夜曲 Nocturne – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 周杰倫 Jay Chou

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the sorrowful world of Jay Chou's “夜曲 Nocturne,” a captivating Mandopop ballad that teaches about loss, longing, and the art of expressing deep emotions through music. Discover the beauty in heartbreak as you explore the rich language and poignant lyrics of this iconic song.

[English]

Nocturne

Lyrics: Vincent Fang, Music: Jay Chou

Singer: Jay Chou

...

A swarm of bloodthirsty ants

Drawn to the rotting flesh

I stare blankly, watching the lonely scenery

Losing you, love and hate become distinct

Losing you, what else is there to care about?

When doves no longer symbolize peace

I'm finally reminded

That vultures are being fed in the square

I use beautiful rhymes

To describe a love that's been completely plundered

...

Ah, dark clouds begin to cover

The night is unclean

In the park, echoes of a funeral

Flying all over the sky

The white roses I gave you

Wither in a pitch-black environment

Crows are eerily quiet on the branches

Listen quietly, my black coat

Wants to warm your increasingly cold memories

The life that has passed, that has passed

Ah, mist surrounds me, ah

I'm in an empty graveyard

Still loving you even in my old age

...

I play Chopin's nocturne for you

To commemorate my dead love

A sound like the night wind

The heartbreak sounds so beautiful

My hands tap the keys so lightly

My longing for you is so careful

The place you're buried is called the underworld

...

I play Chopin's nocturne for you

To commemorate my dead love

And for you, I live in anonymity

Playing the piano in the moonlight

The feeling of my heart beating for you

Is still so warm and close

I miss your bright red lipstick mark

...

Those dragonflies with broken wings

Scattered in this forest

And my eyes show no sympathy

Losing you, my tears are turbid and unclear

Losing you, even my smile has a shadow

The wind on the moss-covered rooftop

Ridicules my sadness

Like a dry well without water

I use a mournful font

To depict a love filled with regret

...

I play Chopin's nocturne for you

To commemorate my dead love

A sound like the night wind

The heartbreak sounds so beautiful

My hands tap the keys so lightly

My longing for you is so careful

The place you're buried is called the underworld

...

I play Chopin's nocturne for you

To commemorate my dead love

And for you, I live in anonymity

Playing the piano in the moonlight

The feeling of my heart beating for you

Is still so warm and close

I miss your bright red lipstick mark

...

A swarm of bloodthirsty ants

Drawn to the rotting flesh

I stare blankly, watching the lonely scenery

Losing you, love and hate become distinct

Losing you, what else is there to care about?

When doves no longer symbolize peace

I'm finally reminded

That vultures are being fed in the square

I use beautiful rhymes

To describe a love that's been completely plundered

...

[Chinese]

