Tag: by amy wong

  • Juanes’ Trilingual Hoy Me Voy Lyric Translation

    Juanes said that he dreams in Spanish, so that’s why he usually doesn’t sing in another language, even though he’s collaborated with artists that don’t necessarily sing in Spanish. So when he did his song Hoy Me Voy [YouTube] — included in his 2007 album La Vida Es un Ratico — and did a Spanglish version with Colbie Caillat, it was interesting.

    For the most part, the Spanglish version does a good job at translating the Spanish — “Devuélveme ese corazón que tú no supiste valorar lo que te daba yo de verdad.” to a pretty close “So give me back this heart of mine ’cause you didn’t feel the love that I would give to you every day and night.”

    A literal translation would be “Give me back this heart that you didn’t value what I really gave to you.”

    You know there’s a problem when you add the words “every day and night,” as well as the cringe-worthy random “baby.” xD Which they use in the chorus (nonetheless!!!) — “Tengo miedo de no olvidarte y por eso de ti me despido” with the line “I am scared baby, I won’t forget you and that’s why i need to let you go, so-”

    The literal translation for that would be “I’m scared of not forgetting you, and that’s why I’m saying goodbye.” Compared to that, the Portuguese/Spanish version (Spanguese? Portugish?) goes the dramatic way with the line “Tive medo, fui covarde, é por isso que de ti me despeço” which translates literally to “I was scared, I was a coward, and that’s why I’m saying goodbye.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4K7zySqNas

    Obviously, the mixing of Spanish and Portuguese is way more natural than with English. However, it’s super interesting that the changed lyrics in Portguese are even more dramatic than in Spanish… which usually have dramatic lyrics.

    Anyway, I prefer the arrangements for this version with Paula Fernandes because it gives it a super serious and more devastating tone. The original version of just Juanes in Spanish is a little too peppy, and the version with Colbie Caillat is just… too soft.
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  • Wannabe Distributor: Love Is Not Blind

    I decided to create another feature in here~ The Wannabe Distributor feature!!! Combining my love for film and design, I’m gonna pick films as if I could afford the rights to distribute them, and imagining I really am going to be showing these films at a theater near me, I’m going to pick suitable titles and “create” a campaign to promote it. LOL

    My first pick! China’s little movie that could, Love Is Not Blind (失恋33天).

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  • Alejandro Sanz’ Amiga Mia Lyric Translation

    Ahhh, one for the memories~
    I remember that I had bought Alejandro Sanz’ Mas (More) album back when it was released, so it’s one of the first albums that I bought when I was a teen xD

    I might try a couple few more other translations for Alejandro Sanz, but in the meantime, here’s a translation for Amiga Mia (Friend of Mine).
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  • Gianmarco – Entre la Arena y la Luna Lyrics Translation

    I thought that I would practice my Spanish to English translation skills by translating some songs — I’ve recently done partial translations of Marc Anthony [1], as well as Shakira and Gianmarco when I talked about What Were Good Lyrics. I’ve also done full translations for Polvos Azules: A Cinephile’s Paradise, and random songs of Los Nosequien y los Nosecuantos [1][2].

    So I thought I would pick an oldie, the 1995 Gianmarco release — some say it’s a 1994 release, but my copy has a 1995 print — of Entre la Arena y la Luna (Between the Sand and the Moon). Obviously, I can’t post ALL lyrics on one go, so I’ll probably add them as I work on them. Gianmarco’s lyrics weren’t as complicated then — and they’re pretty short — so they should be fairly easy to translate.

    – edit May 14 –

    Lyrics are done!

    1. No Puedo Amarte
    2. Gorrión
    3. Quédate
    4. Dónde Estarás [added May 13]
    5. La Noche en mi Sangre [added May 13]
    6. Parte de Este Juego [added May 13]
    7. Cuando Quiero Amarte [added May 14]
    8. Corazón de Cartón [added May 14]
    9. Tómate el Tiempo que Quieras [added May 14]
    10. Ya Tienes Dueño [added May 14]

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  • Message to the Imaginary Significant Other~

    Baby, you’re so skinny! You need to take care of yourself better… and if that’s not the case, the post-production team should really get off the air-brush when they treat your pictures.

    You look better when you put on a few more pounds… you look more adorable.

    Well, if that’s not ENOUGH blunt – then I don’t know the meaning of blunt.

