These are some songs I like. I'll be adding more whenever I feel in the mood. There are probably lots of mistake and inaccuracies! Please let me know if you notice any.
Table of contents:
Kay Huang - Blue sea of beer (蓝色啤酒海)
Groupie - Happy play (快乐玩)
Cui Jian - Again from the start (从头再来)
Cui Jian - It's not that I don't understand (不是我不明白)
(see also the translations of New Pants lyrics I did, which have their own page.)
This is the official Saddleblasters theme song, and, more importantly, one of the first Chinese songs I ever sat down and tried to seriously understand the lyrics of. To say the least, I was somewhat perplexed at the time. (Spoilers: it’s about pregnancy.)
我的我的小孩 Oh my little baby
My little baby [One of those wonderful instances where the lyrics translate themselves..!]
啤酒变成的海 一生是个夏天
A sea made of beer, a summer that lasts a lifetime
我的我的小孩 Oh my little baby
My little baby
啤酒变成的海 一杯可以喝一年
A sea made of beer, one glass lasts a whole year
蓝色啤酒海 我想要一个小孩
Blue sea of beer, I want a kid
珊瑚眼睛 珍珠心怀
Eyes like coral, a mind like pearls
啤酒眼泪 滴成蓝色的海
Tears of bear, dripping into a blue sea
蓝色啤酒海 我想要一个小孩
Blue sea of beer, I want a kid
有时候乖 有时候坏
Sometimes well behaved, sometimes quite bad
寂寞时候 希望和棕榈恋爱
When lonely, I’d like to fall in love with a palm tree
There’s something mysterious about this song that elevates it for me beyond just a simple pop-rock love song. Obviously I’m drawn to the confusion of the second verse, though I think the almost childish innocence of the first is necessary to make this all work. It’s also interesting to note that the lyrics end at only around the halfway mark of the song — it has quite a long outro.
有些话不知道该不该说
There are some words I don’t know whether or not to say
还是让它说出口
It would be better to let them speak for themselves
每一次你都喜欢问我
You always like to ask me
为什么要做你的男朋友
Why do I want to be your boyfriend?
我迷恋你那是因为我
The reason I’m enamored with you
喜欢你却沒有任何理由
Is simply that I like you, and for no other reason
像三月的风轻轻的吹
Like the wind gently blowing in March
吹吹吹进了我心头
Blowing into my heart
等待青春来临的时候
On the arrival of youth
妳要抓住它的所有
She will seize upon everything
…
不要轻易地让它远走
Don’t let it leave you so easily
噢一场梦
Oh, a scene from a dream
梦中的人又出现街头
A person from a dream appears on the road
从黑夜到天明
All through the black night to the light of day
我都在思索
I’m pondering the whole time
要如何才能轻易摆脱
How can I let go?
不好的念头又从眼前闪过
These terrible thoughts that flash before my eyes again
剎那之间我又不知所措
In an instant I’m at a loss
跳呀跳呀跳呀跳呀
Dance dance dance!
跳到我眼前
Dance your way here to me
药效突然和酒精一起发作
Drugs and alcohol suddenly take effect
等待青春来临的时候
On the arrival of youth
妳要抓住它的所有
She will seize upon everything
…
不要轻易地让它远走
Don’t let it leave you so easily
A cheerful anthem about profound ambivalence — a recurring saddle theme. Half of what makes this work is of course Cui Jian’s inimitable voice. There might be a few references to certain slogans/ideas that I overlooked which may or may not affect the interpretation of some of these lines.
我脚踏着大地我头顶着太阳
My feet trample the earth, my head holds up the sun
我装做这世界唯我独在
I act as though there’s no one in this world but me
我紧闭着双眼我紧靠着墙
I close my two eyes, I lean against the wall
我装做这肩上已没有长脑袋
I act as though these shoulders of mine don’t have a head on top of them
啦啦啦……
La, la, la…
我不愿离开 我不愿存在
I’m not willing to leave, I’m not willing to exist
我不愿活得过分实实在在
I’m not willing to live too conscientiously
我想要离开 我想要存在
I want to live, I want to exist
我想要死去之后从头再来
After I die, I want to try again from the start
[repeat…]
那烟盒中的云彩那酒杯中的大海
The cloud in a cigarette box, the sea in a wine glass
统统装进我空空的胸怀
Pack them all into my empty breast
我越来越会胡说我越来越会沉默
I’ve been saying more and more nonsense, I’ve been more and more silent
我越来越会装做我什么都不明白
I’ve been pretending more and more that I don’t understand anything
啦啦啦……
La, la, la…
我难以离开 我难以存在
It’s too hard for me to leave, it’s too hard for me to exist
我难以活得过分实实在在
It’s too hard for me live conscientiously
我想要离开 我想要存在
I want to live, I want to exist
我想要死去之后从头再来
After I die, I want to try again from the start
[repeat…]
看看前后左右看看男女老少
Take a look in all four directions, at men, women, the old and the young
看看我那到了头的金光大道
Take a look at this golden road I’ve arrived at
感觉不到心跳感觉不到害臊
I can’t feel my heartbeat, I can’t feel any shame
感觉不到自己想还是不想知道
I can’t feel whether or not I want to know
啦啦啦……
La, la, la…
我不愿离开 我不愿存在
I’m not willing to leave, I’m not willing to exist
我不愿活得过分实实在在
I’m not willing to live too conscientiously
我想要离开 我想要存在
I want to live, I want to exist
我想要死去之后从头再来
After I die, I want to try again from the start
[repeat to end…]
过去我不知什么是宽阔胸怀
Before, I didn’t know what it meant to be open minded
过去我不知世界有很多奇怪
Before, I didn’t know how strange the world could be
过去我幻想的未来可不是现在
The future I fantasized of before certainly isn’t the present
现在才似乎清楚什么是未来
Now I seem to understand what the future is
哦吼 吼哦
Oh, oh…
过去的所作所为我分不清好坏
In my past actions, I couldn’t tell the difference between good and evil
过去的光阴流逝我记不清年代
Past time flows away, I no longer remember what decade we’re in
我曾经认为简单的事情现在全不明白
What I once thought was simple, I no longer understand
忽然感到眼前的世界并非我所在
All of a sudden I’m not sure if the world before my eyes even contains me
二十多年来我好像只学会了忍耐
In twenty years, it seems I’ve learned nothing but patience
难怪姑娘们总是说我不实实在在
No wonder girls are always saying I’m not honest
我强打起精神 从睡梦中醒来
I summon all my energy to awake from a dream
可醒来才知这个世界变化真叫快
But upon waking I see how quickly this world has changed
哦吼 吼哦
Oh, oh…
放眼看那座座高楼如同那稻麦
I survey all the tall buildings, like stalks of rice and wheat
看眼前是人的海洋和交通的堵塞
I gaze at the seas of people and traffic congestion
我左看右看前看后看还是看不过来
I look left, look right, look up, look down, and yet I can’t see past
这个这个这个那个那个我越看越奇怪
This, that — the more I look the stranger it all is
过去我不知什么是宽阔胸怀
Before, I didn’t know what it meant to be openminded
过去我不知世界有很多奇怪
Before, I didn’t know how strange the world could be
过去我幻想的未来可不是现在
The future I fantasized of before certainly isn’t the present
现在才似乎清楚什么是未来
Now I seem to understand what the future is
哦吼 吼哦
Oh, oh…
不是我不明白
It’s not that I don’t understand
这世界变化快
This world just changes too fast
[repeat to end…]