Ever since I hopped on the Music Man-ia Express in March 2012 (you can read about it here), I've been immersing myself into 王力宏 Wang Leehom's songs day and night, just catching up on what I've missed the past 17 years (yeah he's been in the industry for that long, and meanwhile I have no idea where I have been -_-).. It hasn't been easy because of my half-baked (actually, it's really raw) Mandarin but my curiosity and interest has proven to be a potent motivator *wink*. So what should banana girl do in such circumstance?
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The man in his habitat, where magic is made. |
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Lee Hom and his chick. There's a joke in there, somewhere... |
[More info on the who, why, what and how below this list]
Single: 十二生肖 Twelve Zodiacs (Dec 2012)
Album: 火力全开 All-Out Fire Power (Sept 2011)
Album: 十八般武藝 18 Martial Arts (Aug 2010)
- 十八般武藝 18 Forms of Martial Arts
- 你不知道的事 All The Things You Never Knew
- 伯牙绝弦 Boya Cutting Off Strings
- 柴米油鹽醬醋茶 Firewood, Rice, Oil, Salt, Sauce, Vinegar, Tea [i.e. The Essentials of Life]
- 美 Beautiful
- 需要人陪 Need Someone By [My] Side
- 自己人 One Of Us
Album: 心.跳 Heart.Beat (Dec 2008)
- 心跳 Heartbeat
- 春雨裡洗過的太陽 The Spring Rain Washed Sun
- Everything
- 我完全沒有任何理由理你 I Absolutely Have No Reason To Pay You Any Attention
- 玩偶 Puppet
- 腳本 The Script
- 競爭對手 The Competitor
Album: 改變自己 Change Me (Jul 2007)
- 落葉歸根 Falling Leaves Return To Roots
- 我们的歌 Our Song
- 你是我心內的一首歌 You Are A Song In My Heart
- 星期六的深夜 Saturday Midnight
Album: 盖世英雄 Heroes Of Earth (Dec 2005)
Album: 心中的日月 Shangri-La (Dec 2004)
Album: 不可思議 Unbelievable (Oct 2003)
Album: 音乐进化论95-02 Music Evolution 1995-2002 (Jan 2002)
Album: 唯一 Only One (Sep 2001)
Album: 不可能错过你 It's Impossible to Miss You (Jul 1999)
Album: 好想你 Missing You (Dec 1996)
Album: 如果你听见我的歌 If You Heard My Song (Aug 1996)
Artist: David Tao 陶喆
Artist: Khalil Fong 方大同
- 记得 Remember (Amei cover)
- 春風吹 Spring Wind
Artist: Jacky Cheung 張學友
Artist: Mayday 五月天
Artist: sodagreen 蘇打綠
Artist: Ann 白安
Artist: Cheer Chen 陳綺貞
Quick Questions and Some Answers
1. Who is Wang Lee Hom 王力宏?
Good question! I once asked this question too, and Wikipedia is always a good start to any research, so click *here* to get an idea. You can check Youtube next: visit the *official WLH youtube* page, or the *VEVO page*. He is on *Weibo* too and has been consistently posting one "tweet" (I don't know what's the Wb equivalent of that term) a day. He's also overhauled his *personal website* so it's been up and running. If you need any more info, the internet is your playground, feel free to roam around. Don't be too bothered with the gossips and rumours, he doesn't, I don't, you also don't need to. Just say "我完全沒有任何理由理[他们]!! :)
Over time, you should be able to gauge his character and personality from the snippets of interviews he's given. I am a fan not only because of his songs, but because I believe that he's a rather awesome person in many ways. Even his peers have nothing but *nice things* to say of him. :)
2. How good are your translation?
I'm a super n00b at this, so I rely heavily on the internet. Google Translate is quick and simple, but its results can be inaccurate and puzzling sometimes. I cross check the more complicated terms on mdbg.net; it breaks down and give the meaning for each character/phrase and it also indicates if certain phrases are idioms, which I really appreciate.
I cannot vouch for the quality of my translation; they are fairly accurate, but I always feel like I've lost something in translation. It's regrettable, but sometimes unavoidable. I try my best. I return to these songs often to tweak and improve them, so you might notice subtle differences every now and then.
When I first started, I stuck closely to directly translating each line as they are, and this obviously resulted in some awkward phrasing and flow. I've started to take some liberty with my licence, only ensuring that I preserve its essence.
I don't translate repetitive paragraphs, please scroll down to below the embedded youtube vid for the complete lyrics.
I don't put in the full pinyin lyrics because I hate looking at a bunch of gibberish littering my page. Most songs here are all over the internet; there are plenty of other resources that you could refer to. This project is solely meant to benefit myself, but if it's of any help to you, by all means come and sit with me.. :)
3. Just Lee Hom? Anyone else from the Mandopop universe?
I've never really been into Chinese music prior to this due to language barrier and my preconceived notion that most Mandarin songs are ballads, and ballads can be boooring especially with repeated listening. They are fine in small doses though. I've always liked David Tao though but have never really pursued his music seriously. I had one Jackie Cheung album when I was 15. And all of Jimmy Lin's. One song from Jay Chou and one from Justin Lo in my iTunes playlist. That's about it.
Not sure where I am heading right now with all these; I'm still taking baby steps with Chinese music (I'm easily overwhelmed). I hope to discover wonderful gems as I progress on this path! I love listening to music but I tend to revolve around the same few artists, I am not adventurous at all. But I'm contented with what I like. Occasionally I will make interesting finds, and when I do, I will share it here (as I have with sodagreen's and Mayday's songs).
update dec 2012: I just downloaded 方大同 Khalil Fong's new album from iTunes, Back To Wonderland, and I LOVE it! definitely worth listening to :)
update mar 2013: I crossed "Attending Leehom's concert" off my bucket list! Saw him performed at Genting Highlands' Arena of Stars.. and it was every bit as awesome as I had hoped. Write-ups here, here and here.
