你并不懂我

A song that has caught my eye recently is by By2 (a mere coincidence in phrasing) in their album 2020爱你爱你.

原来不爱说 以为你懂得
每次说着说着 都是我哭了
我擦干眼泪 慢慢习惯沉默
朋友聊起 我就说一些别的

你总是哄我 说永远不分手
可是我 还不确定会停留
终于我看透
没退路的角落不闪躲

你并不爱我 怎么会懂我
你从来就不曾 在乎我的感受
没兑现过承诺 傻瓜才当温柔
难过时候 还假装笑着点头

你并不懂我 怎么能爱我
曾经我也以为 有你我就足够
直到发现 原来我不过
是你用来炫耀的 玩偶
我好难过 你并不爱我

I have to admit I am not a fan of By2 but I do listen to their songs now and then. For those who do not know By2, they are a pair of young twin sisters from Singapore who has been releasing albums since 16. I do admire their courage to pursue their dreams at such a young age and their will to want "make it big" in such a competitive industry. It must not have been easy growing up under the scrutiny of the media and public.

Putting that aside, this song is rather age appropriate for these girls who are now 20. It is at that age where most girls would have entered into their first relationship and sadly, ended it; if they realise that their boyfriends are not who they thought they were. I like to call that the 似懂非懂 stage when it comes to relationships and love.

The lyrics are not profound but again, I love the word play in the two parts of the chorus as they go "you don't love me, how do you know me" vs "you don't know me, how do you love me". That reminded me of the classic egg-chicken cycle; no one has the answer as to which one comes first. Do you love a person then try to understand him or do you love a person after you have come to understand him? Tricky isn't it.

The last words of the song are perhaps the most simple yet poignant. For those who are coming out from a bad relationship, these are the things you probably feel deep down inside but are unwilling or have difficulties coming in terms with. May they serve as a lasting reminder as to why you should move on and embrace a brand new phase in life.

Credits: Music Baidu

http://music.baidu.com/song/16581681

有人在等我

The third track on my list is Track 9: 有人在等我

电梯门 自动门 推开的 旋转门
旋转不到我的家门

陌生人 的眼神 冷淡的 吵闹声
掩盖不住我心底的那一声

那一声 呼唤我的人
催促我 快点踏上归程
那一刻 想起她余温
脚步加快 思念更深

有人在等我 有人在想我
有人在电视机前 视而不见 为我等候
有人在等我 有人在想我
有人在天亮以前
为我守着 城市最後一盏灯火

我想穿过 人墙人龙
超越指针上的移动
我要越过 人海人丛
只是因为 有人正在

Before you try to categorize this as yet another love song; a man longing for his love, you stand corrected. This soothing mid-tempo song is actually about family. Yes, you didn’t misread my last statement. This is a special song inspired by Weibird's relationship with his grandmother and I consider this a rare find as you don’t find many songs with family as the central theme in the industry. 

Family is a challenging topic to broach on. It is something very close and relevant to all of us, yet its value and importance is difficult to convey in a “proper” manner; the song could end up either very sappy or too “unfeeling”. I am glad to say that Weibird has proved my concept wrong with this song.

In today’s globalised world, I am sure there are several, if not many, times when you are away from your family, be it for study or work. Absence makes the heart grow fonder; time spent apart from your loved ones make you appreciate them more. It is this warm fuzzy feeling you get when you return home after extended periods of time away. Personally, I get that bitter-sweet feeling as I pass through the immigrations/customs at the airport and there is this welcome banner that states, "Welcome Home!". You then rush out quickly because you know that someone you treasure is out there waiting for you.

What strikes me the most in this song is the chorus where he goes 有人在电视机前 视而不见 为我等候 and 有人在天亮以前 为我守着 城市最後一盏灯火. Those bits are highly visual. If you need help picturing that in your mind, watch his new music video release and be touched by this simple heart-warming song. 

Credits: Music Baidu

http://music.baidu.com/song/16600723

还是爱着你

Following up my previous post is the next song, Track 5: 还是爱着你

大街上擦肩而过
我居然没勇气回头
虽然可能认错脸孔
虽然没什麽
怎麽心跳停了 半秒钟

回忆不由自主放送
我试着按下暂停钮
都已经过了那麽久 就别再折磨
看起来平静的生活 原来是我不懂

我还是爱着你 我还是念着你
连我也不相信 自己
我怎麽学不会忘记
我还是爱着你 为什麽我不甘心
如果没有拥有就没有失去
那为何我还会伤心

回忆里的人不会犯错
回忆的人才会觉得错过
而如果那些如果 真的发生过
那些画面 那些重播
是否还让人心痛

As I have mentioned I very much enjoy Weibird’s ballads and this is a good old radio-friendly ballad that should appeal to the masses. I like the fact that the lyrics are kinda visual; you can almost imagine this idol drama like scene unfolding in front of you. Or such scenarios could be reality to some of you out there.

