漂向北方

• By: 黃明志, 王力宏

Lyrics:

[中文]

[English]

作词:黃明志 作曲:黃明志 编曲:萧启贤

Lyrics: Namewee Composer: Namewee Arrangement: Xiao Qixian

漂向北方

Drifting North

别问我家乡

Don't ask where I'm from

高耸古老的城墙

The towering ancient city walls

挡不住忧伤

Can't block the sorrow

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

家人是否无恙

Are my family safe and sound?

肩上沉重的行囊

The heavy luggage on my shoulders

盛满了惆怅

Is filled with melancholy

有人说他在老家欠了一笔钱

Some say he owes money back home

需要避避风头

Needs to lie low for a while

有人说他练就了一身武艺却没机会崭露

Some say he mastered martial arts but has no chance to show them off

有人失去了自我

Some have lost themselves

手足无措四处漂流

Lost and drifting aimlessly

有人为了梦想为了三餐养家糊口

Some are chasing dreams, some are struggling to make ends meet

他住在燕郊区

He lives in Yanjiao District

残破的求职公寓

In a dilapidated apartment for job seekers

拥挤的大楼里

Inside the crowded building

堆满陌生人都来自外地

Piled with strangers all from out of town

他埋头写着履历

He buries himself in writing resumes

怀抱着多少憧憬

Harboring so many dreams

往返在九三零号公路

Commuting on Route 930

内心盼着奇迹 (忍着泪)

Hoping for a miracle inside (holding back tears)

不听也不想

Don't listen, don't think

不敢回头望的遗憾 (掩着伤)

The regret of not daring to look back (hiding the wound)

扛下了梦想

Shouldering the dream

要毅然决然去流浪 (抬头看)

Determined to wander (look up)

写下了自尊 光环

Wrote down pride and halo

过去多风光 (着斜阳)

How glorious the past was (under the setting sun)

就算再不堪 败仗

Even with the most miserable defeat

也不能投降 (亲爱的)

You can't surrender (my dear)

再见了南方

Goodbye, South

眺望最美丽的家乡 (在远方)

Looking at the most beautiful hometown (in the distance)

椰子树摇晃

Coconut trees swaying

梦境倒映的幻想 (这城市)

Illusions reflected in dreams (this city)

雾霾太猖狂 不散

The smog is too rampant, it won't dissipate

都看不清前方 (太迷惘)

Can't see the road ahead (too lost)

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

别问我家乡

Don't ask where I'm from

高耸古老的城墙

The towering ancient city walls

挡不住忧伤

Can't block the sorrow

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

家人是否无恙

Are my family safe and sound?

肩上沉重的行囊

The heavy luggage on my shoulders

盛满了惆怅

Is filled with melancholy

也是最后寄望

It's also the last hope

♫♫♫

♫♫♫

回不去的远方 Oh

The distant place I can't return to, Oh

空气太脏 太浑浊

The air is too dirty, too polluted

他说不喜欢

He says he doesn't like it

车太混乱 太匆忙

The traffic is too chaotic, too rushed

他还不习惯

He's not used to it yet

人行道一双又一双

Pairs of people on the sidewalk, one after another

斜视冷漠眼光

Sideways, cold glances

他经常将自己灌醉

He often gets himself drunk

强迫融入 这大染缸

Forcing himself to fit into this melting pot

走着脚步蹒跚

Staggering as he walks

二锅头在摇晃

The Erguotou liquor is swaying

失意的人啊偶尔醉倒在那胡同陋巷

Disappointed people occasionally fall drunk in those hutong alleys

咀嚼爆肚涮羊

Chewing fried tripe and mutton hotpot

手中盛着一碗热汤

Holding a bowl of hot soup in his hands

有力地 温暖着

Warmly and powerfully

内心的不安 (忍着泪)

Warming the unease in his heart (holding back tears)

不听也不想

Don't listen, don't think

不敢回头望的遗憾 (掩着伤)

The regret of not daring to look back (hiding the wound)

