Jay Chou | KTV小姐

“5 Days in Taipei” & a Jay Chou moment

June 1, 2010 at 10:09 pm (Notes) (Jay Chou, 周杰倫)

Folks stopping by because you’re interested in Chinese music might also be interested in the blog project I’m currently working on, 5 Days in Taipei. I recently asked people to submit ideas for a jam-packed 5-day vacation in Taipei, with the hopes of discovering some new places in my adopted city. You can follow the results of the 5-day trip here: http://5daysintaipei.wordpress.com/

The project has officially ended, but now comes the task of writing and posting photos of all the amazing things I saw during my 5 days. I’ve currently only reached the end of Day 2. My goal was to do 50 interesting things of the original list of 94 ideas, and I’ve only blogged 16 of them so far. That means KTV小姐 is temporarily on hold until I catch up, unless I come across some fabulous new music I must share at once.

Speaking of new music… though I wouldn’t call it fabulous, Jay Chou‘s new album is out. Here’s the first single, which I can’t say I love very much. Perhaps you’ll like it:

Permalink 3 Comments

Movie Music: 菊花台 (Ju Hua Tai) by 周杰倫 (Zhou Jie Lun/Jay Chou)

January 18, 2010 at 7:38 pm (*** Difficult, Chinese lyrics, Male Singers, Movie soundtracks, Pinyin lyrics) (Jay Chou, movie, Zhou Jie Lun, 周杰倫)

More Jay Chou. This one is from the film Curse of the Golden Flower (滿城盡帶黃金甲), a visually spectacular film that was otherwise not very spectacular. Actually, this song was released on one of Jay Chou’s earlier albums, but was used in this 2006 film, and thus the video contains scenes from the movie. Pay attention to the scenes in the opening sequence, and you’ll see why this film was the most expensive Chinese film of all time at its release (though it has since been outdone by Red Cliff [赤壁]).

As for the singing difficulty, it’s a somewhat difficult tune in terms of vocabulary, but is definitely a hard one if you happen to be a man. Work on your falsetto, or leave the chorus to the ladies.

妳的淚光柔弱中帶傷慘白的月彎彎勾住過往
ni de lei guang rou ruo zhang dai shang can bai de yue wan wan gou zhu guo wang

夜太漫長凝結成了霜是誰在閣樓上冰冷的絕望
ye tai man chang ning jie cheng le shuang shi shei zai ge lou shang bing de jue wang

雨輕輕彈朱紅色的窗我一生在紙上被風吹亂
yu qing qing tan zhu hong se de chuang wo yi sheng zai zhi shang bei feng chui luan

夢在遠方化成一縷香隨風飄散妳的模樣
meng zai yuan fang hua cheng yi lu: xiang sui feng piao san ni de mu yang

Chorus:

菊花殘滿地傷你的笑容已泛黃
ju hua can man di shang ni de xiao rong yi fan huang

花落人斷腸我心事靜靜躺
hua luo ren duan chang wo xin shi jing jing tang

北風亂夜未央你的影子剪不斷
bei feng luan ye wei yang ni de ying zi jian bu jian

徒留我孤單在湖面成雙
tu liu wo gu dan zai hu mian cheng shuang

Instrumental break

花已向晚飄落了燦爛凋謝的世道上命運不堪
hua yi xiang wan piao luo le can lan diao xie de shi dao shang ming yun bu kan

愁莫渡江秋心拆兩半怕妳上不了岸一輩子搖晃
chou mo du jiang qiu xin chai liang ban pa ni shang bu lai le an yi bei zi yao huang

誰的江山馬蹄聲狂亂我一身的戎裝呼嘯滄桑
shei de jiang shan ma ti sheng kuang luan wo yi shen de rong zhuang hu xiao cang sang

天微微亮妳輕聲的嘆一夜惆悵如此委婉
tian wei wei liang ni qing sheng de tan yi ye chou chang ru ci wei wan

Repeat chorus 2x

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/xW7ZnVX070G0lQjRjQjRj0P4-index.html

Permalink Leave a Comment

Movie Music: 不能說的秘密 (Bu Neng Shuo de Mi Mi) by 周杰倫 (Zhou Jie Lun/Jay Chou)

January 18, 2010 at 4:16 pm (** Medium, Chinese lyrics, Male Singers, Movie soundtracks, Pinyin lyrics) (Jay Chou, movie, Zhou Jie Lun, 周杰倫)

Next in the soundtrack series is another song from Jay Chou. There will be a number of Jay Chou soundtrack pieces, of course, since he has scored several films in recent years.

While the instrumental pieces are arguably the most fabulous part of Jay Chou’s soundtrack to his 2007 film Secret (不能說的秘密), this title song is quite catchy, not to mention fairly easy to sing. It might even be a decent song for a KTV newbie to learn, though some of the vocabulary is a little advanced. Even better, the background music is rather simple, so it would be a good song to try out if you’re interested in showing off your singing and piano playing at the same time.

