做自己的光 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 海生 (Hai Sheng)

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

People only see the results, not the process

They like to decide life with grades

Who wants to live an ordinary and mundane life?

Yet all I have is an ordinary script

The withered tree hasn't budded but is forced to bloom

Mom says to be happy but never told me how

Growing up taught me that failure isn't scary

What’s frightening is if you still believe that

Be your own light, no need to be too bright

Who says you have to go against the wind to fly?

On the lonely road, there's still a long way to go

Growing up a second time doesn't have radicals

Be your own light

Ah, ah, ah

Ah, the withered tree hasn't budded but is forced to bloom

Mom says to be happy but never told me how

Growing up taught me that failure isn't scary

What’s frightening is if you still believe that

Be your own light, no need to be too bright

Who says you have to go against the wind to fly?

On the lonely road, there's still a long way to go

Growing up a second time doesn't have radicals

Be your own light

Be your own light, no need to be too bright

Who says you need to set sail to reach afar?

The scars you've endured will sprout wings

Flowers will eventually bloom, even if it’s late, so what?

What does it matter?

[Chinese]

人们都只看结果不看过程

喜欢用分数决定人生

谁又想普通平凡的过一生

可手里只有普通剧本

枯树还没发芽就被逼着要开花

妈妈说要快乐却没告诉我方法

成长它教会我失败其实不可怕

可怕的是你还相信这句话

做自己的光 不需要太亮

谁说要逆着风才算飞翔

孤独的路上 还要走很长

成长二次本来就没有偏旁

做自己的光

啊啊啊

啊枯树还没发芽就被逼着要开花

妈妈说要快乐却没告诉我方法

成长它教会我失败其实不可怕

可怕的是你还相信这句话

做自己的光 不需要太亮

谁说要逆着风才算飞翔

孤独的路上 还要走很长

成长二次本来就没有偏旁

做自己的光

做自己的光 不需要太亮

谁说要扬着帆才会有远方

那受过的伤 会生出翅膀

花总有天会开晚点又何妨

那又能怎样

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
结果 /jié guǒ/ A2	noun - result
过程 /guò chéng/ A2	noun - process
平凡 /píng fán/ B1	adjective - ordinary
剧本 /jù běn/ B1	noun - script
枯树 /kū shù/ B2	noun - withered tree
发芽 /fā yá/ B1	verb - to sprout
开花 /kāi huā/ A2	verb - to blossom
快乐 /kuài lè/ A1	adjective - happy
方法 /fāng fǎ/ A2	noun - method
失败 /shī bài/ A2	noun - failure
可怕 /kě pà/ A2	adjective - scary
亮 /liàng/ A1	adjective - bright
飞翔 /fēi xiáng/ B1	verb - to fly
孤独 /gū dú/ B1	adjective - lonely
成长 /chéng zhǎng/ A2	noun - growth
翅膀 /chì bǎng/ B1	noun - wings
阻挡 /zǔ dǎng/ B2	verb - to block

Key Grammar Structures

• 枯树还没发芽就被逼着要开花

  ➔ Passive construction with 被 + 逼着 + 要 + verb

  ➔ The phrase "被逼着要" shows a passive construction where the subject is forced to do something: "被逼着要开花" = "is forced to bloom".

• 妈妈说要快乐，却没告诉我方法

  ➔ Contrastive conjunction "却" (but, yet)

  ➔ The word ""却"" connects two clauses with opposite meanings: "说要快乐" vs. "没告诉我方法".

• 成长它教会我失败其实不可怕

  ➔ Verb‑object‑complement pattern with 教会 (teach)

  ➔ In ""教会我"", the verb 教会 takes the object 我 and the complement 失败, indicating "teaches me that failure is not scary".

• 可怕的是你还相信这句话

  ➔ Nominalization with "的是" pattern

  ➔ "可怕的是" turns the clause "你还相信这句话" into a noun phrase meaning "the scary thing is that you still believe this sentence".

• 做自己的光，不需要太亮

  ➔ Negative modal verb "不需要" (do not need)

  ➔ "不需要" negates the necessity: "不需要太亮" = "does not need to be too bright".

• 谁说要逆着风才算飞翔

  ➔ Rhetorical question with "谁说…才…" (who says that… only then…)

  ➔ "谁说" challenges a conventional belief, while "才算飞翔" means "only then can it be considered flying".

• 孤独的路上，还要走很长

  ➔ Continuative aspect with "还要" (still have to)

  ➔ "还要" indicates that the action of walking will continue for a long distance: "still have to walk a long way".

• 成长二次本来就没有偏旁

  ➔ Emphatic structure "本来就" (originally already)

  ➔ "本来就" stresses that something is inherently true: "it has never had a radical (偏旁) from the start".

• 那受过的伤会生出翅膀

  ➔ Future possibility with modal "会" (will, can)

  ➔ "会" expresses that the wounds "will/can grow" wings, indicating a future outcome.