不完整的旋律 (Bu Wan Zheng de Xuan Lü) by 王力宏 (Wang Leehom)
The distractions that have taken me away from posting and going to KTV this summer nearly caused a regrettable situation, at least for a girl with a blog called KTV小姐. Due to my focus on other areas of my life besides music, I nearly missed the opportunity to see Wang Leehom when he comes to town this weekend. Imagine my sorrow if I hadn’t heard about it until after the concert series was over. For shame. Sadly, by the time I learned of the concert, all the good mid-priced tickets were long gone. Fortunately, I was able to talk friends into splurging on the higher-priced seats up front, which is where we’ll be singing along this Saturday at Taipei’s 小巨蛋. If you’re in town and you’d like to attend the concert, there’s still a handful of tickets up for grabs for both Friday and Saturday night, although getting good seats AND sitting next to your friends is almost an impossibility at this point. (Friends in Shanghai and Singapore, he’ll be coming your way later in 2008.)
Expect some photos from the show – at least the ones I can manage before the camera police come after me. Hmm. Since he’s on the Sony BMG label and everything in the Leehom universe (as you can see from his videos) is sponsored by Sony, do you think if I flash my Sony camera and Sony Ericsson phone that they’ll let me off?
Anyway, since it wouldn’t be logical to post a song by anyone else this week (although I had a few others in mind), here’s another song I love from Wang Leehom’s latest album. The video leaves a lot to be desired, but the song itself is very singable aside from some challenging vocabulary for beginners. Overall, it’s a sweet song with meaningful lyrics.
Special note on videos:
First of all, I do want to give props to Wang Leehom for doing the YouTube thing the smart way. His website links to a YouTube channel containing videos from his public appearances, interviews, and travels. In addition, he has an official YouTube channel, featuring 50 of his official videos. If you want to get to know Wang Leehom’s music before investing in an album or ten, this is a great place to do it. The videos are even titled in pinyin, some with English titles as well. The only thing that would make this better is if the channel contained the KTV versions.
An unfortunate consequence of this, however, seems to be that the more recent KTV videos uploaded by fans are not embeddable anymore. Some videos on this blog will no longer play automatically, and may require visiting the video’s YouTube page to actually be able to watch. The URL can be found by clicking the menu button on the embedded video (the arrow pointing up in the bottom right corner of the video).
Happy singing!
心裡有個旋律 不完整的歌曲
xin li you ge xuan lü bu wan zheng de ge qu
你是否聽的出來 我拖了一拍
ni shi fou ting de chu lai wo tuo le yi pai
最近世界有點奇怪 好像缺了一塊
zui jin shi jie you dian qi guai hao xiang que le yi kuai
心裡那個旋律 未完成的情緒
xin li na ge xuan lü wei wan cheng de qing xu
如果你在傾聽 是否打動了你
ru guo ni zai qing ting shi fou da dong le ni
說實在我也不確定
shuo shi zai wo ye bu que ding
怎樣比較好聽
zen yang bi jiao hao ting
Chorus
不完整的旋律 沒什麼結局
bu wan zheng de xuan lü mei shen me jie ju卻是我真實的聲音
que shi wo zhen shi de sheng yin不完整的旋律 勇敢的唱給你聽
bu wan zheng de xuan lü yong gan de chang gei ni ting填滿你我不完整的感情
tian man ni wo bu wan zheng de gan qing
想寫一個旋律 沒修飾的痕跡
xiang xie yi ge xuan lü mei xiu shi de hen ji
一聽就立刻明白我找到了愛
yi ting jiu li ke ming bai wo zhao dao le ai
即使別人覺得奇怪
ji shi bie ren jue de qi guai
不需要再更改
bu xu yao zai geng gai
Repeat chorus 2x
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/0QdEKoJ6m0tsiha00MG7008l.html
Wang Leehom’s Official Site: http://www.wangleehom.com/
早安，晨之美 (Zao An, Chen Zhi Mei) by 盧廣仲 (Lu Guang Zhong/Crowd Lu)
Crowd Lu (love this name) is a newcomer to the Taiwanese music scene, this being the popular single from his debut album, 100種生活 (Yi Bai Zhong Sheng Huo). I hope he won’t end up a one-hit wonder, as his songs are not only cute and pleasant to listen to, but also a refreshing contrast to all the pop ballads that dominate the Taiwanese music industry. Maybe that’s why I’m suddenly hearing his music flowing out of the shops all over town, rather than songs from Jay Chou’s 牛仔很忙 album, and why I keep hearing teenagers humming this song on the street. Everyone is aching for something new and different.