  • Los Nosequien y los Nosecuantos – Las Torres

    Any Peruvian of my generation has to have grown up with, at least, one Los Nosequien y los Nosecuantos song. Maybe not Cuando tu Me Pegas [1], but certainly Magdalena [1], Los Patos y Las Patas [MV] — and obviously Las Torres.

    Part political satire, part serious social commentary, part anthem, part pop hit, part party flare and full Peruvian rock — Las Torres, meaning The Towers (as in transmission towers), was a huge hit in its time and its the musical staple of the… maybe not defunct but definitely stale Los NSQ y Los NSC (for short).

    Long gone are the days of the constant nights without lights due to the blowing up of transmission towers, the curfews, being a kid then was… not the bomb. Cable, internet were non-existent and any form of entertainment was limited to just the couple of channels… and you were lucky to have a working TV.

    Have we ever asked ourselves what good were computers without internet?? LOL

    Anyway, I digress — the wordplay in Las Torres is an obvious play on the famous Un Elefante se Balanceaba (An Elephant Swinging) [here’s a clip] which I guess you don’t have in English version of… but a close version would be the Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall song? In the Elephant Song, you would sing that “an elephant is swinging on top of a spider’s web, seeing as it lasted, it calls one elephant more” which makes the song endless.

    So here goes my translation~

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  • The Song of the Seven Sons – Aomen

    I don’t remember when I first watched this clip, but I remember I saw just a bit of it — the first two lines — on CCTV. Maybe it was during the 10th anniversary of the Macao Handover, but I remember the little girl singing.. it was just that, and then they cut away. At that time, I spoke no word of Mandarin (or Cantonese, or any dialect),my mother was watching with me as she listened to it and translated. She turned and told me “you know my name is not Macau, that is not my name.” — A sudden rush of emotions came over me.

    I have no idea why that line was so powerful to me, I literally had to go to my room because I felt a little dust bugging me and my tears forming.

    There’s another version here, just in case. And the audio on 1ting.com

    That was then. I have no idea what got me tonight — must be The Flowers of War business, I always get like this when I read a lot of negative press against China since the Olympics LOL. Anyway, I went on a hunt for that song because I didn’t know what it was called, and my mother didn’t grow up in China singing it so she had no idea it was a popular children’s song.

    Called the Song of the Seven Sons – Aomen (七子之歌-澳门)… apparently there’s a Taiwan version as well, but it’s not as hip [1]. I thought there might be 7 versions of the song for different regions that were part of China or something xD

    Anyway, a really GOOD translation of the lyrics is hard to find, but I managed to find a good one without doing any translating work (because I’m so lazy like that) but a lot of googling. Chinese, pinyin and translations after the break!

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  • The Sorcerer and the White Snake’s Promise

    I love it when I listen to songs that I find translations easily. xD

    It’s good to sing along to too! So I have the pinyin with who sings what to sing along to easily xD

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  • BiBi’s Blind Spot for Elle After Party

    Does this mean that Blind Spot is going to become a single? Because that was one of my favorite songs in the album, which you would know if you had already read my review of Black.Choice.White — which obviously wasn’t my choice of English translation but Gold Typhoon’s.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv48FKZgmZg

    I think Black.Choice.White seems too simplistic as a translation — I mean… there’s the black with the Hei, and then they choose white even though Ming can’t be really translated to that. My chosen translation was Dark.Select.Clear which I suppose was playing with the Good/Bad concept with the Dark part being the bad, and Clear as a way of dissipation of the dark. It’s not fully bright, you see? xD

    But then again, I’ve been called delusional before.

  • Sodagreen – What is Troubling You

    I gotta admit. I got a little choked up with this music video, and I’m totally pumped for Sodagreen’s upcoming new album… also titled What is Troubling You (你在煩惱什麼) — which, I have to admit~~~ comes at a bad time when Bibi is coming up with her new album and the Brown Eyed Girls are coming up with her nifty-licious repackaged Sixth Sense.

    Did I tell you? I pre-ordered Sixth Sense and I ate it up like a sucker.

    What makes me even more of a sucker, however, is that I had just pre-ordered the repackaged version too. Alongside Bibi’s new album.

    Anyway, this new wonderfully sad and strangely uplifting music video comes from the brilliant mind of Muh Chen Yi Ren, from GrassJelly Studio — who also worked on my favorite Sodagreen MV… Incomparable Beauty [MV]. When these two get together, they make magic.

    The lyrics seem… simple. I mean there’s not much lyrics… but I’m having issues with the double negative hahaha. I guess this is going to be my next Chinese class then!

    Pinyin will do until then!

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