Favorite Mandarin songs

[Bernard Cleary]

Continuing in the same vein as last week's post (posted on the comments board), here's another poem by 三毛, set to music, and sung again by 齊豫. A few years older than 夢田, the title is 橄欖樹(Olive Tree). Lyrics follow the video. Enjoy!


橄欖樹 (Olive Tree)

不要問我從那裡來
我的故鄉在遠方
為什麼流浪,流浪遠方,流浪

為了天空飛翔的小鳥
為了山間輕流的小溪
為了寬闊的草原
流浪遠方,流浪

還有,還有
為了夢中的橄欖樹,橄欖樹
不要問我從那裡來
我的故鄉在遠方

為什麼流浪
為什麼流浪遠方

為了我夢中的橄欖樹

不要問我從那裡來
我的故鄉在遠方
為什麼流浪,流浪遠方,流浪

[José Balido]

Hmmm......... nice sounds, but the lyrics lost me... Remember, my Chinese instruction had more to do with Paleolithic stoneware than sassy 1940's tunes!!

Bernard Cleary said:

And here's an actual song, a very old one, and one that I find incredibly funny and sassy, particularly given how old it is. The singer, 白光, was big in China in the 1940s. Lyrics follow the video. I may attempt a translation later, but for now, try to figure it out yourself, huh!

[Bernard Cleary]

OK, here's a very quick and loose translation:
假正經 Facade of Seriousness
假惺惺 假惺惺 You're a fake, you're a phony
做人何必假惺惺 Why do you have to behave so hypocritically?
你想看 你要看 You'd like to look, you want to look
你就仔細的看看清 So just take your time and have a good look
不要那麼樣的裝著 Don't put on
不要那麼樣的裝著Don't put on
一本正經 一本正經 何必呢 Such a prim and proper manner, prim and proper manner...Why bother?
假正經假正經 Facade of seriousness, facade of seriousness
你的眼睛早已經 Your eyes have already been
溜過來又溜過去 Sliding back and forth
在偷偷的看個不停 Constantly stealing glances
難為情 難為情 Embarrassed? Awkward?
什麼叫做難為情 What does awkward mean?
想愛我要愛我 You'd like to love me, you want to love me
你就痛快的表明 So just be straightforward and state it clearly
不要那麼樣的扮起Don't put on
不要那麼樣的扮起Don't put on
面孔鐵青 嚇壞了人何必呢Such a livid expression, it‘s really scary...Why bother?
紅著臉 跳著心 Reddening face, beating heart
你的靈魂早已經 Your soul has already been
飄過來又飄過去Floating back and forth
在飄飄的飄個不停 Constantly floating as though it had wings

Jose Balido said:

Hmmm......... nice sounds, but the lyrics lost me... Remember, my Chinese instruction had more to do with Paleolithic stoneware than sassy 1940's tunes!!

[José Balido]

Very nice! You're right, it's surprisingly sassy for 1940s China............ but then, maybe it was sung in smoky Shanghai dance halls.................. 谢谢！

Bernard Cleary said:

OK, here's a very quick and loose translation:
假正經 Facade of Seriousness
假惺惺 假惺惺 You're a fake, you're a phony
做人何必假惺惺 Why do you have to behave so hypocritically?
你想看 你要看 You'd like to look, you want to look
你就仔細的看看清 So just take your time and have a good look
不要那麼樣的裝著 Don't put on
不要那麼樣的裝著Don't put on
一本正經 一本正經 何必呢 Such a prim and proper manner, prim and proper manner...Why bother?
假正經假正經 Facade of seriousness, facade of seriousness
你的眼睛早已經 Your eyes have already been
溜過來又溜過去 Sliding back and forth
在偷偷的看個不停 Constantly stealing glances
難為情 難為情 Embarrassed? Awkward?
什麼叫做難為情 What does awkward mean?
想愛我要愛我 You'd like to love me, you want to love me
你就痛快的表明 So just be straightforward and state it clearly
不要那麼樣的扮起Don't put on
不要那麼樣的扮起Don't put on
面孔鐵青 嚇壞了人何必呢Such a livid expression, it‘s really scary...Why bother?
紅著臉 跳著心 Reddening face, beating heart
你的靈魂早已經 Your soul has already been
飄過來又飄過去Floating back and forth
在飄飄的飄個不停 Constantly floating as though it had wings

Jose Balido said:

Hmmm......... nice sounds, but the lyrics lost me... Remember, my Chinese instruction had more to do with Paleolithic stoneware than sassy 1940's tunes!!

[Bernard Cleary]

Yes! and this is just a hobby for him!

Jose Balido said:

你没有说错了！非常的好听！It's amazing how his fingers fly over the strings!!

[Bernard Cleary]

So here's 潘越雲, the other half of the 夢田 duo, and another of my favorite singers from Taiwan in the 1980s--sorry all my songs are so old! This song is called "天天天藍" ("Every Day the Sky is Blue"). Lyrics follow the video.


天天天藍--潘越雲主唱

天天天藍　教我不想他也難 Every day the sky is blue. It would be hard not to miss him.
不知情的孩子　他還要問 The child, who doesn't know the details, still asks
你的眼睛　為甚麼出汗 "Why are your eyes sweating?"

情是深　意是濃　離是苦　想是空 The tenderness is deep. The affection is strong. Parting was bitter. Missing him is an emptiness.
(repeat)
--------

And here's a clip of a running segment called "歌的故事" (Story of a Song?) from a (fairly) recent entertainment news show on Taiwan TV. The segment reports on the significance of the song in the history of Taiwan pop music, and the importance of the song to 潘越雲's career. The singer talks about the most moving line of the song, when the naive child asks the (bereaved?) mother, "妳的眼睛為什麼出汗?" When she sings it now, her voice is no longer quite as strong and pure. There's a little more more vibrato and a little less control. But nearly three decades after she first recorded it, she still sounds pretty good!