Incidentally, he has a concert coming up in 2 weeks. Tickets available via 年代 (Nian Dai) at http://www.ticket.com.tw/dm.asp?P1=0000008769
About this song… although it really only has one verse, one refrain, and the chorus is so easy a two-year-old could learn it, the speed of the repeated verse will be difficult for beginners.
嘿!吃早餐阿!快點啦!
hei! chi zao can a! kuai dian la!
有好多好多早餐在這裡
you hao duo hao duo zao can zai zhe li
在我們最熟悉的早餐店裡
zao wo men zui shu xi de zao can dian li
不管你睡的多晚起的多晚
bu guan ni shui de duo wan qi de duo wan
晨之美永遠在這裡歡迎光臨你
chen zhi mei yong yuan zai zhe li huan ying guang lin ni
Chorus
對啊,對啊。對啊,對啊。
dui a, dui a。 dui a, dui a。對啊,對啊。對啊,對啊。
dui a, dui a。 dui a, dui a。對啊,對啊。對啊,對啊。
dui a, dui a。 dui a, dui a。對啊,對啊。對啊。
dui a, dui a。 dui a。
Repeat verse and chorus 2x
we share the morning~
we share the milk tea~
我一直在這裡陪你一起
wo yi zhi zai zhe li pei ni yi qi
對啊,對啊。對啊,對啊。
dui a, dui a。dui a, dui a。
對啊,對啊。對啊,對啊。
dui a, dui a。dui a, dui a。
Crowd Lu’s bog: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/sus7
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/sqjfSM.FbY4lubf00PuR008l.html
越愛越難過 (Yue Ai Yue Nan Guo) by 吳克群 (Wu Ke Qun/Kenji)
I have to be honest in saying that I’ve never entirely taken 吳克群 very seriously. Perhaps it’s because he’s got a lot of songs and videos I’d classify as silly (see future post on 大舌頭), or it might just because he is so boyishly cute, despite the fact that we are exactly the same grand age of 28. However, his latest album, 為你寫詩, has really earned my respect (at least the ballads, which tend to be how I judge an artist). While the video for this song is seriously lacking (why’s he so dirty and wet?), I like the melody, not to mention the fact that the lyrics are easy for someone with at least low intermediate reading skills.
說 說你為什麼 為什麼要走
shuo shuo ni wei shen me wei shen me yao zou
說你為何要分手
shuo ni wei he yao fen shou
別拖 求你別軟弱 求你說出口
bie tuo qiu ni bie ruan ruo qiu ni shuo chu kou
分手的理由
fen shou de li you
但你卻 拖 拖 拖 拖到什麼時候
dan ni que tuo tuo tuo tuo dao shen me shi hou
如果要走卻又為何停留
ru guo yao zou que you wei he ting liu
請你別 拖 拖 拖 大聲的說出口
qing ni bie tuo tuo tuo da sheng de shuo chu kou
請你要痛就痛給我個快活
qing ni yao tong jiu tong gei wo ge kuai huo
Chorus
如果說你要走 我不會留
ru guo shuo ni yao zou wo bu hui liu我不去管以後
wo bu qu guan yi hou然後我們說清楚 一句話就夠
ran hou wo men shuo qing chu yi ju hua jiu gou如果說你要走 我不會留
ru guo shuo ni yao zou wo bu hui liu我不去管以後
wo bu qu guan yi hou多麼痛 多麼的難過
duo me tong duo me de nan guo別越愛越難過
bie yue ai yue nan guo
Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Re Do Do Do Re Mi Do
說 說你為什麼 為什麼要走
shuo shuo ni wei shen me wei shen me yao zou
說你為何要分手
shuo ni wei he yao fen shou
別拖 求你別軟弱 求你說出口
