關不掉的月光 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 閻澄慶

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the poetic melancholy of Mandopop with Harlem Yu's "關不掉的月光." This song is a great way to learn expressive vocabulary related to emotions like loneliness and heartache. Its cinematic feel and powerful metaphors, like the inescapable moonlight representing a past love, make it a memorable and moving piece for any language learner.

[English]

Unstoppable Moonlight

Music by Yu Chengqing, Lyrics by Li Zhuoxiong

The moonlight can't be turned off; there's nowhere to hide

Only loneliness stays open all night

This little tavern, across the street's glass window

Has seen so many farewells, joys, and sorrows

The night feels like a deep, unfathomable heart,

An emptiness that can’t be filled,

Better not to say—actually, I haven't forgotten,

There's a seat always left empty beside me

Loving passionately, full of fire, so what?

It lit up my soul, but also burned me,

Falling in love, willingly, madness doesn't matter,

But reality shoots cold arrows from behind,

Loving fiercely, what’s wrong with that?

Being battered and bruised, yet pain is quiet,

Dreams of love, mistaken changes, all back to normal,

Cold moonlight, so proud, watching from the side,

The night is like a cactus with thorns,

In the double bed, unable to sleep,

Better not to say—actually, I haven't forgotten,

There's a seat always left empty beside me

Loving passionately, full of fire, so what?

It lit up my soul, but also burned me,

Falling in love, willingly, madness doesn't matter,

But reality shoots cold arrows from behind,

Loving fiercely, what’s wrong with that?

Being battered and bruised, yet pain is quiet,

Dreams of love, mistaken changes, all back to normal,

Unstoppable moonlight

[Chinese]

关不掉的月光

曲 庾澄庆 词 李焯雄

关不掉月光无处可藏

只有寂寞不打烊

这小酒馆 对街玻璃窗

看过多少聚散悲欢

夜像深不可测的心房

无法填满的荒凉

不说还好 其实都没忘

有个位子 一直空在身旁

轰轰烈烈爱个够又怎样

点亮了我 却也被灼伤

爱一场 心甘情愿 无所谓疯狂

但现实 在背后放冷枪

轰轰烈烈去对决那又怎样

遍体鳞伤 痛也不张扬

梦一场 改变的错恢复了原样

冷月光 好嚣张 冷眼旁观

夜是带着刺的仙人掌

睡不着的双人床

不说还好 其实都没忘

有个位子 一直空在身旁

轰轰烈烈爱个够又怎样

点亮了我 却也被灼伤

爱一场 心甘情愿 无所谓疯狂

但现实 在背后放冷枪

轰轰烈烈去对决那又怎样

遍体鳞伤 痛也不张扬

梦一场 改变的错恢复了原样

关不掉 的月光

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
月光 /yuè guāng/ A2	noun - moonlight
寂寞 /jì mò/ B1	noun - loneliness
酒馆 /jiǔ guǎn/ B1	noun - bar or tavern
聚散 /jù sàn/ B2	noun - gathering and parting
荒凉 /huāng liáng/ B2	adjective - desolate or bleak
爱 /ài/ A1	verb - to love noun - love
痛 /tòng/ A2	noun - pain
梦 /mèng/ A1	noun - dream
现实 /xiàn shí/ B1	noun - reality
刺 /cì/ B2	noun - thorn or prick
双人床 /shuāng rén chuáng/ B1	noun - double bed
空 /kōng/ A2	adjective - empty
对决 /duì jué/ B2	verb - to duel or confront
灼伤 /zhuó shāng/ B2	verb - to burn or scorch
放 /fàng/ A2	verb - to put or place

Key Grammar Structures

• 关不掉月光

  ➔ Use of negation + 可以 (can) to express inability

  ➔ The phrase "关不掉" uses a negative form "关不" (cannot close) + 可以 implied to be impossible to turn off the moonlight.

• 只有寂寞不打烊

  ➔ Use of 只有 ... 才 to emphasize that only loneliness is always available

  ➔ The structure "只有 ... 才" emphasizes that only one condition or thing exists or is true.

• 夜像深不可测的心房

  ➔ Use of 像 to make a simile (like/as) between two things

  ➔ The word "像" is used to introduce a simile, comparing "night" to a deep, unfathomable heart chamber.

• 无法填满的荒凉

  ➔ Use of 无法 to express impossibility or inability

  ➔ “无法” means "impossible to" or "cannot" indicating that filling up the loneliness is unachievable.

• 点亮了我 却也被灼伤

  ➔ Use of 连词 却 to contrast two clauses

  ➔ The word "却" (but) contrasts the positive action of lighting up with the negative consequence of being burned.

• 梦一场 改变的错恢复了原样

  ➔ Use of 一场 to denote a single occurrence or event

  ➔ The phrase "梦一场" means "a single dream or illusion", emphasizing the transient nature of dreams.

• 关不掉 的月光

  ➔ Use of 的 to possess or modify nouns

  ➔ 的 connects "关不掉" and "月光", indicating that the moonlight belongs to or is characterized by inability to turn off.