1. |
空 | Kōng | Emptiness
10:13
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I wake and moonbeams play around my bed,
Glittering like hoarfrost to my wandering eyes.
Upwards, the glorious moon,
I raise my head,
Then lay me down, and thoughts of home arise.
床前明月光, Chuáng qián míng yuè,
疑是地上霜。 Yí shì dì shàng shuāng.
举头望明月, Jŭ tóu wàng míng yuè,
低头思故乡。 Dī tóu sī gù xiāng.
I know, I know.
I feel - it’s getting clearer.
Clearer, it’s getting clearer.
And thoughts of home arise.
I know, I know.
I have arrived.
You know I have arrived.
You know I have arrived,
To my home.
I have arrived.
This is my home.
Lyrics partially adapted from “静夜思 Quiet Night Thought” by Li Bai 李白
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2. |
疼 | Téng | Pain
07:04
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How can I ever get there?
How can I ever get there?
How can I get there?
I want to try, I can get nowhere
But I try,
Mother and child, mother and child
How can we get anywhere - can I get there?
Mother and child. Mother and child.
When you take, take, take, take it away.
[Take me away, mother and child].
How can I get anywhere?
I can’t get there.
Anybody, anybody, can anybody?
Can you hear me out there?
Can anybody?
Can you hear me out there?
[If I were, how can I know, if I don’t know how it feels]
Mother and child, mother and child.
You take take take take it away!
Mother and child, mother and child.
You take take take take it away!
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3. |
气 | Chi | Energy
07:44
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Let it flow through you
Let it come
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4. |
March
05:18
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March, carried my mother, carried my father, into this world.
I have a lot to thank for March, without whom I’d not be here
Cold mountain stream
My body submerged within
If birth were so simple, I sink my shoulders in
Afterwards, standing on the rocky ledge
The sun warms my surface
But I remain cold within
[As if rebirth] were a ritual
April, Fall, Leaves fall down
April carries me into the world
Autumn - she told me it was her favourite month
[I always took it] as a compliment
Now my baby will be born on the cusp,
of winter.
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5. |
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Hey!
注意。 Zhù yì.
转身。 zhuǎn shēn
我听不懂。 Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
你说什么? Nǐ shuō shén me?
什么? Shénme?
再说一遍。 Zài shuō yī biàn.
我听不懂。 Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
不懂什么。 Bù dǒng shén me."
Hey!
I don’t speak your language.
Say it again.
One more time.
What?
I don’t speak your language.
I can’t understand you.
I don’t speak your language.
Not because I don’t want to,
I never learned.
I’m just trying to fit in.
We’re just trying to fit in.
Hey!
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6. |
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你问我出生前在做什么 Nǐ wèn wǒ chūshēng qián zài zuò shénme
You asked me what I was doing before I was born
我答 我在天上挑妈妈 Wǒ dá wǒ zài tiānshàng tiāo māmā
I replied that I chose my mother in the sky.
看见你了 Kànjiàn nǐle
觉得你特别好 juédé nǐ tèbié hǎo
I saw you, and I thought ‘you are the one’.
想做你的儿子 Xiǎng zuò nǐ de érzi
又觉得自己可能没那个运气
yòu juédé zìjǐ kěnéng méi nàgè yùnqì
I want to be your son
I worry I might not have that luck
没想到 Méi xiǎngdào
第二天一早 dì èr tiān yīzǎo
我已经在你肚子里 wǒ yǐjīng zài nǐ dùzi lǐ
I didn’t expect, early next morning, I’m already in your belly.
Written by 朱尔, 8 years old.
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Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Sui Zhen Melbourne, Australia
Origin of You is a startling new collaboration between Chinese-Australian composers Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Becky Sui Zhen, forming spontaneously one wintry afternoon in Melbourne and enduring with bonds that will last longer than a lifetime.
Contact Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Sui Zhen
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