追 / Chase

Thoughts on Lyrics

The song was written for the movie 金枝玉葉 / “He’s a Man, She’s a Woman”. Lyricist 林夕 chose very ordinary, everyday words for this ordinary love song, resulting in a Cantopop classic for many years that followed. The song was about the subject’s realization that the thing he’d been chasing for was already in front of him.

Since the theme of the song was straightforward, I will pick the two great lines of the song:

有了你 即使平凡卻最重要 can be literally translated as, “After having you, even ordinary becomes great/important.” A suggestion that happy couples tend to be content with simple, ordinary life. It makes sense since after the “honeymoon period”, 6 months according to some, life will have more ordinary moments than fireworks. Learning to love the ordinary will bring us a long way.

提前做錯 is a very interesting line. It can be literally translated as “To pre-make mistakes”. The idea is that we all learn our mistakes the hard way, after the fact, and hurting our loved ones along the way. If only we had learnt all of our shortcomings before meeting our significant others, then maybe we won’t hurt or lose them. Four letters, how amazing, 林夕.

Thoughts on Melody

Like the line 即使平凡卻最重要, Dick Lee / 李迪文crafted this very beautiful piece from very ordinary notes. One can easily play the melody in C Major scale on a piano by ears. For those unfamiliar with piano: right hand part, on the white keys only. The melody very much gave the reminiscing feel that the subject was going through.

This was one of the more famous songs sung by late Leslie Cheung. Though he had lost his vocal crispness in 90s, he compensated with skills and a lot of hearts. In my personal opinion, his songs were much better when he combined those two with his then raspy voice.

Note: Dick Lee, a Singaporean, was also the composer of musical 雪狼湖 / Snow Wolf Lake.

Video

追
Chase

Artist: 張國榮 (Leslie Cheung)
Composer: 李迪文 (Dick Lee)
Lyricist: 林夕 (Lam Jek)

這一生 也在進取
這分鐘 卻掛念誰
我會說 是唯獨你不可失去
I have been chasing (for something) my whole life
But whom am I missing this very minute
I will say only you whom I cannot miss (lose).

好風光 似幻似虛 誰明人生樂趣
我會說 為情為愛 仍然是對
Good scenery is like an illusion. Who understands the joy of life?
I will say, for love, everything is still justifiable. [Movie: Living for love is still my belief]

* 誰比你重要 成功了敗了也完全無重要
誰比你重要 狂風與暴雨都因你燃燒
Who is more important than you? Success or failure is no longer important
Who is more important than you? [Movie:] You turn the tempest into warm fire

一追再追 只想追趕生命裡一分一秒
原來多麼可笑 你是真正目標
一追再追 追蹤一些生活最基本需要
原來早不缺少 ha...
有了你 即使平凡卻最重要 *
Kept on chasing, I just want to chase for every moment in life
[Movie:] But it’s stupid, since you my goal
Kept on chasing, chasing for the basic needs in life
[Movie:] But I’ve got so much.
[Movie:] It’s ordinary but important to be with you

好光陰 縱沒太多
一分鐘 那又如何
會與你 共同渡過 都不枉過
Great memories, there has not been too many
So what if it’s just for one minute
There will be no regret if I can spend it together with you

瘋戀多 錯誤更多 如能從新做過
我會說 願能為你 提前做錯
Lots of crazy love, even a lot more mistakes, how can I restart from scratch?
I will say, for you, I am willing to make all my mistakes before seeing you

Repeat *

一追再追 只想追趕生命裡一分一秒
原來多麼可笑 你是真正目標
一追再追 追蹤一些生活最基本需要
原來早不缺少 Oh... 只得你
會叫我彷彿人群裡最重要
有了你 即使沈睡了 也在笑

Kept on chasing, I just want to chase for every moment in life
[Movie:] But it’s stupid, since you my goal
Kept on chasing, chasing for the basic needs in life
[Movie:] But I’ve got so much. Oh... only you
Will let me feel as if you’re the greatest amongst all
With you, even if I’m in deep sleep, I’ll still be smiling

[Movie: Translation taken from the movie’s subtitle]

菲情歌 / Filipino Love Song

Thoughts on Lyrics

This was a very intelligent song with the main goal of surfacing the plight of foreign housemaids to the oblivious masters. It was doing it in the form of a love song that would appeal to the music consumers in Hong Kong, a country which has a high number of foreign housemaids from Philippines and notorious stories of masters abusing these foreign workers. While the backdrop was set in Hong Kong, this was a universal song.