扛下了梦想

Shouldering the dream

要毅然决然的流浪 (抬头看)

Determined to wander (look up)

写下了自尊 光环

Wrote down pride and halo

过去多风光 (着斜阳)

How glorious the past was (under the setting sun)

就算再不堪 败仗

Even with the most miserable defeat

也不能投降 (亲爱的)

You can't surrender (my dear)

再见了南方

Goodbye, South

眺望最美丽的家乡 (在远方)

Looking at the most beautiful hometown (in the distance)

椰子树摇晃

Coconut trees swaying

梦境倒映着幻想 (这城市)

Illusions reflected in dreams (this city)

雾霾太猖狂 不散

The smog is too rampant, it won't dissipate

都看不清前方 (太迷惘)

Can't see the road ahead (too lost)

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

别问我家乡

Don't ask where I'm from

高耸古老的城牆

The towering ancient city walls

挡不住忧伤

Can't block the sorrow

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

家人是否无恙

Are my family safe and sound?

肩上沉重的行囊

The heavy luggage on my shoulders

盛满了惆怅

Is filled with melancholy

就像那尘土飘散随着风向

Like dust scattering with the wind

谁又能带领着我一起飞翔

Who can lead me to fly together?

我站在天坛中央闭上眼

I stand in the center of the Temple of Heaven and close my eyes

祈求一家人都平安

Praying for the safety of my whole family

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

别问我家乡

Don't ask where I'm from

高耸古老的城牆

The towering ancient city walls

挡不住忧伤

Can't block the sorrow

我漂向北方

I'm drifting North

家人是否无恙

Are my family safe and sound?

肩上沉重的行囊

The heavy luggage on my shoulders

盛满了惆怅

Is filled with melancholy

我站在天子脚下 (我漂向北方)

I stand at the foot of the Emperor (I'm drifting North)

被踩着喘不过气 (别问我家乡)

Gasping for breath, being stepped on (Don't ask where I'm from)

走在前门的大街 跟人潮

Walking on Qianmen Street with the crowds

总会分歧 (高耸古老的城牆)

There will always be divergences (The towering ancient city walls)

或许我根本不属于这里

Maybe I don't belong here at all

早就该离去 (挡不住忧伤)

Should have left long ago (Can't block the sorrow)

谁能给我致命的一击

Who can give me the fatal blow?

请用力到彻底 (我漂向北方)

Please, do it completely (I'm drifting North)

这里是梦想的中心

This is the center of dreams

但梦想都远不可及 (家人是否无恙)

But dreams are all out of reach (Are my family safe and sound?)

这里是圆梦的圣地

This is the sacred place for fulfilling dreams

但却总是扑朔迷离 (肩上沉重的行囊)

But it's always confusing and elusive (The heavy luggage on my shoulders)

多少人敌不过残酷的现实

How many people can't withstand the cruel reality

从此销声匿迹 (盛满了惆怅)

And disappear from then on (Is filled with melancholy)

多少人陷入了昏迷

How many people fall into a coma

剩下一具 空壳尸体 (也是最后寄望)

Leaving behind an empty shell (It's also the last hope)

Rest In Peace

Rest In Peace

回不去的远方 Oh

The distant place I can't return to, Oh

飘向北方

Drifting North

♫♫♫

♫♫♫

别再问我家乡

Don't ask where I'm from anymore

♫♫♫

♫♫♫

...

...

