世間有鐘反覆敲響
世間有鐘反覆敲響
為什麼這次是你
不是我
世間有鐘反覆敲響
為什麼這次是我
不是你
天台有天使在半空低頭
未為你而奏的
還有幾多闕歌
暴雨後鴿子身軀沉重
在人群的腳步旁
暫作停留
牆上的字不是血，但無異
日光退去照片再次顯現
卸下一個尋常名字
世間有鐘反覆敲響
餘音泛開了你
穿過了我
穿過了我
There is a bell that tolls incessantly
There is a bell that tolls incessantly
Why is it you
and not me this time
There is a bell that tolls incessantly
Why is it me
and not you this time
There is an angel bowing his head on the rooftop
How many songs are there
that have not been played for you
The torsos of pigeons are heavy after rainstorm
They stay for a while
at the footsteps of the crowd
Words on the wall are not daubed with blood, but make no difference
As daylight recedes, a photo reemerges
to unload a common name
There is a bell that tolls incessantly
Ripples of reverberation spread across you
through me
Through me
禮物盒
循例搖一搖無聲的禮物盒
想要告訴你什麼
但我未有秘密
文字跌蕩在未乾的布上
咀嚼著別人種的果實
喧囂暫別有間中一日
會聽到石頭呼吸
差點聽得到石頭呼吸
循例瞄一瞄手中的數字跳動
想要幹些什麼
但已虛度了一日
願望掛在未生的樹
口中有未吐的核
喧囂暫別有間中一日
會聽到石頭呼吸
差點聽得到石頭呼吸
Gift Box
Shake the soundless gift box, as a formality
Wishing to tell you something
But I do not have any secrets yet
Words tumble onto a damp cloth
Chewing fruits planted by others
Sometimes when you bid farewell to the hustle and bustle
You will hear the stone breathing
Almost hear the stone breathing
Take a peek at the numbers flashing on your wrist, as a formality
Wanting to do something
But the day has been idled away
Wishes hanging on an unborn tree
Seeds not yet spat out in my mouth
Sometimes when you bid farewell to the hustle and bustle
You will hear the stone breathing
Hear the stone breathing, almost
麵包與玫瑰
世界將要塌下來
已經不是第一次
破開的玻璃碎片
教會我刺痛的意義
進化的血與淚
滴下沾濕發黄的信紙
誰在金色的荒漠裏
掘一口井
或埋下一首
詩
麵包與玫瑰，鋼鐵和泥
火舌面前誰更堅毅
時間如螻蟻如子彈穿過塵世
焦土裏灌溉先要把甚麽催毁
麵包與玫瑰，鋼鐵和泥
如粒子聚合成向上回轉的階梯
回轉 回轉 回轉 回轉
超越肉身限制進化成一個整體
Bread and Roses
The world is falling apart—
not for the first time
Broken glass shards
taught me the meaning of pain
Blood and tears of evolution
dripped down, dampening the yellowing letter paper
Who in the golden desert
dug a well
or buried a
poem
Bread and roses, steel and mud
Who is more resilient in front of forked flames
Time passes in the mortal world like ants and bullets
What shall be destroyed to irrigate the scorched earth
Bread and roses, steel and mud
Like particles, they coalesce into a staircase spiraling upward
TURNING TURNING TURNING TURNING
Evolving beyond corporeal limits into a whole
濁水漂流
破鏡在陽光下融化
融化成一道烈酒
薔薇在你體內燃燒
燃燒成最後的藥
我會為你擠出一個笑容
就算這笑容看似虛假
答應你若你掉進惡夢
我會在岸邊拉你一把
回家吧
天黑前回家
回家吧
天黑前回家
看著營營役役的煙花
在抽搐的高潮裡墮下
聽著明明滅滅的燈光
重覆昨天的笑話
看著徐徐掉下的煙灰
混入急風裡的细沙
聽著搖搖欲墜的大厦
迴盪著不息的咒罵
回家吧
若有路我願回家
回家吧
若有路我願回家
Drifting
A broken mirror melts in the sun
Melts into a shot of spirit
Roses burn within your body
Incinerate into the last medicine
I will squeeze a smile for you
Even if this smile looks phony
I promise if you sink into a nightmare
I will lend you a hand from the shore
Go home
Before nightfall, go home
Go home
Before nightfall, go home
Watching fireworks working day and night
Plunging amidst orgasmic convulsions
Listening to the flickering lights
Repeating the joke from yesterday
Watching cigarette ashes descend slowly
Blending sand into gusts of wind
Listening to buildings on the verge of collapse
Echoing an eternal curse
Come home
I would come home if there is a way
Come home
I would come home to find a way
飛蛾光顧
點起瘋子的燭光
空氣泛著微塵
打開恐懼的廣播
聽到自己的聲音
重覆惡夢的街道
時間牽起憤恨
破旗幟下舉起的手
有無法直視的傷痕
讓飛蛾光顧這燃燒的心
似有剎那憶起每個誓盟
點起瘋子的燭光
隨螞蟻步入人群
無從記認的風景裏
卻感覺不到陌生
一切終不會死去
但腳步踏碎每個身份
轉那萬年流轉的歌謠
諳眾未安的魂
讓飛蛾光顧這燃燒的心
似有剎那憶起我是誰人
the moth visits
light the lunatic’s candle
fine dusts suspend in mid-air
tune in to the radio of fear
the sound of your own voice
recurring streets in nightmares
time resuscitates resentment
hands raised beneath the broken flag
scarred—eyes averted
let moths visit this burning heart
for a moment I seem to recall every vow
light the lunatic’s candle
follow ants into the crowd
