In the past, I never bothered about music when I exercised. Be it in the gym or out and about, I did my workouts light, sans music gear — it was just me and them exercises.
But of late — a year ago or so — I started to listen to songs and music on my mobile phone when I brisk walked around the neighbourhood or hit the gym. It has been certainly a more fulfilling experience in that my mind was taken off the mundane that is exercise. Or so I thought…
There is one drawback though: music can trigger waves of WittyCulus inspiration! As attention turns to the tunes and words interwoven with them, light bulbs can suddenly turn on here and there. Usually I’d end up with ideas for song parodies; sometimes, I’ll just be simply in awe of those beautifully crafted lyrics.
Secretly, I had wished I could write like the pros 🙂
And so, whenever I’m exercising and come across great songs, I’d write on Facebook, linking to “#ImExercising” and “#ExerciseMusic” hash tags, about my thoughts and inspiration. This post on Monday, July 4th, is one example…
Three songs by local song bird Joi Chua (蔡淳佳) got me excited and that grey matter up there went to work almost immediately. Actually, her whole album has such nice songs… but I’d better not get ahead of myself!
This time round, I wanted to try my hand at translating a Chinese song into English, rather than do the usual wacky lyrics thing. The challenge is to keep the essence of the song while crafting lines which are meaningful and can be sung in time.
I’m taking it as an opportunity to brush up on my second language, so do drop me a comment below on how I’m doing 🙂
So, let me present my first piece titled “Steadfast”…
I’m so glad we have met
Turned that corner — I came alive
All your warmth and tenderness
Embracing me just as I am
I trust you with my heart
Crazy little thing called love
There’s no rush — let’s take it easy
Together we can make a plan
Brighter days will head our way
As long as you share the same dream
Come what may — wind and falling rain — nothin’ can get me down
Down the roads of life we will walk — you and I do hand in hand
Surely I will follow wherever you go
Let there be no doubt
A woman in love is steadfast, will never waver
The moment that I set eyes on you — you held a place in my heart
Nothing in this world can ever compare
Head over heels — oh, what a feeling!
I know we’ll be happy ever after
I trust you with my heart
You are always on my mind
Ain’t enough — love can be tricky
Let’s keep the faith, do all we can
Brighter days are here to stay
I know that you share the same dream
So come what may — wind and falling rain — nothin’ can get me down
Down the roads of life we will walk — you and I do hand in hand
Surely I will follow wherever you go
Let there be no doubt
A woman in love is steadfast, will never waver
The moment that I set eyes on you — you held a place in my heart
Nothing in this world can ever compare
Head over heels — oh, what a feeling! (this is how it feels)
We will be so happy ever after
Down the roads of life we will walk — you and I do hand in hand
Surely I will follow wherever you go
Let there be no doubt (there can be no doubt)
A woman in love is steadfast, will never waver
The moment that I set eyes on you — you held a place in my heart
Nothing in this world can ever compare
Head over heels — oh, what a feeling! (this is how it feels)
Can you see?
Down the roads of life we will walk — you and I do hand in hand
Surely I will follow wherever you go
Let there be no doubt (there can be no doubt)
A woman in love is steadfast, will never waver
The moment that I set eyes on you — you held a place in my heart
Nothing in this world can ever compare
Head over heels — oh, what a feeling! (this is how it feels)
We will be so happy ever after
We’re happy together
———-
I’m quietly hopeful you’ll like this composition 🙂
For me, writing it has given me much pleasure. From a seed idea of just these five words “Nothin’ can get me down”, it developed into a nice hook from bridge part to chorus. Many pieces started to fall in place quickly, though as usual the final touch-up took quite some time. Still, not bad for 3 days of tinkering.
And if you are into song lyrics, you may have spotted familiar phrases and lines — yes, I’d drawn inspiration from artistes like Bee Gees, Air Supply and Sinead O’Connor, to name a few 🙂 Know where I’ve put them? Wait, maybe I can try putting together a song with lyric phrases from here and there… hmmm, let’s put this on the back burner, lol 🙂
———-
Though there isn’t a YouTube video for this song, you can listen to it here.
Below are the Chinese lyrics, for you to sing along to and also to check my translation effort. Let me know, ya?
Lyrics by: 罗建明
Music by: 蔡淳佳
Arranged by: 周国仪
Recorded by: 蔡淳佳 (Joi Chua)
我和你算很好 能在转角中遇到
从微笑到拥抱 谢谢你肯定我好
我将心交给你 因为我相信爱情
不一定很快有结局 说好了努力不放弃
对未来有的期许 只要你一样肯定
就算再大的风雨我都继续
当我左手握你右手 脚步决定跟你走
你会惊讶我有多大的决心
你不必怀疑 女生对爱有与生俱来的勇气
当我眼睛锁定了你 心从此让你住进
我不怕用全世界交换你
去相信我们在一起 最后总会和幸福相遇
我把心交给你 因为我真的爱你
为了你一秒不考虑 纵然知道并不容易
对未来有的期许 只要你一样肯定
就算再大的风雨我都继续
当我左手握你右手 脚步决定跟你走
你会惊讶我有多大的决心
你不必怀疑 女生对爱有与生俱来的勇气
当我眼睛锁定了你 心从此让你住进
我不怕用全世界交换你
去相信我们在一起(我们在一起) 最后总会和幸福相遇
当我左手握你右手 脚步决定跟你走
你会惊讶我有多大的决心
你不必怀疑(你不必怀疑) 女生对爱有与生俱来的勇气
当我眼睛锁定了你 心从此让你住进
我不怕用全世界交换你
去相信我们在一起(我们在一起) 我相信
当我左手握你右手 脚步决定跟你走
你会惊讶我有多大的决心
你不必怀疑(你不必怀疑) 女生对爱有与生俱来的勇气
当我眼睛锁定了你 心从此让你住进
我不怕用全世界交换你
去相信我们在一起(我们在一起) 最后总会和幸福相遇
和幸福相遇