bie tuo qiu ni bie ruan ruo qiu ni shuo chu kou
分手的理由
fen shou de li you
但你還 拖 拖 拖 拖到什麼時候
dan ni hai tuo tuo tuo tuo dao shen me shi hou
如果要走卻又為何停留
ru guo yao zou que you wei he ting liu
請你別 拖 拖 拖 大聲的說出口
qing ni bie tuo tuo tuo da sheng de shuo chu kou
請你要痛就痛給我個快活
qing ni yao tong jiu tong gei wo ge kuai huo
(Repeat chorus)
然後連話都不說 繼續沉默
ran hou lian huo dou bu shuo ji xu chen mo
連朋友都沒的作 為了什麼
lian peng you dou mei de zuo wei le shen me
然後跟別人說你其實還是愛我
ran hou gen bie ren shuo ni qi shi hai shi ai wo
就算了吧 壞人我來作
jiu suan le ba huai ren wo lai zuo
(Repeat chorus)
Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Re Do Do Do Re Mi Do
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/37kcXSEmN6uQSvn00P2×008l.html
Kenji’s Blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/kenjiwu
小情歌 (Xiao Qing Ge) by 蘇打綠 (Sodagreen)
In my opinion, 蘇打綠 (Sodagreen) is one of Taiwan’s best musical products. Their music is a far cry from the pop that dominates the airwaves and MTV, both in lyrics and instrumentation. They also have a secret weapon: lead singer 吳青峰 (Wu Qing Feng), whose voice is both smooth and unusual (and who, incidentally, was a classmate of a friend of mine – yet another reminder of what a small place Taiwan really is). If you are in a position to easily get your hands on Chinese music, I highly recommend last year’s album 無與倫比的美麗. You can find information on it here. My next CD purchase will probably be their new live album, out last month, which also contains a couple of new studio tracks.
This song is from Sodagreen’s 2006 album, 小宇宙, but it seems like it’s experiencing a bit of a revival recently. It’s actually a bit of a difficult song for me personally (a few of the lines are tongue twisters), but I’ll be proud if I can ever sing it well. One special note, though. Although 吳青峰 is indeed male, many of his songs, like this one, are far out of the range of most male singers. That’s why I’m putting this into both the male and female categories.
Oh! And be sure to check out Sodagreen’s official site (below). It’s got an awesome concept.
這是一首簡單的小情歌
zhe shi yi shou jian dan de xiao qing ge
唱著人們心腸的曲折
chang zhe ren men xin chang de qu zhe
我想我很快樂
wo xiang wo hen kuai le
當有你的溫熱
dang you ni de wen re
腳邊的空氣轉了
jiao bian de kong qi zhuan le
這是一首簡單的小情歌
zhe shi yi shou jian dan de xiao qing ge
唱著我們心頭的白鴿
chang zhe wo men xin tou de bai ge
我想我很適合
wo xiang wo hen shi he
當一個歌頌者
dang yi ge ge song zhe
青春在風中飄著
qing chun zai feng zhong piao zhe
你知道
ni zhi dao
就算大雨讓整座城市顛倒
jiu suan da yu rang zheng zuo cheng shi dian dao
我會給你懷抱
wo hui gei ni huai bao
受不了
shou bu liao
看見你背影來到
kan jian ni bei ying lai dao
寫下我
xie xia wo
度秒如年難捱的離騷
du miao ru nian nan ai de li sao
就算整個世界被寂寞綁票
jiu suan zheng ge shi jie bei ji mo bang piao