The title 菲情歌 literally meant Filipino Love Song. 菲 as in 菲律宾, the Chinese name for Republic of Philippines. It also rhymes with 非 which is usually used together with other noun to mean the opposite; so非情歌 would be “Non-Love Song”. This song was indeed not just a love song.

All the verses except the first one delivered the societal messages, while the chorus narrated the housemaid longing for her loved one back home. Everybody dislikes routines, yet these are the people who choose, but not by choice, to do the same routines every day as depicted in verse 2. While she was tired of her work routines, she was never tired of her routines of thinking about her lover as depicted in chorus 4.

The line同屋的都溝通不到像空氣 in verse 3 was a killer. It accurately stated that masters tend to ignore their housemaids feeling, that they do not talk to each other in a real sense. When taken out of the context of this song, this line can also be used on the lack of communication between parents and children, coworkers, friends, and couples. The solution should be something constructive, to work it out and not to ignore it or run away from.

The interesting thing about song interpretation is that it is totally personal. Depending on mood, one can interpret a sad song as happy one, and vice versa. One can say that the housemaid was longing for her lover, yet one can also easily say she was longing for her family, father, mother, brothers, and sisters. After all, the most likely reason for a person to labor in foreign country is to support the family back home. When interpreted in this manner, this song can be applied to anybody who is working in another country. What motivates them? Someone to look forward to? What fuels them? What makes endless loop of routines enjoyable? Have you found yours? I thought I have, and I still hope I have.

Note: Of course it will be unfair if we do not point out that there are good masters, those who actually take care of their housemaids. I have seen plenty. If your family is one of them, good for you. If not, start realizing that your housemaids are human too.

Thoughts on Melodies

The melody and arrangement of the song totally did its lyrics justice. The acoustical arrangement of guitar, flute and harmonica evoked a sense of sorrow, loneliness, longing, and yet some level of sweetness that is necessary in a love song. The structure was deceptively simple, with repeated verses and choruses with subtle differences. Repeated choruses with no bridge depicted the housemaid’s routine: waking up, working, missing her lover, sleep, rinse and repeat.

Video

菲情歌
Filipino Love Song

Singer: 謝安琪 (Kay Tse)
Composer: 周博賢 (Adrian Chow)
Lyricist: 周博賢

Verse 1
昨晚依稀的感覺夢到你 一起沙灘中嬉戲
差點可伸手將你全包庇 那鐘聲分開我與你

I vaguely remember that I dreamt of you last night. Playing around together on a beach.
I was about to lift my arms to embrace you. And the alarm clock buzz torn us apart.

Verse 2
開始一天的工作像機器 照顧棄嬰極疲憊
無邊的家居 須仔細地清理
每一餐匆匆要處理 到深宵才能停下喘一口氣

I start every day working like a machine. The exhaustion from taking care of the baby.
The boundless furniture, requiring detailed cleaning.
Rushing to prepare every single meal. I only get to stop and take a breath late at night.

Chorus 1
浮生偷得想你 和藹親切 體貼入微
相隔數千里 虛擬親親你 床舖中假裝抱著你
明朝早不需告別你

In uncertain times, I discreetly miss you. The kind, caring and considerate you.
Separated by thousands of miles. Imagining kissing you. Pretending to hug you while lying on my bed.
That I will not have to say goodbye tomorrow morning.

Verse 3
丁方的空間給我來休憩 禁閉寄居極無味
同屋的都溝通不到像空氣 每一天堆積過怨氣
皇后像成為良伴開解心理

I am only given a very small space to rest. This closed sojourn is extremely tasteless.
Under one same roof yet we cannot communicate, as in a vacuum. Accruing discontents day by day.
The statue becomes my companion that comforts me.
[皇后像 was referring to Statue Square in Hong Kong, a popular gathering place for housemaids on Sundays]

Chorus 2
沉鬱中偷想你 和藹親切 體貼入微
相隔數千里 虛擬親親你 床舖中假裝抱著你
唯一肯聽聽我是你

In depressing times, I discreetly miss you. The kind, caring and considerate you.
Separated by thousands of miles. Imagining kissing you. Pretending to hug you while lying on my bed.
You are the only one who is willing to listen to me.