[Bernard Cleary]

又是一首老歌， 可是很可愛的一首： 鄧麗君唱的「小城故事」。歌詞並不難懂，試試看啊！

小城故事─鄧麗君
--------------------------
小城故事多
充滿喜和樂
若是你到小城來
收穫特別多

看似一幅畫
聽像一首歌
人生境界真善美
這裡已包括

談的談
說的說
小城故事真不錯
請你的朋友一起來
小城來作客

談的談
說的說
小城故事真不錯
請你的朋友一起來
小城來作客

[José Balido]

你好！Does our resident Chinese-language DJ have anything on tap this week?

[Bernard Cleary]

Another oldie, from 1985. For a couple years after it came out, it was ubiquitous and inescapable, on the radio, TV, on muzak systems in department stores. Everyone got sick of it. But it's actually a nice song, and now it makes me really nostalgic for Taipei.


台北的天空--王芷蕾
---------------------------

風好像倦了 The breeze seems weary
雲好像累了 The clouds seem fatigued
這世界再沒有 The world no longer has
屬於自己的夢想 A dream that belongs to me

我走過青春 I've traveled through youth
我失落年少 I've lost my adolescence
如今我又再回到 And now I have returned
思念的地方 To the place that I have missed

台北的天空 The Taipei sky
有我年輕的笑容 Contains my youthful smiles
還有我們休息 As well as the corners where we
和共享的角落 Rested and had fun together

台北的天空 The Taipei sky
常在你我的心中 Is often in our hearts
多少風雨的歲月 How many stormy years
我只願和你渡過Have I only wanted to weather with you?

風也曾溫暖 The breeze was once also warm
雨也曾輕柔 The rainfall was once also soft
這世界又好像 This world seems once again
充滿熟悉的陽光 Full of familiar sunshine

我走過異鄉 I've traveled in foreign lands
我走過滄桑I've experienced all that life has to offer
如今我又再回到 Now I have returned
自己的地方 To my own place

台北的天空 The Taipei sky
有我年輕的笑容 Contains my youthful smiles
還有我們休息 As well as the corners where we
和共享的角落 Rest and and had fun together

台北的天空 The Taipei sky
常在你我的心中 Is often in our hearts
多少風雨的歲月 How many stormy years
我只願和你渡過Have I only wanted to weather with you?


Jose Balido said:

你好！Does our resident Chinese-language DJ have anything on tap this week?

[Bernard Cleary]

It's been quite a while, but here is a song to start off the lunar new year celebrations. I'll probably post more in the near future.


It's a real oldie, but it's still trotted out every year. Here are the lyrics in Chinese:

每條大街小巷 每個人的嘴裡
見面第一句話 就是恭喜恭喜
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 恭喜恭喜恭喜你

冬天一到盡頭真是好的消息
溫暖的春風 就要吹醒大地
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀恭喜恭喜恭喜你

皓皓冰雪溶解 眼看梅花吐蕊
慢慢花也活絡 聽到一聲雞啼
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 恭喜恭喜恭喜你

經過多少困難 業經多少磨練
多少心兒盼望盼望春的消息
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀恭喜恭喜恭喜你

每條大街小巷 每個人的嘴裡
見面第一句話 就是恭喜恭喜
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 恭喜恭喜恭喜你

[José Balido]

柯老朋友！你真的太多了！小人好久没听过这首歌啊！Totally love it, and the old-style tinny rendition makes me think it was sung by some wayward starlet in a smoky den of iniquity in old Shanghai... Keep 'em coming!!


Bernard Cleary said:

It's been quite a while, but here is a song to start off the lunar new year celebrations. I'll probably post more in the near future.

[Bernard Cleary]

Well, this is later than I'd intended, but there's been the little matter of 3 feet of snow and a 48-hour power outage, followed closely by nearly 2 more feet of snow under blizzard conditions. But here's another one, sung by the same 姚莉. I could use a little 春風 right about now. Enjoy!


姚莉 - 春風吻上我的臉 1956

曲 : 姚敏 / 詞 : 陳蝶衣

春風它吻上了我的臉
告訴我現在是春天
誰說是春眠不覺曉
只有那偷懶人兒才高眠

春風它吻上了我的臉
告訴我現在是春天
雖然是春光無限好
只怕那春光老去在眼前

趁著這春色在人間
起一個清早跟春相見
讓春風吹到我身邊
輕輕的吻上我的臉

春風它吻上了我的臉
告訴我現在是春天
春天裡處處花爭妍
別讓那花謝一年又一年
別讓那花謝一年又一年

[Bernard Cleary]

Here's another really old one, a rather odd arrangement of a very Chinese tune and a strange adaptation of the "Jingle Bells" melody intermixed.


白光 - 向王小二拜年

過了一個大年 頭一天
我給我那王小二來拜新年
冒着風﹐冒着雪﹐渡過江來越過山
唉呀依呀嘿
坐着雪車來到你大門前
唉呀依呀嘿
叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮噹叮
王小二呀王小二
齊來迎新年

左手給你帶來布一匹
右手給你王小二來一籃麵
做一套新布衫
做一頓來個炸醬麵
唉呀依呀嘿
給你吃得飽給你又穿得暖來依呀嘿
叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮噹叮
王小二呀王小二
齊來迎新年

年年你呀過年上刀山
今年你呀王小二要把身翻
不要哭﹐不要怨﹐你要活得更勇敢
唉呀依呀嘿
抬起頭來迎接那新的年哪依呀嘿
叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮﹐叮噹叮噹叮
王小二呀王小二
齊來迎新年