我也不會奔跑
wo ye bu hui ben pao
逃不了
tao bu liao
最後誰也都蒼老
zui hou shei ye dou cang lao
寫下我
xie xia wo
時間和琴聲交錯的城堡
shi jian he qin sheng jiao cuo de cheng bao
這是一首簡單的小情歌
zhe shi yi shou jian dan de xiao qing ge
唱著我們心頭的白鴿
chang zhe wo men xin tou de bai ge
我想我很適合
wo xiang wo hen shi he
當一個歌頌者
dang yi ge ge song zhe
青春在風中飄著
qing chun zai feng zhong piao zhe
你知道
ni zhi dao
就算大雨讓整座城市顛倒
jiu suan da yu rang zheng zuo cheng shi dian dao
我會給你懷抱
wo hui gei ni huai bao
受不了
shou bu liao
看見你背影來到
kan jian ni bei ying lai dao
寫下我
xie xia wo
度秒如年難捱的離騷
du miao ru nian nan ai de li sao
就算整個世界被寂寞綁票
jiu suan zheng ge shi jie bei ji mo bang piao
我也不會奔跑
wo ye bu hui ben pao
逃不了
tao bu liao
最後誰也都蒼老
zui hou shei ye dou cang lao
寫下我
xie xia wo
時間和琴聲交錯的城堡
shi jian he qin sheng jiao cuo de cheng bao
你知道
ni zhi dao
就算大雨讓整座城市顛倒
jiu suan da yu rang zheng zuo cheng shi dian dao
我會給你懷抱
wo hui gei ni huai bao
受不了
shou bu liao
看見你背影來到
kan jian ni bei ying lai dao
寫下我
xie xia wo
度秒如年難捱的離騷
du miao ru nian nan ai de li sao
就算整個世界被寂寞綁票
jiu suan zheng ge shi jie bei ji mo bang piao
我也不會奔跑
wo ye bu hui ben pao
逃不了
tao bu liao
最後誰也都蒼老
zui hou shei ye dou cang lao
寫下我
xie xia wo
時間和琴聲交錯的城堡
shi jian he qin sheng jiao cuo de cheng bao
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/NPEo.IY-g7sZZc500JsU008l.html
Sodagreen’s Official Site: http://www.sodagreen.com.tw/main/index.html
Kiss Goodbye by 王力宏 (Wang Leehom)
For people who come to Taiwan without knowing how to speak Chinese, going to KTV with Taiwanese friends can be slightly frustrating. The problem is that, while you can’t sing the Chinese songs, they tend to know not only all the Chinese songs, but the English songs, too! One way of compensating is to sing along with the only English words in Chinese songs, of which there are many. It’s probably annoying to the folks actually singing the songs, but it’s something I’ve seen nearly all non-Chinese speakers do at KTV, myself included. We have to compensate somehow. Besides, it’s much easier to start learning a song for real if you know for certain that you understand two or three words.
“Kiss Goodbye” was the first of this type for me. It came out the year I arrived in Taiwan, and was on MTV and the radio all the time, so I had plenty of opportunities to hum along after the initial “baby” and then belt out the “kiss goodbye” in the chorus. Now I can sing the entire song (aside from being tripped up by a character here and there), but it still holds a place in my heart as one of the first Chinese songs I ever “sang.”
*By the way, this song is categorized as medium because, although the chorus is simple, the vocabulary in the verses is not nearly basic enough for most beginners.
