April 11, 2010. Mark your calenders and order your tickets.
I’ve been neglecting Mandopop for the last week and a half in favor of Korean rock (specifically, Crying Nut and Yoon Band/YB), for the simple reason that I was in Korea for a long weekend last week. The Crying Nut songs like “Myeongdong Calling” and “Luxembourg” (you’re thinking, wha..? Luxembourg? Yeah, I don’t speak Korean so I have no idea why….) put me in a Seoul travel frame of mind, and I discovered YB when the lead singer, Yoon Do-hyeon, played Hedwig in the all Korean stage production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch we caught in Seoul. Fantastically good times.
And really, listening to Korean punk/rock makes me a little nostalgic for the days when Mandopop was a big mush of meaningless words I didn’t understand… though, mind you, depending on the singer, that’s often still true. And, of course, I didn’t figure out what the Superband’s breakout single “Desperado (亡命之徒)” was all about until I did the translation. Yeah, maybe those days weren’t so long ago.
I feel like I once had a point.
Oh yes! Mayday in San Jose. That’s so far off, that I’m hoping we’ll start hearing about other North American destinations at some point.
As long as we’re talking about Mayday and translations, I’ll note I also posted some of my embarrassingly long backlog of recent singles and random songs, all linked from this page.
Hi, Merry!
I think “為什麼 我想破頭寫不出個鳥” in Desperado
probably translates into something along the lines of “why — I’ve thought so hard, and yet I can’t write anything (good)”
In other words, “why can’t I write anything (good) even though I’ve thought so hard”
So, I’d guess what you’ve translated seem quite similar already?
Although, I could be wrong too; plus, the words can’t exactly be precise, but the general meaning of the phrase is there. XD
As for the 念念念… if it’s meant to be used as if it is 唸 (which seems to work both way), I think it might be about the amount of studying they do (like, the continuous “studying, studying, studying”)? or it could be parents’ constant nagging/scolding? I think that these two interpretations would work with 我為了什麼 (which IS bascially “I did all this for what?”)
But 念 may be “to think of,” as well, so I can’t be sure.
Then again, maybe it’s not even meant to mean anything in particular or it’s up to the listeners to interpret…
Anyway, I hope this helps somewhat, even though I really can’t be sure either! > <
Actually, the lyrics that came with my copy say “唸唸唸,” not “念念念.”
I did the translation before the EP was released, so I just grabbed the lyrics from Mojim.com. I’m not sure it matters if it’s “念” or “唸,” since they can mean more or less the same thing, and it doesn’t seem like something that is meant to be translated directly anyway. [Edited to add: But thanks for the note, because I'll definitely update the page.]
Thanks so much, dessemerald! That’s very helpful. Sometimes you just have to go with your best guess, I think.
i am so ready for this!!!