夜曲

作詞：方文山 作曲：周杰倫

演唱：周杰倫

一群嗜血的螞蟻

被腐肉所吸引

我面無表情 看孤獨的風景

失去你 愛恨開始分明

失去你 還有什麼事好關心

當鴿子不再象徵和平

我終於被提醒

廣場上餵食的是禿鷹

我用漂亮的押韻

形容被掠奪一空的愛情

啊 烏雲開始遮蔽

夜色不乾淨

公園裡 葬禮的回音

在漫天飛行

送你的 白玫瑰

在純黑的環境中凋零

烏鴉在樹枝上詭異的很安靜

靜靜聽 我黑色的大衣

想溫暖你 日漸冰冷的回憶

走過的 走過的生命

啊 四周瀰漫霧氣 啊

我在空曠的墓地

老去後還愛你

為你彈奏蕭邦的夜曲

紀念我死去的愛情

跟夜風一樣的聲音

心碎的很好聽

手在鍵盤敲很輕

我給的思念很小心

你埋葬的地方叫幽冥

為你彈奏蕭邦的夜曲

紀念我死去的愛情

而我為你隱姓埋名

在月光下彈琴

對你心跳的感應

還是如此溫熱親近

懷念你那鮮紅的唇印

那些斷翅的蜻蜓

散落在這森林

而我的眼睛 沒有絲毫同情

失去你 淚水混濁不清

失去你 我連笑容都有陰影

風在長滿青苔的屋頂

嘲笑我的傷心

像一口沒有水的枯井

我用淒美的字型

描繪後悔莫及的愛情

為你彈奏蕭邦的夜曲

紀念我死去的愛情

跟夜風一樣的聲音

心碎的很好聽

手在鍵盤敲很輕

我給的思念很小心

你埋葬的地方叫幽冥

為你彈奏蕭邦的夜曲

紀念我死去的愛情

而我為你隱姓埋名

在月光下彈琴

對你心跳的感應

還是如此溫熱親近

懷念你那鮮紅的唇印

一群嗜血的螞蟻

被腐肉所吸引

我面無表情 看孤獨的風景

失去你 愛恨開始分明

失去你 還有什麼事好關心

當鴿子不再象徵和平

我終於被提醒

廣場上餵食的是禿鷹

我用漂亮的押韻

形容被掠奪一空的愛情

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
夜曲 (yèqǔ) /jɛ̂ t͡ɕʰỳ/ B2	noun - nocturne
螞蟻 (mǎyǐ) /mà ì/ A1	noun - ant
腐肉 (fǔròu) /fù rôu/ B2	noun - carrion, rotten meat
孤獨 (gūdú) /gū dú/ B1	adjective - lonely, solitary
風景 (fēngjǐng) /fə́ŋ t͡ɕìŋ/ A2	noun - scenery, landscape
鴿子 (gēzi) /kɤ́ t͡sz̩/ A2	noun - pigeon, dove
和平 (hépíng) /xɤ̌ pʰǐŋ/ A2	noun - peace
廣場 (guǎngchǎng) /kwàŋ t͡ʂʰàŋ/ B1	noun - square, plaza
禿鷹 (tūyīng) /tʰú íŋ/ B2	noun - vulture
掠奪 (lüèduó) /ly̯ê twǒ/ C1	verb - to plunder, to rob
烏雲 (wūyún) /ū y̌n/ B1	noun - dark cloud
葬禮 (zànglǐ) /tsâŋ lì/ B1	noun - funeral
回音 (huíyīn) /xwěi ín/ B1	noun - echo, reverberation
凋零 (diāolíng) /tjáo lǐŋ/ C1	verb - to wither, to decline
烏鴉 (wūyā) /ū jā/ A2	noun - crow, raven
詭異 (guǐyì) /kwèi î/ C1	adjective - weird, strange, uncanny
溫暖 (wēnnuǎn) /wə́n nwàn/ A2	adjective - warm
霧氣 (wùqì) /wû t͡ɕʰî/ B1	noun - fog, mist
墓地 (mùdì) /mû tî/ B1	noun - cemetery, graveyard
心碎 (xīnsuì) /ɕín swêi/ B2	noun - heartbreak
埋葬 (máizàng) /mǎi tsâŋ/ B2	verb - to bury
幽冥 (yōumíng) /jóu mǐŋ/ C1	noun - netherworld, underworld
月光 (yuèguāng) /y̯œ̂ kwáŋ/ A2	noun - moonlight
懷念 (huáiniàn) /xwǎi njân/ B2	verb - to cherish the memory of, to miss
鮮紅 (xiānhóng) /ɕjɛ́n xʊ̌ŋ/ B1	adjective - bright red, scarlet
唇印 (chúnyìn) /ʈʂʰwə̌n în/ B2	noun - lip print, kiss mark
蜻蜓 (qīngtíng) /t͡ɕʰíŋ tʰǐŋ/ A2	noun - dragonfly
森林 (sēnlín) /sə́n lǐn/ A2	noun - forest
青苔 (qīngtái) /t͡ɕʰíŋ tʰái/ B1	noun - moss
屋頂 (wūdǐng) /ú tìŋ/ A2	noun - roof
枯井 (kūjǐng) /kʰū t͡ɕìŋ/ B2	noun - dry well
淒美 (qīměi) /t͡ɕʰí mɛ̀i/ C1	adjective - tragically beautiful, poignant
後悔莫及 (hòuhuǐ mòjí) /xôu xwèi mô t͡ɕí/ C2	idiom - too late for regrets, to regret bitterly

Key Grammar Structures

• 被腐肉所吸引

  ➔ Passive voice with "被"

  ➔ The grammar structure "被…所…" indicates passive voice. Here, "被腐肉所吸引" means "attracted by the carrion". "被" introduces the agent of the action, and "所" emphasizes the action.

• 還有什麼事好關心

  ➔ "還有...好..." structure (what else is worth doing)

  ➔ The structure "還有什麼事好關心" means "What else is worth caring about?". "好" indicates that the action is worth doing.

• 我用漂亮的押韻 形容被掠奪一空的愛情

  ➔ Using "用" to describe the means of doing something.

  ➔ "我用漂亮的押韻" indicates the method used: "I use beautiful rhymes". "用" means "to use". The phrase "被掠奪一空的愛情" uses passive voice, describing the love being completely plundered.

• 想溫暖你 日漸冰冷的回憶

  ➔ Adjective as verb

  ➔ The sentence "想溫暖你 日漸冰冷的回憶" uses "溫暖" (warm) as a verb, meaning "to warm". It expresses the intention to warm the increasingly cold memories.

• 老去後還愛你

  ➔ "後" (hou) indicating after a state or action.

  ➔ "老去後還愛你" means "Even after growing old, I will still love you". "後" indicates "after" the state of growing old.

• 紀念我死去的愛情

  ➔ Verb + "的" + Noun (modifying noun)

  ➔ "死去的愛情" (sǐqù de àiqíng) - "dead love". "死去的" modifies "愛情", meaning "the love that has died".

• 我給的思念很小心

  ➔ S-V-O with adjectival complement to object. Giving is done carefully.

  ➔ "我給的思念很小心" means "The longing I give is very careful". "小心" (xiǎoxīn) is an adjective modifying "思念" (sīniàn), the object of the verb "給" (gěi).

• 對你心跳的感應 還是如此溫熱親近

  ➔ The use of "如此" (rúcǐ) to mean "so", "like this" or "such".

  ➔ The phrase "如此溫熱親近" uses "如此" to emphasize the degree of warmth and closeness. "如此" here means "so" or "this much".