And if you haven’t seen Secret, you’re really missing out. Jay Chou’s turn at writing, directing, and starring in his own film turned out far better than one might have predicted, and is nothing like the goofy flicks he normally participates in. Especially watch out for the piano battle near the beginning of the film. Impressive!

Like Cape No. 7 did in 2008, this film won Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year at the 2007 Golden Horse Awards. Furthermore, this song won Best Original Film Song, beating out Sodagreen’s 小情歌 (which was featured in the film Exit No. 6, a silly movie shot in my neighborhood).

PS: Be sure to check out Jay Chou in his Hollywood debut this year, when he will star as Kato in The Green Hornet with Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz. I can’t say I expect anything amazing, but it’s a great chance to expose America to Jay Chou, and thus to Taiwan’s music industry.

冷咖啡離開了杯墊
leng ka fei li kai le bei dian

我忍住的情緒在很後面
wo ren zhu de qing xu zai hen hou mian

拼命想挽回的從前
pin ming xiang wan hui de cong qian

在我臉上依舊清晰可見
zao wo lian shang yi jiu qing xi ke jian

最美的不是下雨天
zui mei de bu shi xia yu tian

是曾與妳躲過雨的屋簷
shi ceng yu ni duo guo yu de wu yan

回憶的畫面在盪著鞦韆夢開始不甜
hui yi de hua mian zai dang zhe qiu qian meng kai shi bu tian

Chorus:

妳說把愛漸漸放下會走更遠
ni shuo ba ai jian jian fang xia hui zou geng yuan

又何必去改變已錯過的時間
you he bi qu gai bian yi cuo guo de shi jian

妳用妳的指尖阻止我說再見
ni yong ni de zhi jian zu zhi wo shuo zai jian

想像妳在身邊在完全失去之前
xiang xiang ni zai shen bian zai wan quan shi qu zhi qian

妳說把愛漸漸放下會走更遠
ni shuo ba ai jian jian fang xia hui zou geng yuan

或許命運的籤只讓我們遇見
huo xu ming yun de qian zhi rang wo men yu jian

只讓我們相戀這一季的秋天
zhi rang wo men xiang liang yi ji de qiu tian

飄落後才發現這幸福的碎片
piao luo hou cai fa xian zhe xing fu de sui pian

要我怎麼撿
yao wo zen me jian

Repeat chorus and verse

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/DPd.oXw071GH1QtJ9QtJ90P4-index.html

Jay Chou on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_chou

Permalink Leave a Comment

Guest Post: 牛仔很忙 (Niuzai Hen Mang) by 周杰倫 (Zhou Jie Lun/Jay Chou)

March 23, 2009 at 1:35 pm (***** Damn near impossible, Chinese lyrics, Guest Posts, Male Singers, Pinyin lyrics, Taiwanese) (Jay Chou, Zhou Jie Lun, 周杰倫)

Another guest post by Anna, with apologies to her for taking so long to get this up. I’ll be using this post to learn the song myself, as I see it as the Mt. Everest of Chinese songs and am determined to conquer it someday. In line with that, I’ve added a new level of difficulty: “Damn near impossible.” Here’s Anna’s advice on how to master this song:

Jay Chou never smiles, but this song (and its music video) shows that he does have a sense of humor. At first I didn’t believe it was even possible to sing this song in karaoke, but then I heard a friend of a friend sing it, and thought: if he can do it, then I can learn it too; I’ll be the first foreigner to master this song, and much admiration will be my part. But by the time I did master it, it didn’t seem such an amazing feat anymore.

The key here is knowing the song by heart. There’s no time to read the characters as they appear on the screen, the speed is just too high, you have to know what’s coming before Jay sings it. The other key is to pronounce only half of most of the words, just slur everything together like Jay does, otherwise there’s just no way you can sing fast enough.

There’s one line of Taiwanese in it, I’ll romanize it in POJ. And there’s a Taiwanese accent: Jay pronounces 日記 riji with an L, producing something like lh-ji.

And here’s the video. Watch the instrumental part in the middle: I’ve worn exactly such a dress. Twice in my life. On fairs held in Taipei to promote Dutch education and Dutch flowers, respectively. On these occasions, I borrowed a dress from the Dutch representative office, and I suspect that’s where the costume designer of this video got them, too.

