Saturday, July 14, 2012

TVB Series “Witness Insecurity”《護花危情》(2012): Theme Song Translation

I’m currently watching (well, more like 'chasing') the TVB series Witness Insecurity 《護花危情》 (starring Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Paul Chun, Ram Tseung, etc.) and so far, it’s quite an enjoyable series (in fact, I’m sort of ‘obsessed’ with this series just like I was with BP and THC earlier in the year). Since I’m planning on writing a review on the series when it finishes airing in a couple weeks (I have a bunch of notes on it already), I’m going to refrain from going into detail about the series itself in this post. Instead, I’m going to focus primarily on the theme song only.

The theme song to this series is called ‘The Most Blissful Thing’ (最幸福的事) and is sung by the series female lead Linda Chung. At first, when I first heard this song, I wasn’t too crazy about it, partly because I felt Linda’s performance of the song was a little lacking, but after listening to it over and over again (since there is no sub-theme song for this series, so the theme song is played during both the opening and closing credits), I’ve come to love this song (quite a lot actually). I guess you could say that this song ‘grew’ on me the more I listened to it.

I really like the melody of the song because it’s very easy to listen to and also fits so well with the theme of the series – the cello instrumental part at the beginning of the song especially moves me and draws me in (the song ends with the same instrumental segment as well). In fact, there’s actually a complete instrumental version of the song that was released as well (part of it is played throughout the series, since Linda’s character plays the cello so this is the song that she plays each time). The lyrics are also very beautiful and moving – gives off that ‘bittersweet’ vibe that’s inline with the overall storyline. [In fact, if we pay close attention to the lyrics, perhaps there’s a little hint of how Hui Sir (Bosco) and Kiu Ji Lam’s (Linda) relationship will turn out? (I’m sure those who are currently watching the series will know what I mean)].

Overall, the song is beautifully composed and written -- however the only flaw is the vocal performance (aka the singing) of the song by Linda. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Linda’s performance of the song wasn't good – in fact, I feel that she actually did a decent job with the song considering she’s not a professional singer…however, the reason why I feel her performance was lacking was because it didn’t have the emotional ‘umph’ that would have made this song perfect. When it comes to theme songs, I’m a bit on the ‘picky’ side in that in order for the song to be ‘successful’ in my eyes, it needs to 1) remind me of the series so much that I have the urge to go watch the series all over again just from listening to the theme song being played (believe me, I’ve done it many times with certain series / theme songs) and 2) move me emotionally in some manner – whether it brings a warm smile to my face or pulls at my heartstrings to the point that it brings tears to my eyes. I must say that as much as I enjoy listening to the theme song for this series, it still doesn’t have as ‘powerful’ of an emotional effect on me as other songs have in the past (though definitely whenever I listen to the song, I feel the urge to watch the series…LOL).

Personally, I feel that the theme song would have a different affect on me if someone else sang it rather than Linda. As I’m writing this, the person who comes to mind who would have been the ‘perfect’ candidate to perform this song (and do it the justice it deserves) is Joyce Cheng. She has that beautiful, sweet yet strong voice that fits the song perfectly, but most important of all, Joyce sings with a lot of emotion as well as conviction (despite being a newcomer to the music industry). Every time I listen to Joyce sing (especially the slow ballads that she does), I get a bit emotional and sometimes even teary-eyed. No offense to Linda (because again, like I said earlier, she gave it a good shot), but I just feel that Joyce would have been able to make the song more ‘impactful’ from an ‘emotion’ point of view. [As a sidenote, I absolutely loved the theme song ‘Intuition’ that Joyce sang for the series “Speech of Silence” a few years back – in my opinion, this song is along the same lines as that one (except for the instrumental piece), which is another reason why I think Joyce would have been a better fit for the song…]

Anyway, no matter what I think about who should try singing the song, at the end of the day, it’s still a beautiful song regardless and it definitely enhances my experience of watching this series.

Below is the English translation of the song, along with a link to listen to the song from Youtube (if you want to watch the full opening theme video to the series – the actual 3:52 version rather than the short version currently airing with the series – I highly recommend checking it out on TVB’s website). As is the case whenever I do song translations, the translation below is purely my own interpretation of the lyrics and so most likely will be different from other translations of the song that may be out there.

Also, if anyone has feedback regarding the theme song itself, please feel free to comment!

.****.


[Translated by: llwy12] 


*** PLEASE CREDIT IF RE-POSTED!! THANK YOU! ***


最幸福的事
The Most Blissful Thing


電視劇《護花危情》 主題曲
TV Series “Witness Insecurity” theme song

主唱:鍾嘉欣
Performed by: Linda Chung

作曲: 鄧智偉
Composed by: Tang Chi Wai

填詞: 張美賢
Lyrics by: Cheung Mei Yin

編曲: Johnny Yim
Musical Arrangement by: Johnny Yim


就算雨傘破了 身體濕透 沒法子
Even if the umbrella breaks, body gets wet, can’t help it

就算冷笑冷到不是味兒
Even if a grim smile is so cold to the point of being tasteless

就算我向世界飛奔千百里 又再輸
Even if I dash a thousand miles toward the world, lose once again

就算跌過百次 再尋下次
Even if fallen a hundred times, once again search for another chance


溫室無非逃避災或雨
Greenhouse used for nothing else but to avoid disaster and rain

心鎖從來沒有鎖匙
There was never a key to my locked up heart

心弦若果 頻率很類似
If the heartstrings seem to pull at a very similar frequency

相看像照鏡子 淚痕仍似詩
Looking at each other is like looking in a mirror, the tear stains still resemble a poem


曾想象太好 歷太多失意
Once imagined it too good, experienced too many frustrations

孤單的滋味 天知我知
The feelings of loneliness, Heavens know, I know

太幸福的事也許要變卦幾次
Too blissful of a thing, perhaps need to change my mind several times

方悟到珍惜的意思
Before the meaning of ‘cherish’ is understood


失望太多 就試多一次
Too many disappointments, then try it one more time

不捨的思念 不可遏止
The longing and reluctance to let go cannot be held back

最著緊的事已經錯過無限次
The thing [I] care about most, already missed it unlimited times

請讓我將心中句子 認真講你知
Please allow me to take the words in my heart and tell them to you earnestly


閉起門窗 誰願給耐性
[If] shut all the doors and windows, who is willing to be patient

心聲原來是最真誠
Turns out the feelings from the heart are the most sincere

失眠日子 年月很動聽
[During] sleepless days, over time, still very pleasant to listen to

天際倦到再黑 夜闌仍有星
No matter how tired and dark the horizon becomes, in the darkness of the night there are still stars


曾想象太好 歷太多失意
Once imagined it too good, experienced too many frustrations

孤單的滋味 天知我知
The feelings of loneliness, Heavens know, I know

太幸福的事也許要變卦幾次
Too blissful of a thing, perhaps need to change my mind several times

方悟到珍惜的意思
Before the meaning of ‘cherish’ is understood


曾失望太多 就試多一次
Too many disappointments before, then try it one more time

不捨的思念 不可遏止
The longing and reluctance to let go cannot be held back

最著緊的事已經錯過無限次
The thing [I] care about most, already missed it unlimited times

請讓我將心中句子 認真講你知
Please allow me to take the words in my heart and tell them to you earnestly

2 comments:

  1. the song is peaceful and nice to hear but how is the idea of 'rain' related to the theme of the series

    ReplyDelete