swing set Good-bye, all those brand-name cars, designer watches and shoes In the end all we take with us is our garden of memories 如果要告別 如果今夜就要和一切告別 如果你只能打一通電話 你會撥給誰 If you have to take your leave, if this very night you have to take leave of everything If you could only make one phone call, whom would you call? 晚安 鸚鵡和孔雀 花豹和人類 望著海面 晚安 底片和唱片 沉浮在浪間 就像詩篇 Good night, parrots and peacocks, leopards and humans, look out toward the sea Good night, photonegatives and record albums, bobbing up and down on the waves, like a psalm 晚安 自由女神漂到華爾街 我們在甲板上摸到 杜拜塔頂的塔尖 晚安 海豚躍出西藏的屋簷 原來幻想中的這天 會比幻想更唯美 Good night, the Statue of Liberty drifts toward Wall Street, from the ship’s deck we can touch the tip of the tower in Dubai Good night, dolphins leap from the rafters of Tibet, as it turns out, this day is more beautiful than it ever was in our fantasies 還是要告別 還是放棄海拔以下的世界 你會裝進什麼回憶紀念 在行李裡面 終於要告別 終於沒有更多的明天要追 你有什麼遺憾依然殘缺 還沒有完美 You still must take your leave, you still must abandon the world beneath these waves You can keep some mementoes in your luggage It’s finally time to take leave, there are finally no more tomorrows to pursue What regrets do you still have that you have not made good? 當彗星燃燒天邊 隕石像雨點 當輻射比陽光還要熾烈 當愛變得濃烈 當每段命運 更加壯烈 當永遠變成一種遙遠 當句點變成一種觀點 讓人類終於變成同類 When comets streak across the sky, meteorites fall like rain When radiation blazes more powerfully than sunshine When love becomes concentrated, when every act of fate is fulfilled When forever becomes a kind of faraway, when a period becomes a point of view Making humanity finally become one 勇敢的告別 勇敢地向過去和未來告別 告別每段血緣身分地位 聰明或愚昧 Bravely taking leave, bravely taking leave of past and future Taking leave of every bloodline, rank, or position, intelligence or stupidity 最後的告別 最後一個心願是學會高飛 飛在不存在的高山草原 星空和藍天 At last take leave, at last a dream learns how to fly away Fly across the lost mountain grasslands, starry nights and blue skies 讓 諾亞方舟 航向了 海平線 讓 諾亞方舟 航向了 換日線 讓 諾亞方舟 航向了 天際線 讓 諾亞方舟 航向了 無限 Let Noah’s Ark sail toward the horizon Let Noah’s Ark sail toward the dateline Let Noah’s Ark sail toward the skyline Let Noah’s Ark sail toward infinity [I didn't do the translation this time, I just took the whole thing from *here*, with minor personal preference tweaks :)] |
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