Friday, October 11, 2019

[English translation] 爱殇 - Love's Demise


原唱//Vocal:小时 (Xiao Shi)
填词//Lyrics:mk
谱曲/编曲//Composer:小幻 (Xiao Huan)
和声/混音//Mixing:Gong骏 (Gong Jun)



*****

暮色起看天边斜阳
恍惚想起你的脸庞
毕竟回想难免徒增感伤
轻叹息 我们那些好时光

As twilight approaches, I watch the setting sun upon the horizon
Vaguely, I recall your visage
After all, wistfulness is inevitable with these reminiscences
I sigh on those happy moments of ours



夜未央繁星落眼眶
拾一段柔软的光芒
清风过 曳烛光 独舞无人欣赏
留花瓣随风飘荡

The night’s still young, the array of stars falls into my sight
Picking up a soft glow of light
Winds swayed the candlelight, a lone dance without an audience
Leaving only flower petals riding the wind



我要将过往都储藏
编一段美好的梦想
也许幻想到最后会更伤
假欢畅 又何妨无人共享

I want to save all of the past
To weave a beautiful dream
Perhaps illusions will hurt more in the end
It’s but a feigned bliss, no matter if there is none other to share with



你曾经是我的边疆
抵挡我所有的悲伤
西风残 故人往 如今被爱流放
困在了眼泪中央

You were once my frontier
Defended me from all my sorrows
West winds linger, old friends passed, I'm now exiled by love
Locked in the midst of tears



轻解霓裳  咽泪换笑妆
等你戎装  去呼啸沧桑
过往终究止不住流淌
去御剑飞翔
也许会飞出这感伤

Gently I disrobed, swallowed my tears and put on a smiling front
Waiting on you in your armor, off to command the vicissitudes of life
The flow of the past alas cannot be stopped 
To soar upon a magical sword
Perhaps then escape from this sorrow is possible



暮色起看天边斜阳
夜未央星河独流淌
天晴朗 好风光 若你不在身旁
能上苍穹又怎样

As twilight approaches, I watch the setting sun upon the horizon
The night’s still young, the river of stars flows in solitude
The day is bright, the scenery’s fine, but if you are not by my side,
Does it matter if I can reach heaven's high?



船过空港 将寂寞豢养
旷野霜降 低垂了泪光

Sailing pass an empty harbor, nursing my loneliness
Snow falls upon an open field, a tearful glint lowered



是谁陨落了我的太阳
是你的模样
带走我所有的光芒

Who was it who fell my sun
It was your likeness
Who took away all my light



扬帆远航 亦不过彷徨 
奈何流放 敌不过苍凉

Setting sail for a long voyage, it’s only a sense of lost and uncertainty
Yet exile itself is no match for this desolation



我要潜入回忆的汪洋
寻你的模样
唯有你是我的天堂

I want to dive into the ocean of memories
To search for your likeness
You are my only paradise



唯有你是我的天堂
You are my only paradise




******

Translator's note:

So yeah, instead of work I've procrastinated and did this instead. I'm aware that there are several versions of translations out there already (also translated to "Love Catastrophe" or "Love Casualty" in other versions), but after listening to this on repeat (while rushing for work) I can't resist trying my hands on it. Usual disclaimer, mine may not be the most literally, word-by-word accurate version since I have the pretentious soul of a artsy-poet-wannabe

Also, an excuse to fangirl over Xiao Xingchen (blind guy in white) from "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" (Mo Dao Zu Shi). Just a note, the song is not from MDZS, but its only made into a music video with this song.

And Xue Yang is objectively a garbage person. Period.

Not a character pairing I can get behind (Xiao with Xue), but the author sure knows how to grind my feelings to smithereens. The emotional complexity behind the story arc is just... perfection. Xue Yang Trash Yang (that is literally how the fandom calls him I'm not making this up) is such a compelling villain you just can't get enough of him. Despite Xue's seething hatred for him, that last piece of candy Xiao gave Xue, a memento for Xiao's kindness to him, he gripped the rotten candy tightly unto his own death. That, and his insistence to piece Xiao's soul together and revive him as a zombie. These are some testaments to the villain's complex psychology.