in a landscape unrecognisable
yet hardly foreign
nothing ever dies
but footsteps crush every identity
circulate that ballad for thousands of years
we all know the soul is stranded in purgatory
let the moth visits this burning heart
for a moment I seem to recall who I am
Translator’s note
These five song lyrics are selected from different points of Wong Hin-yan’s career and facets of his practice. Gift Box and the moth visits are from his second album back in 2018, while Bread and Roses and Drifting are tracks he wrote in 2021 for musical theatre The Phenomenon of Man: Revolver and the film Drifting, both of which he was also part of as a member of the cast. There is a bell that tolls incessantly, the most recent release, belongs to his album last year. Together, they constitute a picture of Wong’s various identities as composer, singer, writer, and actor. Wong’s multiplicity is also reflected in his music, which is often rich and intertextual with translations and adaptations from other literary works. For example, African Elegy, the song he wrote for theatre performance Kassandra or the World as the End of Representation, is a translation of Nigerian British poet Ben Okri’s An African Elegy, a powerful portrait of the struggles and resilience of the African people. Drunkard from the same year contains an excerpt from Liu Yichang’s novel The Drunkard, while the lyrics of Everybody Has God are drawn from Yam Gong’s poem of the same title.
Wong is as much a poet as he is a lyricist. He has a habit of writing lyrics before adding melodies to words. When his gruff vocals are paired with gentle tunes, he sounds more like he is speaking instead of performing, but at the same time, the phrasing of his words is somewhat opposite to colloquial. It is difficult to grasp this with just my description, so I encourage you to listen to his music while going through the translations. In most cases, translating lyrics is a task doomed to failure if the goal is to create another version that corresponds to the music. Without proper musical training and a composing background, a translator can hardly just translate a song. Obviously, these translations are by no means set to the rhythm of the original melodies and are not intended to be sung. In short, I translated these lyrics as if I were translating poetry. I do not think this always works for lyrics, but there is a sense of profundity and idiosyncrasy in Wong’s work that calls for interpretation and clarity. I take this as an invitation to revisit his lyrics by translation.
Much of my early adulthood coincided with the circulation of Wong’s music; translating his lyrics is like weaving together strands of my memories with his depictions of the world. Sometimes I feel like a parasite, latching on to even the faintest signs of our shared undercurrents. What you will be reading is an attempt at that.
Bios
Koel Chu is a writer from Hong Kong. Chu’s poetry and essays have been published in p-articles, Ming Pao, IDEAS, Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Fleurs des Lettres, SAMPLE, BIOS Monthly, Still / Loud, and Overheard, where her poem “The Hunt” is nominated for the 2022 Best of Net Poetry Selections.
Wong Hin-yan is an independent Hong Kong music producer, singer-songwriter, and composer for theatre and film. He recently won the 59th Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Score with his works in the film The Narrow Road, which is also nominated for the 41st Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Score. His previous music in the film Drifting was also nominated for Best Original Film Score and Best Original Film Song in both the 58th Golden Horse Awards and the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards. His music can be found on wonghinyan.bandcamp.com.