Baby不要再哭泣
Baby bu yao zai ku qi
這一幕多麼熟悉
zhe yi mu duo mo shu xi
緊握著你的手彼此
jin wo zhe ni de shou bi ci
都捨不得分離
dou she bu de fen li
每一次想開口
mei yi ci xiang kai kou
但不如保持安靜
dan bu ru bao chi an jing
給我一分鐘專心
gei wo yi fen zhong zhuan xin
好好欣賞你的美
hao hao xin shang ni de mei
幸福搭配悲傷
xing fu da pei bei shang
同時在我心交叉
tong shi zai wo xin jiao cha
挫折的眼淚
cuo zhe de yan lei
不能測試愛的重量
bu neng ce shi ai de zhong liang
付出的愛收不回
fu chu de ai shou bu hui
還欠你的我不能給
hai qian ni de wo bu neng gei
別把我心也帶走 去跟隨
bie ba wo xin ye dai zou qu gen sui
(Chorus)
每一次和你分開
mei yi ci he ni fen kai
深深的被你打敗
shen shen de bei ni da bai每一次放棄你的溫柔 痛苦 難以釋懷
mei yi ci fang qi ni de wen rou tong ku nan yi shi huai每一次和你分開
mei yi ci he ni fen kai每一次Kiss You Goodbye
mei yi ci Kiss You Goodbye愛情的滋味此刻我終於最明白
ai qing de zi wei ci ke wo zhong yu zui ming bai
幸福搭配悲傷
xing fu da pei bei shang
同時在我心交叉
tong shi zai wo xin jiao cha
挫折的眼淚
cuo zhe de yan lei
不能測試愛的重量
bu neng ce shi ai de zhong liang
付出的愛收不回
fu chu de ai shou bu hui
還欠你的我不能給
hai qian ni de wo bu neng gei
我才明白愛最真實的滋味
wo cai ming bai ai zui zhen shi de zi wei
(Repeat chorus 2x)
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/3QZ4eHeOEd61gjF00Duk008l.html#s4
Wang Leehom’s Official Site: http://www.wangleehom.com/
改變自己 (Gai Bian Zi Ji) by 王力宏 (Wang Leehom)
This post has been sitting half-finished for nearly two months, since I returned from my vacation to the UK. Considering I’m about to take another 3-week vacation to visit family in the US, it’s probably time to get this song up. Things ought to be back to normal in May!
Wang Leehom is, with Jay Chou, one of the first singers I began to listen to when I arrived in Taiwan. It would have been impossible to miss him, with his face plastered on billboard advertisements, on commercials (one of my favorites being the 黃綠紅 commercials for McDonald’s, his name being a play on words with the yellow, green, and red dipping sauces for McNuggets), and in the video for his song “Kiss Goodbye,” which played nonstop on MTV that year.
In 2007, he released his latest album, 改變自己 – Change Me, which contains this title track. It has been on my iPod since the day after I heard it, and both the message and the energetic beat make great morning music. Plus, the video is, well, incredibly cute. Enjoy!
* Notes: (1) The term kuso in the song is borrowed from Japanese, and my own translation would be: so bad, it’s good. The Back Dorm Boys are a good example of this. And yes. I love those guys. (2) This song also contains Taiwanese pronunciation – the characters 龜毛, while pronounced gui mao in Mandarin, are pronounced ku mo in Taiwanese. Although Taiwanese folks seem to generally use the Mandarin pronunciation, this term (meaning high-maintainance or nitpicky) is said to have originated in Taiwanese. The history of the term is debatable.
Intro
很久沒 很久沒
hen jiu mei hen jiu mei
不如用 唱歌好了
bu ru yong chang ge hao le
我很久沒 聽見那
wo hen jiu mei ting jian na
又新鮮 又熟悉 的聲音
you xin xian you shu xi de sheng yin
請準備 改變 自己 ~ yeah ~ yeah …
qing zhun bei gai bian zi ji ~ yeah ~ yeah …
我回來了
wo hui lai le
+++
今早起床了 看鏡子裡的我
jin zao qi chuang le kan jing zi li de wo
忽然發現我髮型睡的有點KUSO
hu ran fa xian wo fa xing shui de you dian KUSO
一點點改變 有很大的差別
yi dian dian gai bian you hen da de cha bie
你我的力量也能改變世界
ni wo de li liang ye neng gai bian shi jie
最近比較煩 最近情緒很DOWN
zui jin bi jiao fan zui jin qing xu hen DOWN
每天看新聞都會很想大聲尖叫
mei tian kan xin wen dou hui hen xiang da sheng jian jiao