作词:黃明志 作曲:黃明志 编曲:萧启贤

Lyrics: Namewee Composer: Namewee Arrangement: Xiao Qixian

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
漂 /pjaʊ/ B1	verb - to float; to drift
北方 /beɪfɑŋ/ A1	noun - north; the northern part of a country
家乡 /dʒjaʃjaŋ/ A2	noun - hometown; native place
城墙 /tʃʰɤŋtɕʰjaŋ/ B1	noun - city wall
忧伤 /joʊʃɑŋ/ B2	noun - sorrow; sadness adjective - sorrowful; sad
家人 /dʒjaɻə/ A1	noun - family members
无恙 /wu2jaŋ4/ B2	adjective - safe and sound; well
行囊 /ɕɪŋnɑŋ/ B2	noun - luggage; baggage
沉重 /tʃʰəntʃʊŋ/ B1	adjective - heavy; weighty
惆怅 /tʃʰoʊtʃɑŋ/ C1	adjective - melancholy; disconsolate
梦想 /muŋɕjɑŋ/ A2	noun - dream; ideal verb - dream of
残破 /tsʰɑnpʰwo/ B2	adjective - dilapidated; broken
拥挤 /wʊŋdʒi/ B1	adjective - crowded; packed
陌生 /mwoʃɛŋ/ A2	adjective - strange; unfamiliar
憧憬 /tɕʰʊŋdʒiŋ/ B2	noun - longing; yearning
雾霾 /wumai/ B1	noun - smog
猖狂 /tʃʰɑŋkʰwɑŋ/ C1	adjective - rampant; unbridled
遗憾 /i2hɑn4/ B2	noun - regret; pity adjective - regretful

Grammar:

• 别问我家乡 (Bié wèn wǒ jiāxiāng)

  ➔ Imperative sentence with '别 (bié)'

  ➔ '别 (bié)' means 'don't'. It's used to express a prohibition or to tell someone not to do something. Here, it's 'Don't ask about my hometown.'

• 挡不住忧伤 (Dǎng bù zhù yōushāng)

  ➔ Potential complement (Verb + 不/得 + Complement)

  ➔ '挡不住' (dǎng bù zhù) is a potential complement. '挡 (dǎng)' is the verb (to block), '住 (zhù)' is the complement (firmly, stably). '不 (bù)' indicates the inability to perform the action. So, '挡不住忧伤' means 'cannot block the sorrow'.

• 盛满了惆怅 (Shèng mǎnle chóuchàng)

  ➔ Verb + 了 + Complement (Resultative Complement)

  ➔ '盛满了' (shèng mǎnle) is a verb with a resultative complement. '盛 (shèng)' is the verb (to fill), '满 (mǎn)' is the resultative complement (full), and '了 (le)' indicates the completion of the action. It means 'filled to the brim' or 'completely filled'.

• 需要避避风头 (Xūyào bì bì fēngtou)

  ➔ Reduplication of verb indicating a short, light action

  ➔ '避避' (bì bì) is the reduplicated form of '避' (bì), meaning 'to avoid'. The reduplication indicates a light, brief action. So, '需要避避风头' means 'need to avoid the limelight for a bit'.

• 却没机会崭露 (què méi jīhuì zhǎnlù)

  ➔ '却 (què)' indicating contrast

  ➔ '却 (què)' means 'but', 'however', indicating a contrast with the previous statement. He has the skill, *but* he doesn't have the opportunity.

• 往返在九三零号公路 (Wǎngfǎn zài jiǔ sān líng hào gōnglù)

  ➔ Preposition '在 (zài)' indicating location

  ➔ '在 (zài)' means 'at' or 'in', indicating the location where the action '往返 (wǎngfǎn)' (to go back and forth) takes place.

• 就算再不堪 败仗, 也不能投降 (Jiùsuàn zài bùkān bàizhàng, yě bù néng tóuxiáng)

  ➔ '就算...也...' structure indicating concession

  ➔ '就算 (jiùsuàn)... 也 (yě)...' means 'even if... still...'. It expresses concession: even if something is the case, something else remains true. 'Even if the defeat is unbearable, you still can't surrender.'

• 都看不清前方 (Dōu kàn bù qīng qiánfāng)

  ➔ Potential complement with '清 (qīng)' indicating clarity

  ➔ '看不清 (kàn bù qīng)' is a potential complement. '看 (kàn)' is the verb (to see), '清 (qīng)' means 'clearly'. '都 (dōu)' emphasizes that *even with effort*, you can't see clearly. So, '都看不清前方' means 'cannot see the front clearly at all'.