活 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: Jeremy 李駿傑

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the raw emotion of Cantopop with Jeremy Lee's "活." This song offers a unique opportunity to learn Cantonese through its poetic and profound lyrics, which explore the complex relationship between love, suffering, and the feeling of being alive. The song's challenging melody and heartfelt vocals make it a special and memorable learning experience.

[English]

Could some desires be like daisies blooming on a broken plate

Like sand drifting over a dry lake

I’ve fallen in love with your provocation

Could some regrets be bearable but never replaceable

There’s too much I don’t want to know, sometimes to avoid seeing through

Who cares about life or death

Just hoping that in breathing your breath, I can truly feel alive

Can't really have everything, sometimes it’s enough to

Fill a cave completely with passion

I doubt that to love is to suffer a little

Just accept being a slave, waiting for control

The heart will die, but won’t wither

Realizing your call is like poetry drowning in sorrow

My thin body refuses to believe my clothes are too loose

How to go on living, how to truly live well

Understanding my bloodline can dilute, but can’t resolve everything

Some wounds opened up, feeling either you or betrayal

Who cares about life or death

Just hoping that in breathing your breath, I can truly feel alive

Can't really have everything, sometimes it’s enough to

Fill a cave completely with passion

I doubt that to love is to suffer a little

Just accept being a slave, waiting for control

The heart won’t wither

May I always remember that sometimes love is about

Never going insane

Who cares about life or death

Just hoping that in breathing your breath, I can truly feel alive

Without breath, I must keep living

Without it, I’ll work even harder to negotiate with fate

I doubt that to love is to suffer a little

Just accept being a slave, waiting for control

The heart fears death, but fears withering even more

To live is to truly live

[Chinese]

難道有些渴望如雛菊開於崩的盤

似沙飄於乾的湖

我已愛上你的挑撥

難道有些缺憾能擔當但是未能替換

太多不想知道有時為了 不想看穿

誰管它死活

但求在呼吸你的呼吸先叫活

沒法真的得到有時為了

只需要盡情將一個洞穴填滿

我懷疑必須愛的必須吃點苦

就當淪為奴僕只等支配

心將會死 但不會枯

明白你的叫喚如詩歌將哀哭淹沒

瘦的身軀不信衣衫太寬

活下來 該怎樣好好去活

明白我的血脈能稀釋但是未能了斷

有些瘡疤揭開感覺是你 或是背叛

誰管它死活

但求在呼吸你的呼吸先叫活

沒法真的得到有時為了

只需要盡情將一個洞穴填滿

我懷疑必須愛的必須吃點苦

就當淪為奴僕只等支配

心不會枯

願我永遠記得戀愛有時為了

永遠瘋癲

誰管它死活

但求在呼吸你的呼吸先叫活

沒了呼吸先要活

沒了 更加努力跟一切命運談判

我懷疑必須愛的必須吃點苦

就當淪為奴僕只等支配

心不怕死 偏偏怕枯

活著就要活

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
渴望 /kě wàng/ B2	noun - desire or longing
崩 /bēng/ C1	verb/noun - collapse or break apart
盤 /pán/ C2	noun - plate, tray, or disc
沙 /shā/ B2	noun - sand
湖 /hú/ B1	noun - lake
愛 /ài/ A2	noun/verb - love; to love
挑撥 /tiǎo bō/ C1	noun/verb - provocation, to provoke
缺憾 /quē hàn/ C2	noun - regret, imperfection
擔當 /dān dāng/ C1	verb/noun - to undertake, responsibility
空洞 /kōng dòng/ B2	noun/adj - hollow, void
懷疑 /huái yí/ B2	verb/noun - to doubt; doubt
填滿 /tián mǎn/ B2	verb - to fill completely
苦 /kǔ/ A2	noun/adj - suffering, bitter
奴僕 /nú pú/ C1	noun - slave
支配 /zhī pèi/ C1	verb/noun - to dominate; domination
死 /sǐ/ A2	noun/verb - death; to die
枯 /kū/ C1	verb/adj - wither, withered
活 /huó/ A1	verb/adjective - to live, alive

Key Grammar Structures

• 難道有些渴望如雛菊開於崩的盤

  ➔ Simile (如...般)

  ➔ The phrase uses the structure '如...般' to create a simile, comparing desires to daisies blooming.

• 我已愛上你的挑撥

  ➔ Present perfect tense (已...上)

  ➔ The use of '已' indicates that the action of falling in love has been completed.

• 心將會死 但不會枯

  ➔ Future tense (將會)

  ➔ The phrase '將會' indicates a future action or state, suggesting that the heart will die but not wither.

• 願我永遠記得戀愛有時為了

  ➔ Subjunctive mood (願)

  ➔ The use of '願' expresses a wish or desire, indicating a hypothetical situation.

• 沒法真的得到有時為了

  ➔ Negative form (沒法)

  ➔ The phrase '沒法' indicates the inability to achieve something, emphasizing a negative aspect.

• 心不會枯

  ➔ Future tense with negation (不會)

  ➔ The phrase '不會' indicates a future action that will not happen, suggesting resilience.

• 活著就要活

  ➔ Imperative mood (就要)

  ➔ The phrase '就要' expresses a command or necessity, emphasizing the importance of living.