但髒話沒用 大家只會嫌兇
dan zang hua mei yong da jia zhi hui xian xiong
我改變自己發現大有不同
wo gai bian zi ji fa xian da you bu tong
新一代的朋友我們 好好的加油
xin yi dai de peng you women hao hao di jia you
大家一起大聲的說 Na Na Na Na Na~
da jia yi qi da sheng de shuo Na Na Na Na Na~
(Chorus)
我可以改變世界 改變自己
wo ke yi gai bian shi jie gai bian zi ji改變龜毛 改變小氣
gai bian ku mo gai bian xiao qi要一直 努力努力 永不放棄
yao yi zhi nu li nu li yong bu fang qi
才可以 改變世界 C’mon 改變自己
cai ke yi gai bian shi jie C’mon gai bian zi ji
今早起床了 覺得頭有點痛
jin zao qi chuang le jue de tou you dian tong
可能是二氧化碳太多 氧氣不夠
ke neng shi er yang hua tan tai duo yang qi bu gou
一點點改變 有很大的差別
yi dian dian gai bian you dian da de cha bie
你我的熱情也能改變世界
ni wo de re qing ye neng gai bian shi jie
只能代表自己 沒有政治立場
zhi neng dai biao zi ji mei you zheng zhi li chang
即使這世界讓我看得十分緊張
ji shi zhe shi jie rang wo kan de shi fen jin zhang
要調整自己
yao tiao zheng zi ji
恩~
en~
沒想到一點就能 畫龍點睛
mei xiang dao yi dian jiu neng hua long dian jing
新一代的朋友我們 好好的加油
xin yi dai de peng you wo men hao hao di jia you
大家一起大聲的說 Na Na Na Na Na~
da jia yi qi da sheng de shuo Na Na Na Na Na~
(Repeat chorus 2x)
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/0QdEKoJ6m0tsiha00MG7008l.html
Wang Leehom’s Official Site: http://www.wangleehom.com/
天使 (Tian Shi) by 五月天 (Mayday)
I got to know this song because it was featured in the commercials for Le Power, an energy drink that actually doesn’t taste very good. However, like most people in Taiwan, I really like Mayday, so I can forgive them for endorsing a product I don’t like. Moreover, this tune is quite catchy, and I love the lyrics. (My unskilled attempt at translating the second line: “You’re my angel, the angel that gives me so much happiness that I’ve learned to fly.” Beautiful.) I’ve never tried to sing this at KTV, strangely. This is partly because I’ve never sat down to look at the lyrics carefully (the song is too fast in some parts, so I’d stumble over the lyrics trying to read them quickly) and partly because the song sounds much better with a male voice. Still, now that I’ve spent the time putting it into pinyin, I might give it a go sometime.
你就是我的天使 保護著我的天使 從此我再沒有憂傷
ni jiu shi wo de tian shi bao hu zhe wo de tian shi cong ci wo zai mei you you shang
你就是我的天使 給我快樂的天使 甚至我學會了飛翔
ni jiu shi wo de tian shi gei wo kuai le de tian shi zhen zhi wo xue hui le fei xiang
飛過人間的無常 才懂愛才是寶藏
fei guo ren jian de wu chang cai dong ai cai shi bao zang
不管世界變得怎麼樣 只要有你就會是天堂
bu guan shi jie bian de zen me yang zhi yao you ni jiu hui shi tian tang
(Chorus)
像孩子依賴著肩膀 像眼淚依賴著臉龐
xiang hai zi yi lai zhe jian bang xiang yan lei yi lai zhe lian pang你就像天使一樣 給我依賴 給我力量
ni jiu xiang tian shi yi yang gei wo yi lai gei wo li liang像詩人依賴著月亮 像海豚依賴海洋
xiang shi ren yi lai zhe yue liang xiang hai tun yi lai hai yang你是天使 你是天使
ni shi tian shi ni shi tian shi你是我最初和最後的天堂
ni shi wo zui chu he zui hou de tian tang
你就是我的天使 保護著我的天使 從此我再沒有憂傷
ni jiu shi wo de tian shi bao hu zhe wo de tian shi cong ci wo zai mei you you shang
你就是我的天使 給我快樂的天使 甚至我學會了飛翔
ni jiu shi wo de tian shi gei wo kuai le de tian shi zhen zhi wo xue hui le fei xiang
飛過人間的無常 才懂愛才是寶藏
fei guo ren jian de wu chang cai dong ai cai shi bao zang
不管世界變得怎麼樣 只要有你就會是天堂
bu guan shi jie bian de zen me yang zhi yao you ni jiu hui shi tian tang
(Repeat chorus 3x)
Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/n1F2o7mcMz44WwG00KYU008l.html
Mayday’s Official Site: http://www.imayday.com
