苦瓜 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 陳奕迅
• Album: Stranger under my skin

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a journey of self-discovery through Eason Chan's evocative Cantonese ballad, "苦瓜" (Bitter Gourd). This song offers a beautiful exploration of life's hardships and the wisdom gained through maturity, using the simple yet profound metaphor of a bitter melon. Learning the lyrics of "苦瓜" will not only introduce you to rich Cantonese vocabulary and poetic expressions but also provide insight into deeply philosophical reflections on growth, resilience, and the changing perspectives that come with age, making it a truly special and relatable piece to learn the language with.

[English]

Cheers with you, raising our chopsticks suddenly we exchange a smiling glance, there's that flavor in the dish

Perhaps in this life, some things are just not meant to be understood early on—trying to grasp their wonder

Like the day you were heartbroken when she refused your kind offer

How did you learn to forgive and find peace even after love's trials?

Just like my complicated work—looking back now, I realize it was all just a matter of nothing

I never expected we also hated bitter gourd back then

Today, I can taste the wisdom growing, now I keep thinking about it

Starting with some苦, planting flowers in impossible places

Thanks to hardships guiding us, sweetness isn’t so scarce

Youth’s fast food only cares about quickness, not which place it's from

There’s no time for playful delicacy and elegance

Until enlightenment turns the beast into a sublime, sipping tea after digestion

Then you feel that苦 isn’t so bad after all

...

In the second half of life, going back to school, finally awakening from obsession, clearing the last blind spots

Using pain to highlight joy, letting the aftertaste reveal the evil—like a masterpiece in art

Just like I’ve always listened to fragrance without ever tearing up

Carefully observing the woodgrain in the altar—nothing seems too intricate

But on a bleak late autumn night, suddenly I understand, and yellow leaves fall apart

I never expected we also hated苦瓜 back then

Today, I taste the wisdom, growing more earnest in thought

Starting with some苦, planting flowers in impossible places

Thanks to hardships guiding us, sweetness isn’t so scarce

Youth’s fast food only cares about quickness, not which place it's from

There’s no time for playful delicacy and elegance

Until enlightenment turns the beast into a sublime, sipping tea after digestion

Then you feel that苦 isn’t so bad after all

...

Can life be without苦, without bitterness?

I never expected we also hated苦瓜 back then

Once you see clearly the truths of the world, what’s there to fear?

Cherish a calm mind—after苦, clarity comes even more

All the past is tasteless, but lessons remain

Today I remember hearing someone say this is ‘half-gourd’

Which means its beauty in youth can’t be fully understood?

Until enlightenment elevates everything, basking in the sunset’s glow in this moment

I and you still feel that苦 isn’t so bad

...

[Chinese]

共你乾杯再舉箸 突然間相看莞爾 盤中透著那味兒

大概今生有些事 是提早都不可以 明白其妙處

就像你當日痛心她回絕一番美意

怎發現你從情劫亦能學懂開解與寬恕

也像我很糾結的公事 此際回頭看 原來並沒有事

真想不到當初我們也討厭吃苦瓜

今天竟吃得出那睿智愈來愈記掛

開始時捱一些苦 栽種絕處的花

幸得艱辛的引路甜蜜不致太寡

青春的快餐只要求快不理哪一家

哪有玩味的空檔來欣賞細緻淡雅

到大悟大徹將虎嚥的昇華 等消化學沏茶

至共你覺得苦也不太差

下半生竟再開學 入迷的終於醒覺 移走最後的死角

用痛苦烘托歡樂 讓餘甘彰顯險惡 如藝壇傑作

就像我一直聽香夭從未沾濕眼角

仔細地看神壇裡木紋什麼精巧也不覺

卻在某蕭瑟晚秋深夜 忽爾明瞭了 而黃葉便碎落

真想不到當初我們也討厭吃苦瓜

今天竟吃得出那睿智愈來愈記掛

開始時捱一些苦 栽種絕處的花

幸得艱辛的引路甜蜜不致太寡

青春的快餐只要求快不理哪一家

哪有玩味的空檔來欣賞細緻淡雅

到大悟大徹將虎嚥的昇華 等消化學沏茶

至共你覺得苦也不太差

做人沒有苦澀可以嗎

真想不到當初我們也討厭吃苦瓜

當睇清世間所有定理又何用再怕

珍惜淡定的心境 苦過後更加清

萬般過去亦無味但有領會留下

今天先記得聽過人說這叫半生瓜

那意味著它的美年輕不會洞察嗎

到大悟大徹將一切都昇華 這一秒坐擁晚霞

我共你覺得苦也不太差