Jay Chou for Beginners #1: 七里香

While talking to a good friend in Czech Republic who is struggling to recapture the lost Chinese words from her years of Chinese classes, I sent her a song by Jay Chou, only one of the most successful and prolific young Taiwanese singer-composers of contemporary times. Jay (Zhou Jie Lun), who shot to fame in the late 90s with his unique hybrid of western rap/R&B and Mandopop is also notoriously garbled in his enunciation. Not a good start for those of you just beginning Chinese lessons, but a fun way to learn a couple of songs. Jay Chou's music is oddly haunting for me, perhaps because I listened to him during some of my most significant milestones during my 20s.

I have included the Chinese lyrics, pinyin and the English translation below. Because Jay Chou is from Taiwan, the lyrics you find online and in the MTV would be in traditional script. I have changed it all to simplified for the benefit of those of us who didn't learn Fan Ti Zi!
 
七里香 (qi li xiang), the song title, means "Common Jasmine Orange", a fruit that gives off a fragrance from as far as 7 Chinese miles, therefore the literal translation, "Seven Mile Fragrance", qi li xiang. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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七里香

窗外的麻雀 在电线杆上多嘴  chuang wai de ma que zai dian xian gan shang duo zui

妳说这一句 很有夏天的感觉   ni shuo zhe yi ju hen you xia tian de gan jue

手中的铅笔 在纸上來來回回  shou zhong de qian bi zai shi shang lai lai hui hui

我用几行字形容妳是我的谁  wo yong ji hang zi xing rong ni shi wo de shei

秋刀鱼的滋味 猫跟妳都想了解  qiu dao yu de zi wei mao he ni dou xiang liao jie

初恋的香味就这样被我们寻回 chu lian de xiang wei jiu zhe yang bei wo men xun hui

那溫暖 的阳光  na wen nuan de yang guang

像刚摘的鲜艳草莓  xiang gang zhai de xian yan cao mei

你说妳舍不得吃掉这一种感觉  ni shuo ni she bu de chi diao zhe zhong gan jue

雨下整夜 我的愛溢出就像雨水  yu xia zheng ye, wo de ai yi chu jiu xiang yu shui

院子落叶 跟我的思念厚厚一叠 yuan zi luo ye, gen wo de si nian hou hou yi die

几句是非 也無法將我的热情冷却 ji ju shi fei, ye wu fa jiang wo de re qing leng que

妳出现在我诗的每一页  ni chu xian zai wo shi de mei yi ye

雨下整夜 我的愛溢出就像雨水 yu xia zhen ye, wo de ai yi chu jiu xiang yu shui

窗台蝴蝶像诗裡纷飞的美丽章节chuang tai hu die xiang shi li fen fei de mei li zhang jie

我接著写 把永远爱妳写这诗的结尾  wo jie zhe xie, ba yong yuan ai ni zhe shi de jie wei

妳是我唯一想要的了解 ni shi wo wei yi xiang yao de liao jie

那饱满 的稻穗 幸福了这个季节  na bao man de dao sui, xing fu le zhe ge ji jie

而妳的脸颊像田裡熟透的蕃茄  er ni de lian jia xiang tian li shu tou de fan qie

妳突然 对我说 七里香的名字很美 ni tu ran dui wo shuo, qi li xiang de ming zi hen mei

我此刻却只想亲吻妳倔強的嘴  wo ci ke que zhi xiang qin wen ni jue jiang de zui

The sparrow outside the window chatters on the telegraph pole

You say that this sentence has very much the feeling of summer

The pencil in my hand moves back and forth on the paper

I use a few lines of words to describe who you are to me

The taste of saury (a kind of fish), that both the cat and you wish to understand

The scent of first love is hence retrieved by us both

That warm sunshine, like a freshly-picked bright strawberry (strawberry also refers to a hickey in Taiwan)

You say you can’t bring yourself to eat up this feeling

Rain falls the entire night, my love overflows just like the rain
Leaves fall in the courtyard, like my thoughts in a thick pile
A few words of gossip, are unable to dampen my passion
You appear in every page of my poem

Rain falls the entire night, my love overflows just like the rain
The butterfly on the windowsill, like the beautiful chapters fluttering about in the poem
I then write, that I would always love you, at the end of this poem
You are the only understanding I want

The plump ears of the rice plant, has blessed this season
And your cheeks are like the ripe tomatoes in the field
You suddenly say to me
That the name Common Jasmin Orange is very beautiful
Yet at this moment I want only to kiss your stubborn lips