TVB series “When Heaven Burns 天與地” (2011): General Thoughts & Sub-theme Song Translation

TVB series "When Heaven Burns" just finished airing last week. I have no intention of doing a review on the series because to be honest, I didn't really "watch" the series, since I only caught various episodes here and there when my family was watching the series (I did tune into the 2 hour finale though and watched that in its entirety). In case you're wondering....no, I didn't decide to skip this series because of the cannibalism theme or the cast or whatnot -- in fact, from the little I've seen of WHB, I could tell that the series was well thought out in terms of script and the filming method as well as acting from artists were all above standard. Unfortunately though, the biggest problem with this series is that it was agonizingly SLOW and draggy (this is the reason why I chose to skip the series)...it's one thing if only the first few episodes were slow but with this series, almost every single episode dragged out, to the point that it became a bit too tedious to sit through and watch. Yes, the series did start to pick up pace about two-thirds of the way in, but unfortunately, it was too late -- I had already given up on the series less than halfway through because I didn't have that kind of time to waste (plus I don't tolerate slow / draggy series very well).

That being said, I did tune in to watch the 2 hour finale episodes (primarily out of curiosity) and I'll be the first to admit that the finale (unlike the rest of the series) was definitely worth the time to watch. I especially enjoyed the 2 musical segments in the finale: 1) the rock concert segment that featured the reunion of Hak Jai (Moses), Gu Lo (Bowie), and Ronnie (Kenny) singing "Youthful Ignorance" (which just so happens to be the sub-theme song of the series itself) -- I felt that segment was particularly moving and well done; 2) the "What If" video at the end of the series (again featuring the sub-theme song) was also nicely put together (plus I felt it was an appropriate ending to an otherwise intense series).

Talking about the sub-theme song..... 年少無知 (’Youthful Ignorance’) has become very popular in recent weeks (and deservingly so in my opinion, as the melody of the song is quite catchy and the lyrics are meaningful). The feedback I’ve heard regarding the song is that many people who haven't even watched the series are able to relate to the song’s lyrics and apply them to their own lives in some way – now THAT’s what I call an influential song!

A few people have asked about an English translation to the sub-theme song's lyrics -- originally, I was surprised that there wasn't already an English translation of the lyrics circulating out there somewhere, given the popularity of the song, however after studying the lyrics further, I understand why.....the lyrics are a bit tough to translate into English without losing some of its meaning.

Anyway, for those who are interested, I went ahead and translated the lyrics of the song into English -- however, I have to put a disclaimer that this is purely my interpretation of the lyrics and may not necessarily be a 100% correct translation. Also, I tried to keep to the flow of the song as much as possible while still maintaining the essence of the lyrics, however keep in mind that the song itself is not meant to be sung in English – so the translation is basically for reference only.

For those who understand Chinese, I highly recommend listening to the original version of the song (which is why I also included the link to the song's MV below).

Lastly, if anyone has feedback regarding the translation, you’re welcome to comment! :-)

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Link to MV (as posted on Youtube): 'Youthful Ignorance'

[Translated by: llwy12]

年少無知
Youthful Ignorance

電視劇【天與地】片尾曲
TV Series “When Heaven Burns” sub-theme song

主唱：林保怡．陳豪．黃德斌
Performed by: Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Kenny Wong

作曲：黃貫中
Composed by: Paul Wong

填詞：林若寧
Lyrics by: Lam Yeurk Ning

編曲：黃貫中．劉志遠
Musical arrangement: Paul Wong, Lau Chi Yuen

監製：黃貫中
Producer: Paul Wong

(B = Bowie, M = Moses, K = Kenny, T= Together)


林：年少多好　頑劣多好
B: How good is youthfulness, how good is stubbornness

不甘安於封建制度裡迷信上街真理會達到
Unwilling to be content with feudalism, superstitious that on the streets truth will be attained

旗幟高舉　群眾聲討
The flag lifted high, condemned by the masses

不惜犧牲一切去上訴權貴的想法太俗套
Unhesitatingly sacrifice everything to appeal, the thought process of those in power is too conventional

只可惜生活是一堆挫折　只可惜生命是必須妥協
Unfortunately, life is a pile of setbacks, unfortunately, life requires compromise


陳：年少多好　貧困多好
M: How good is youthfulness, how good is poverty

一蚊積蓄足以快樂到廉價結他抒發我暴躁
A dollar in savings is enough to be happy, a cheaply-priced guitar to vent out my irritabilities

財富得到　年歲不保
Riches are obtained, youthfulness cannot be maintained

捐輸不必講究有回報人世間總會有異數
Contribution need not be concerned with payback, the secular world inevitably has its differences

只可惜生活是一聲發洩 只可惜生命是一聲抱歉 怕追討
Unfortunately life is the sound of venting, unfortunately life is the sound of apology, afraid to be chased down


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步更瀟灑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we’d take at the end of the crossroads would be more natural and unrestrained

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值不必接受時代的糟蹋
If, we could be honest with life, the values we believed in the past would not need to accept the ruin of an era


黃：年少多好　朋友多好
K: How good is youthfulness, how good is friendship

一番爭執不會有被告遊戲競爭不會記入腦
A dispute would not require a defendant, competition in a game would not be remembered

年歲增長　無法修補
Increasing age, unable to mend

青春的詩總會老　時間多恐怖
The song of youth will eventually get old, passage of time so terrifying


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步無用困惑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we take at the end of the crossroads would not need to be perplexing

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值今天發現還未老
If, we could be honest with life, we’d discover today that the values we believed in the past have not aged

如果命運能演習現實中不致接納一生每步殘酷抉擇
If, fate could be practiced, we would not have to accept a life of cruelly choosing every step

留守過去的想法我會否好像這樣生於世上無目的鞭撻
Standing behind the previous way of thinking, would I be subject to the blind lashing of today’s world?