As for Xiao Xingchen... I have yet to see a more merciless treatment to such a noble character in fiction. (I have a very, very, VERY soft spot for truly noble heroes with tragic arcs.) Saved a vengeful SOB unknowingly, tricked into killing the people he vowed to protect, tricked into killing his best friend, his soul literally shattered when the deception is revealed. He could have been complacent with his life as a hermit in the mountains, yet he came out intending to do good in the world. He had the purest heart, but fate had him lose everything because of it - his dream, his sight, his friends, his principles. The despair he felt in his final moments were particularly palpable and soul-crushing.

I think I've derailed from the song. Nevertheless, I love both this song (have been listening to it for many years already) and the story which the MV is based on. If any of you have not read/watched the story of "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation", I highly recommend it. There's the novel, the anime (still ongoing - in fact the upcoming Season 3 is going to show this particular arc if it ever gets released), and the TV series "The Untamed".

Cheers!




10 comments:

  1. oof I've actually followed your song translations for some time, since late 2018 or early 2019, chanced upon your blog while searching for 上邪 translations :) I really love your song trans sighhh :") This song (though not this ver) along with 画地为牢 (song rec) are my fav 2 古风 songs. You have no idea how happy I was to find that you translated this song haha...

    Recently I fell in love with 吹梦到西州, maybe you wanna consider translating it (along with 画地为牢)? :) Not sure if 吹梦到西州 is considered a 古风歌曲....

    Also, I'm a huge fan of MDZS novel (and 动画)hahaha :") You can consider listening to the audio drama/ 广播剧 too!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words and generous support! It really does make my day to know that something I've put in effort is appreciated by others ^_^ I'd love to help with translating, unfortunately I'm really constrained by time as real world responsibilities pile up on my end. Even now I'm having quite a number of half-done drafts sitting around waiting to see the light of day.

      I can try to do one, maybe 吹梦到西州 if that's what you prefer first, but no promises on when I can deliver, if that is ok with you. I'm sorry I can't promise much at this point >_>

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    2. My apologies once again, I've went to study the lyrics for 吹梦到西洲,and honestly I think it is beyond my current ability, as from what I've read from others there's lots of references from the classical philosophical text 庄子, which I'm not all that familiar with.

      画地为牢 seems more manageable for me. I can try to translate that one instead.

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    3. I must apologise for I did not look at the above video the other day; I assumed it was the male ver that is known among the mdzs fandom, but I just clicked on it and yes - this is the ver that I like T.T

      Also, please don't worry about when you can get the translations done, no pressure because it's no longer fun when you feel burdened from expectations. Just do what you normally do and I'll pop in once or twice a month :)

      吹梦到西州 is really hard to comprehend, this is the first chinese song where I have completely no understanding of the lyrics from the beginning to the end, so don't worry about it :) I was just trying my luck hehe

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    4. Thanks for being so understanding ^_^ I'll do my best, and again, no promises, but I'll see what I can manage.

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    5. Here is my translation. I'm not sure if it is correct
      https://youtu.be/U2qWIwzV8hA

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    6. Though I can't comment on the accuracy of the translation, not having the interpreting skills nor done the research for it, that's an absolutely beautiful translation! Kudos to your skills and effort! (Even helped me finally understand what that song was about!)

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    7. Glad u like it! And don't say thx to me, I only translated traditional Chinese into morden Chinese, then translated into Chinglish. A foreign friend helped me to correct all the lyrics.

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  2. forgot to add 琵琶行 as well haha, I heard this one is acutally a poem but they made it into a song with the exact words from the poem.

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    1. I believe the Youtube video already has a fully translated version, which at a glance seems like a pretty good translation. (Love that song too!) Indeed it is a full classical poem written during the Tang Dynasty by a poet called Bai JuYi (白居易). Another of his poem sang as a song in modern times is 长恨歌, about the love story between Emperor Tang Ming Huang (唐明皇) and his favorite imperial consort Yang YuHuan (or 杨贵妃). The story about this relatively modern rendition itself has a moving story behind it.

      The tune was remembered by an old man who used to be student to a scholar during the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing dynasty, before the establishment of the Republic. While fighting terminal cancer, he wished to preserve this song for the coming generation. And so he wrote the tune down and sang it. His granddaughter posted it on the internet, calling for people to cover the song for her grandfather. This is just one of the many covers, by 五色石南叶: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J07B7IE_SQ . 音频怪物's cover is good as well.

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