Chorus 3
容我偷偷想你 和藹親切 體貼入微
相隔數千里 虛擬親親你 床舖中假裝抱著你
Allow me to discreetly miss you. The kind, caring and considerate you.
Separated by thousands of miles. Imagining kissing you. Pretending to hug you while lying on my bed.

Chorus 4
無休止的想你 寧可跟你 跟你高飛
飛到片福地 樣樣事亦優美
再不會再不會受氣 那一天真可抱著你

Missing you tirelessly. Wishing I can fly away with you.
Fly to a happy place, where everything is wonderful.
No longer, no longer have to suffer. That day when I can actually hug you.

樓上來的聲音 / Sounds from Upstairs

Thoughts on Lyrics

This seemed to be a song about someone who was under a lot of stress, and was pondering about his life alone at home. However, he was in denial so he let the various noises to distract him, as depicted in verse 1 and 3. I bet most of us must have done this a lot. We choose to crank up the music volume or listen to a heavy rock song so that we avoid thinking about our troubles. If we don’t think about it, it’s not there. Of course lyricist林夕didn’t encourage that as a permanent option; hence the chorus took a sharp turn in tone, and started asking questions and proposing solutions.

林夕beautifully packed a lot of things into the chorus while maintaining the use of simple, everyday phrases that rhymed nicely (退, 趣, 淚, 去, 侶, 虛 all ends with sound ‘oey’). Most people have two worries, career and family/love, and both can be a mundane thing. We do the same work every day, and we do the same thing with our loved ones over and over again. The subject was exhausted from these routines as depicted by the see-sawing metaphor (chorus 1) which “rhymed” with the “back and forth”, and his endless search for his other half (chorus 2). The first line of each chorus can be either a proposal or question on how, but the idea was the same: To take the motivation from one and apply it to the other, to treat love as work and work as love. For the idea to make sense, we assume people are willing to work hard at work, but are less willing to do the same on relationship. People are willing to do the same routine with the same person in love, but are frustrated at doing the same thing at work. At the same time, 林夕suggested us to take it easy and not stress ourselves out. It is okay to cry and take a break.

The outro revealed the fundamental cause of the subject’s or our problems. People tend to place unnecessary burden on themselves, trying to fit into the society in expense of their true identity.

Thoughts on Melody

The melody was composed in a very relaxing manner, as if the singer was thinking to the tune of the song. The arrangement was completely acoustical to avoid unnecessary noises from drums or electric guitars. The combination allows listener to listen and at the same time ponder. A very good song with strong, meaningful lyrics.

Video

樓上來的聲音
Sounds from Upstairs

Singer: 張學友 (Jacky Cheung)
Composer: 藍奕邦 (Pong Nam)
Lyricist: 林夕 (Lam Jek)

Verse 1
樓上來的聲音 樓下來的聲音
誰共誰現在做甚麼 不要緊
喧嘩作樂 為何如此吸引

Sounds from upstairs, and sounds from downstairs.
Not caring about who is currently doing what with whom.
Sound and music, why is it so fascinating?

Verse 2
寧靜時的聲音 彷彿飛不走的蚊
混雜著內心的噪音
今天假日 為何毫不吸引

Sounds from quiet moment, are like mosquitoes that would not go away.
Blending together with the noise from my thoughts.
Today is a holiday, why is not a bit interesting?

Verse 3
靜處在家中竟有壓力 就似擔心失去價值
寧願日日夜夜大聲播 情歌 真不真實也好過

I unexpectedly feel pressured while sitting quietly at home, as if worried that I am losing my worth.
So I prefer blasting love songs day and night. It makes me feel better regardless of whether their stories are real.

Chorus 1
如何能將工作當戀愛進了又退
從早午晚都拉鋸那有樂趣
何不躲進浴缸裡痛快地流淚

How does one treat work as love to keep going forth and back tirelessly?
How can there be joy at see-sawing from morning, noon and till dawn?
Why don’t we just hide in the bathtub and cry to our heart’s content?

Chorus 2
如何能將戀愛當工作奮鬥下去
如早午晚找不到半個伴侶
何不休假 像清水一般空虛

How does one treat love as work to keep on fighting?
If we cannot find our significant other after searching through morning, noon and dawn,
Why don’t we take a break and be as empty as a glass of water.

Outro
人為何不開心 想一天到晚興奮
但願做甚麼都滿分
討好眾人 換來自己 抖震

Why do people get unhappy? From trying to be happy day and night,
Wishing everything to be perfect,
Pleasing everyone, in return we give ourselves shivers (from frustration).