Nevertheless, I particularly enjoy the verses of the song. In the second verse, I like the “phrase-play” on the different perspectives of the involved people, aka the person who recalls and the person who is being recalled. That is one thing I very much love about Mandarin. A subtle change in the choice of words can make a big difference and make the song more impactful.

Other than the lyrics, Weibird does a great job singing this song. Again, the raw emotion I mentioned in my previous posting comes into play here. There is something very bitter and heart-breaking as he crones the last words of the song as he goes 那为何我还会 伤心.

And that is what prompts me to press the play button (repeatedly) on YouTube. Check out this song here:

Credits: Music Baidu

http://music.baidu.com/song/16600595/lyric

We'll never know

The first song that I want to introduce is from韦礼安’s latest album《有人在等》that was released in August this year. I have been a big fan of his music since his first album, 《两脚书橱的逃亡》. 

Interestingly, I got to know of him through another singer 郭静who under the same company he is in. I was drawn to one of her songs, 知道 in her 2008 album《下一个天亮》which had simple but very touching lyrics. When I listen to Chinese songs, I always look for the lyrics to better appreciate the meaning and story behind each composition.

In my opinion,韦礼安, also known as William Wei or Weibird is a great song composer and lyricist. Admittedly, he does not create songs the way Jay Chou does or writes poetic lyrics like Fang Wen Shan but his compositions never fail to touch me. The combination of the guitar and his voice left a huge impression on me and there is this raw emotion present in his songs. The content of his songs may be phrased in an easy-to-understand manner but the simplicity of that makes the songs beautiful. As they always say, less is more.

There are several songs that I have been listening on repeat from his latest album and in this post I will introduce Track 10: We’ll never know.

自己又想太多 又把绷带戳破
原来逃避那么脆弱
心口留下的洞 墙壁还泛着痛
原来伤口从没好过

回想又有什么用 谁对 谁错
We’ll never know the answer
Cause you never chose那选择
这也没有错 或许不会有什么
结果总是难说 没有谁能定夺
就一笑而过

换了新的角落 以为不再执着
现在看来没有什么用
等待下一秒钟 曾经那么永久
现在看来可笑又落魄

日落前 也有想过 会不会有着落
日出后 才发现我 不在乎那么多

I have to say I was not immediately attracted to this title song as I prefer his ballads. However, give this song a couple more spins, take a look at the lyrics and reflect. When I say reflect, I am referring to really just reflecting about your life and what you have done or have not done. There would be points in your life when you have to make an important decision. And along with that decision comes with the commitment to do or not do something. I am sure that there are times when we look back and we ponder whether our decision was the right one. What we are missing out on if we had decided otherwise or what could have been different. The truth is I don’t think that there is always a “right” decision but rather being able to stick with your choice and the ability to follow through.

This song highlights the constant dilemma of the “what-ifs” that we often find ourselves in. What if I did/choose this over that and Weibird gives you the answer of “We’ll never know”. And there is nothing wrong in that. To not live in regrets, learning to let go and to move on is a big part of life that we aim to do but find difficult to achieve. Hopefully this song will guide you through such moments and allow you to move into a new phase in your life.

Credits: Music Baidu

http://music.baidu.com/song/15026010?fm=altg3

They say the first step of any journey is the hardest

It has been a long time since my last blog post and this time round I am aiming to make this more “sustainable” by covering something that I am do most of the time (well at least subconsciously); song reviews. My habit of listening to music has been with me for a long time and I have always wanted to find a platform to introduce the songs that I listen to which are sometimes lesser known or less popular.

I love Chinese songs, though I have to say I did have my own up-and-down journey of love-hate relationship with the Chinese language. But to date, I am a great fan of Chinese Mando-pop songs and will continue this love even though I find it harder to find good songs these days. The hey days of Chinese music industry were back in the early 2000s, catapulting singers like Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, Jolin Tsai, S.H.E into fame. I also remember humming along to the tunes of idol groups like F4, 5566, Energy, etc before most of them disbanded.

Nowadays, most people prefer K-pop for its synchronised dance moves and catchy tunes. With the hallyu wave sweeping across the globe, I am also a fan of some of these songs but I will try not to cover this too much as there are many other blogs who already cover K-pop and my focus is on Mando-pop.

I will try to cover newer/more recent songs but there will probably be times where I am “laggy” due to work and other commitments. I aim to make this an enjoyable pastime for myself so I hope you will enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them. 

To keep the momentum going, I shall start my first official post right this moment. 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step