嗚啦啦啦火車笛
Wu la la la huoche di

隨著奔騰的馬蹄
Suizhe benteng de madi

小妹妹吹著口琴
Xiao meimei chui zhe kouqin

夕陽下美了剪影
Xiyang xia mei le jian ying

我用子彈寫日記
Wo yong zidan xie riji

介紹完了風景
Jieshao wan le fengjing

接下來換介紹我自己
Jie xia lai huan jieshao wo ziji

我雖然是個牛仔
Wo suiran shi ge niuzai

在酒吧只點牛奶
Zai jiuba zhi dian niunai

為什麼不喝啤酒
Weishenme bu he pijiu

因為啤酒傷身體
Yinwei pijiu shang shenti

很多人不長眼睛
Hen duo ren bu zhang yanjing

囂張都靠武器
Xiaozhang dou kao wuqi

赤手空拳就縮成螞蟻
Chi shou kong quan jiu suo cheng mayi

Chorus

不用麻煩了不用麻煩了
Bu yong mafan le bu yong mafan le

不用麻煩不用麻煩了不用麻煩了
Bu yong mafan bu yong mafan le bu yong mafan le

你們一起上
Nimen yiqi shang

我在趕時間
Wo zai gan shijian

每天決鬥觀眾都累了
Meitian juedou guanzhong dou lei le

英雄也累了
Yingxiong ye lei le

不用麻煩了不用麻煩了
Bu yong mafan le bu yong mafan le

副歌不長你們有幾個
Fu ge bu chang nimen you ji ge

一起上好了
Yiqi shang hao le

正義呼喚我
Zhengyi huhuan wo

美女需要我
Meinü xuyao wo

牛仔很忙的
Niuzai hen mang de

(心愛ㄟ妳走去叨位我那ㄟ攏沒看到妳)
(Sim-ai-e, chau-khi to-ui, goa na-e long be khoann-kau li)

我啦啦啦騎毛驢
Wo la la la qi maolü

因為馬跨不上去
Yinwei ma kua bu shang qu

洗澡都洗泡泡浴
Xizao dou xi pao pao yu

因為可以玩玩具
Yinwei keyi wan wanju

我有顆善良的心
Wo you ke shanliang de xin

都只穿假牛皮
Dou zhi chuan jia niupi

喔跌倒時盡量不壓草皮
O diedao shi jinliang bu ta caopi

槍口它沒長眼睛
Qiangkou ta mei zhang yanjing

我曾經答應上帝
Wo cengjing daying shangdi

除非是萬不得已
Chufei shi wan bu de yi

我盡量射橡皮筋
Wo jinliang she xiangpi jin

老闆先來杯奶昔
Laoban xian lai bei naixi

要逃命前請你
Yao taoming qian qing ni

順便餵餵我那隻小毛驢
Shunbian weiwei wo na zhi xiao maolü

Repeat chorus 2x

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://www.kkbox.com.tw/funky/web_info/F6Pl13j7VVUKWOw00OEA008l.html#1

Jay Chou’s Record Company, JVR Music: http://www.jvrmusic.com/

Permalink 4 Comments

珊瑚海 (Shan Hu Hai) by 周杰倫 and 梁心頤 (Jay Chou and Lara Veronin)

January 4, 2008 at 8:34 pm (** Medium, Chinese lyrics, Duets, Pinyin lyrics) (Duets, Jay Chou, Lara Veronin, 周杰倫, 梁心頤)

Jay Chou is one of my favorite singers, perhaps because he mostly stays within my vocal range, and perhaps because he has so many relatively slow ballads that are easy to follow along with. Add the amusement I get from his strange costumes, and I can almost forgive him for never smiling.

This duet is, in my opinion, one of his most beautiful songs, both in harmony and in the lyrics. Sadly, I can never get any men to sing it with me, but I still get my chance at KTV when my friend Kim puts on her Jay Chou face and delves into the lower octaves. Hopefully, by putting these lyrics up, I can encourage more men to learn the song, and I’ll finally find a guy to sing with me by the time Kim leaves Taiwan.

Note: I’ve tried to stick with the KTV theme here, so the blue lyrics should be sung by the male singer, red lyrics by the female, and green lyrics by both. If this makes the words too difficult to read, please let me know and I’ll keep it in mind for the next duet.

海平面遠方開始陰霾悲傷要怎麼平靜純白
hai ping mian yuan fang kai shi yin mai bei shang yao zen me ping jing chun bai

我的臉上始終挾帶一抹淺淺的無奈
wo de lian shang shi zhong jia dai yi mo qian qian de wu nai

你用唇語說你要離開 (心不在)
ni yong chun yu shuo ni yao li kai (xin bu zai)

那難過無聲慢了下來
na nan guo wu sheng man le xia lai

洶湧潮水你聽明白
xiong yong chao shui ni ting ming bai

不是浪而是淚海
bu shi lang er shi lei hai

轉身離開 (你有話說不出來) 分手說不出來
zhuan shen li kai (ni you hua shuo bu chu lai) fen shou shuo bu chu lai

海鳥跟魚相愛只是一場意外
hai niao gen yu xiang ai zhi shi yi chang yi wai

我們的愛（給的愛）差異一直存在（回不來）
wo men de ai（gei de ai） cha yi yi zhi cun zai （hui bu lai）

風中塵埃（等待）竟累積成傷害
feng zhong chen ai（deng dai）jing lei ji cheng shang hai

轉身離開分手說不出來
zhuan shen li kai fen shou shuo bu chu lai

蔚藍的珊瑚海錯過瞬間蒼白
wei lan de shan hu hai cuo guo shun jian cang bai

當初彼此（你我都）不夠成熟坦白 (不應該)
dang chu bi ci（ni wo dou） bu gou cheng shu tan bai (bu ying gai)