faith, hope and love

Hari Raya came and the four-day break will be over by today.. boo hoo! i'm happy to say that it's been a busy few days, with me cooking Dad his birthday dinner on Saturday (which turned out rather yummeh if i may say so hehe!)(hopefully, i'll post photos in the next blog) and visiting Zul on Sunday (it's kinda a tradition by now)(we got to play a few rounds of Taboo, which i've missed so much!), and the impromptu tea session with M&S at Publika, and getting my toes holiday-ready by painting them in some bright shades I've never tried before (and since i couldn't decide, i have orange on the left foot and red on the right), and also getting a lot of housework in between (i just spent three hours plus cleaning my kitchen). w00t!

anywayyy, a few nights back, i managed to listen to one hour's worth of radio interview between Lee Hom and a Hong Kong DJ. if you knew me, that was no mean feat, because it's almost next to impossible to get me to listen to an audio file of someone talking without me tuning out within the first five minutes *hashtag ADD* hehehe.. what's more, that interview was in Mandarin, which required my almost complete attention.. so woohoo! ah, why are you not surprised! :P

this song 你和我 You and I is one of Lee Hom's songs that i've listened to and liked for years. it's from his Unbelievable album which came out 9 years ago in 2003. what was I doing then?

at this point, i think i've come to accept the fact that the main appeal of Lee Hom's songs is in their simplicity and general positiveness. really, they are like honey for an ever-optimist bear like me! heh. i have a colleague who tells me that he doesn't like any tune that's upbeat or happy. he looks nothing like a melancholic soul but he just finds himself drawn to dark and depressing songs and movies. i don't think that's very healthy so i try to convince him to try something lighter.. it hasn't worked yet haha!

of course one could insist that that's how the world is really like so why try to sugarcoat the unpalatable bitterness of harsh reality? ah, but don't i know better? have i not ranted enough about the vileness of human nature and cried in despair at the bleak state of morality of this age? if anything, the images in my head are too lurid.

BUT.

despite it all, we are NOT without hope. there has got to be something that makes sense, above the sheer madness that's happening around us. i can't see it but there HAS got to be. and it's this faith i have in me, the hope that comes from and lies in God alone, this is the steel rope by which my sanity hangs.

it's hard being an optimist in this time that we live in. sometimes being one makes me feel foolish, an ignoramus, cold even. but i'd rather that, than having to stare defeated and hopelessly into the present and the future. which i do sometimes. sigh. make haste, Lord.

mm, how did i end going up there? haha..

so yeah, while i still enjoy me some Damien Rices and Adeles, i really appreciate Lee Hom, Jon Foreman, Adam Young, Derek Webb, Matt Thiessen, and many, many other singers/songwriters who don't leave their listeners wallowing in despair without dropping them a hint of a lifeline.

Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. 
:: 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)



親愛的聽眾朋友我是你的代班DJ　想找你陪我一起聊聊這世界
整天的工作重覆疲憊的畫面　　麻木你的感覺
耳邊才剛剛聽到仇恨要靠理智解決　謾罵和子彈卻在那頭滿天飛
學了一輩子的愛沒勇氣說出來　彌補那些傷害
dearest listeners, I will be your substitute DJ for today
now that you're with me, let's talk about what's going on around the world
all you do is work the entire day, and the repetitiveness and exhaustion make you feel numbed
we have just heard about a hostile situation that requires wisdom for a solution
abuse and bullets are flying pass just above the head
having learned about love our whole life, but lacking the guts to say it even to cover pains and hurt

你和我　在世界同一座擂台　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚流出來不是因為失敗　
幸福那個夢 就看你和我　　你和我　你和我
you and i are living on the same stage in this world
don't be a coward, just summon your courage
let your tears flow freely, but not because from defeat
that blessed dream we have depends on you and i, you and i, you and i

美麗的主播說的都不是美麗的新聞　　彩色的報紙能讓鮮血更逼真
當媒體播報的全是絕望的氣氛　誰該負點責任
the beautiful anchorperson has no good news to deliver
the colorful newspaper describes the bloodshed so vividly
when all that the media have to broadcast are gloom and doom
who should be held responsible?

那麼多的人只敢窩在網路裡面生存　慢慢都忘記電腦螢幕沒靈魂
科技的發達讓人的距離被拉開　再也拉不回來
so many people hide and only dare to live their lives online
they will slowly forget that the computer screen is lifeless
the advancement of technology seems to create a gap between human beings
one that we might not be able to close (but)

你和我　在世界同一座擂台　　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚流出來不是因為失敗　　幸福那個夢　就看你和我
你和我　你和我　你和我（我們做得到yeah)
you and i are living on the same stage in this world
don't be a coward, just summon your courage
let your tears flow freely, but not because from defeat
that blessed dream we have depends on you and i, you and i, you and i

你和我也沒什麼不一樣　該學習地球如何分享
為什麼我們會忘記怎麼擁有簡單的大愛
That's right　你和我　我們都要做的更好
you and i are not very much different
we need to learn how to share this earth
how could we forget what it's like to have simple great love
that's right, you and i, we need to do more


重覆 chóngfù - repeat
疲憊 píbèi - beaten / exhausted / tired
仇恨 chóuhèn - to hate / hatred / enmity / hostility
謾罵 mànmà - to hurl abuse / to deride / to call sb names
彌補 míbǔ - to complement / to make up for a deficiency
懦弱 nuòruò - cowardly / weak
主播zhǔbō - anchorperson
逼真 bīzhēn - lifelike / true to life / distinctly / clearly
氣氛 qìfēn - atmosphere / mood
螢幕 yíngmù - screen of a computer/TV
發達/发达 fādá - develop



你和我
詞：陳鎮川　
曲：王力宏‧Epicentre‧Denise Rich

親愛的聽眾朋友我是你的代班DJ　　想找你陪我一起聊聊這世界
整天的工作重覆疲憊的畫面　　麻木你的感覺

耳邊才剛剛聽到仇恨要靠理智解決　　謾罵和子彈卻在那頭滿天飛
學了一輩子的愛沒勇氣說出來　　彌補那些傷害
你和我　在世界同一座擂台　　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚流出來不是因為失敗　　幸福那個夢
就看你和我　　你和我　你和我
美麗的主播說的都不是美麗的新聞　　彩色的報紙能讓鮮血更逼真
當媒體播報的全是絕望的氣氛　　誰該負點責任
那麼多的人只敢窩在網路裡面生存　　慢慢都忘記電腦螢幕沒靈魂
科技的發達讓人的距離被拉開　　再也拉不回來
你和我　在世界同一座擂台　　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚流出來不是因為失敗　　幸福那個夢　就看你和我

你和我　你和我　你和我（我們做得到yeah)
你和我也沒什麼不一樣　該學習地球如何分享
為什麼我們會忘　記　怎　麼　擁　有　簡　單　的　大　愛
That's right,　　你和我　　我們都要做的更好
你和我　在世界同一座擂台　　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚　流出來不是因為失敗　　幸福那個夢　就看你和我
你和我
你和我　在世界同一座擂台　　別懦弱　拿出勇氣對待
讓眼淚　流出來不是因為失敗　　幸福那個夢　就看你和我　你和我
(C'mon　一起唱 now　我們做得到　now　這個世界就是）