在那天回不去的路上 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 薛之謙

Lyrics & Translation

This song offers a unique linguistic journey by blending poetic Chinese lyrics with contemporary pop and traditional opera elements. Through its introspective narrative of past regrets and present acceptance, learners can grasp evocative imagery and emotional expressions, making it a special piece for understanding the nuanced beauty of Chinese storytelling in music.

[English]

On that day

On the road I can’t go back to

I still couldn’t hold back

Waking up, I’m craving again

I drank a two‑liang swallow of feeling

paired with half a jin of mixed leftovers

My steps are chaotic

like a wandering lonely spirit

I leave half of me on the ground

the other half keeps flying

I brush my sleeve, rolling up my long robe

A fresh breeze follows close

The moon circles around my bent arm

Flipping and soaring in the silhouette

Staggering a tiny step

Only to be covered in dust

My mouth full of wildness

Scattering my fatigue

I am still waiting for myself

I’m not drunk yet

I still remember myself

How beautiful, how beautiful

I piece together who I am

the fearless I came with

Consequences, consequences

Blowing through the grass and trees, the night cool as water

The cold wind blows

Blowing through the grass and trees, the night cool as water

I go alone to the meeting

Listening closely to the barking from all directions, earnest admonitions

I’m too foolish to understand

Only the swift wind knows the sturdy grass

Yet the sturdy grass doesn’t know when to advance or retreat

In a muddle, I swallow it

Only later does it burn my mouth

Regret, regret

Anyway, it’s inevitable

With eyes closed, I roll up my long robe

My face flushed, I raise a cup toward the stars

Ninety thousand miles of mist pass the bend of my arm

Flipping in the silhouette

With eyes closed, I roll up my long robe

My face flushed, I raise a cup toward the stars

Mouth full of savagery

Scattering fatigue

I still wait for myself

I’m still not drunk

I still recall myself

How beautiful, how beautiful

I piece together myself

the fearless I arrived with

Consequences, consequences

All are the disputes stirred before I got drunk

I still wait for myself

I’m still not drunk

I still remember myself

How beautiful, how beautiful

I piece together myself

the fearless I came with

Consequences, consequences

All are the quarrels stirred before the drunkenness

[Chinese]

在那天

回不去的路上

我還是沒忍住

醒來又饞嘴

喝了二兩的感觸

配半斤雜碎

我凌亂的腳步

像孤魂野鬼

我留一半在土地

剩一半在飛

拂袖卷起長衫

清風緊跟隨

月縈繞臂彎

剪影裡翻飛

踉蹌了一小步

卻滿身的灰

我滿嘴的野蠻

衝散了疲憊

我還等著我

我還沒有醉

我還記得我

多麼多麼美

我拼湊著我

來時的無畏

後果 後果

都是醉前搬弄的是非

寒風吹

吹著草木夜涼如水

我單刀赴會

附耳八方的犬吠諄諄教誨

我太傻不知所謂

疾風方知勁草

勁草卻不知進退

稀里糊塗下了肚

後才燙嘴

後悔 後悔

反正難免會

閉著眼我卷起長衫

紅著臉朝著星斗舉杯

九萬里煙雲過臂彎

剪影裡翻飛

閉著眼我卷起長衫

紅著臉朝著星斗舉杯

滿嘴的野蠻

衝散了疲憊

我還等著我

我還沒有醉

我還記得我

多麼多麼美

我拼湊著我

來時的無畏

後果 後果

都是醉前搬弄的是非

我還等著我

我還沒有醉

我還記得我

多麼多麼美

我拼湊著我

來時的無畏

後果 後果

都是醉前搬弄的是非

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
路上 /lu shang/ A2	noun - road, way
孤魂 /gu hun/ B2	noun - lonely ghost, wandering soul
土地 /tu di/ A2	noun - land, soil
拂袖 /fu xiu/ B2	verb - to flick one's sleeves
剪影 /jian ying/ B2	noun - silhouette
踉蹌 /liang qiang/ B2	verb - to stagger, to reel
疲憊 /pi bei/ B1	noun - exhaustion, fatigue
醉 /zui/ B1	verb - to be drunk
無畏 /wu wei/ C1	noun - fearlessness, intrepidity
後果 /hou guo/ B2	noun - consequences, aftermath
搬弄 /ban nong/ C1	verb - to manipulate, to meddle
是非 /shi fei/ B2	noun - right and wrong, good and bad
寒風 /han feng/ A2	noun - cold wind
草木 /cao mu/ A2	noun - grass and trees, vegetation
單刀 /dan dao/ B2	noun - single knife, solo
赴會 /fu hui/ B2	verb - to attend a meeting
諄諄 /zhun zhun/ C1	adverb - earnestly, repeatedly
疾風 /ji feng/ B2	noun - strong wind, gale
勁草 /jing cao/ B2	noun - tough grass, resilient plant

Key Grammar Structures

• 我還是沒忍住

  ➔ adverbial '還是' (still, after all)

  ➔ The word "還是" adds a sense of persistence: "I still couldn't hold back."

• 喝了二兩的感觸

  ➔ perfective aspect marker "了" after a verb

  ➔ The particle "了" indicates that the action of drinking is completed: "drank two taels of feeling."

• 像孤魂野鬼

  ➔ simile construction with "像..." (like, as)

  ➔ The word "像" introduces a comparison: "like a wandering soul or a wild ghost."

• 我留一半在土地，剩一半在飛

  ➔ parallel structure "一半…一半…" (half … half …)

  ➔ The pattern "一半…一半…" creates a balanced contrast: "I keep half on the ground, the other half flies."

• 拂袖卷起長衫

  ➔ resultative complement "卷起" (to roll up)

  ➔ The verb "卷起" combines the action and its result: "roll up the long robe."

• 我還等著我

  ➔ progressive aspect with "著" after a verb (waiting)

  ➔ The suffix "著" shows an ongoing state: "I am still waiting for myself."

• 我還沒有醉

  ➔ negative perfective with "沒有" + verb (haven't drunk yet)

  ➔ The phrase "沒有" + verb expresses that the action has not occurred: "I haven't gotten drunk yet."

• 後果 後果 都是醉前搬弄的是非

  ➔ emphatic structure "都是…的" (it is ... that ...)

  ➔ The pattern "都是…的" emphasizes the cause: "All the consequences are the result of the pre‑drunk manipulations."

• 疾風方知勁草

  ➔ adverbial "方" after a verb meaning "only then"

  ➔ The word "方" signals that the knowledge comes only after the strong wind arrives: "Only when the storm comes can one understand the sturdy grass."