白玫瑰 [White Rose] - Eason Chan 陳奕迅 {Cantonese 06}

白如白牙　熱情被吞噬　香檳早揮發得徹底
White like the white teeth that devoured our passion,
with the champagne long since evaporated
白如白蛾　潛回紅塵俗世　俯瞰過靈位
White like the white moths slinking back to this superficial world
who overlook their graves*[1]
但是愛驟變芥蒂後　如同骯髒污穢不要提
But when love suddenly turns unpleasant,
like not mentioning the filthy and the sordid,
沉默　帶笑玫瑰　帶刺回禮　只信任防衛
in silence, the smiling rose wears thorns in return
It believes only in defense

怎麼冷酷卻仍然美麗　得不到的　從來矜貴
No matter how cold-hearted you are, you’re still beautiful
What’s unattainable has always been of high value
身處劣勢　如何不攻心計　流露敬畏試探你的法規
In my precarious situation, how can I not be calculated
Exuding reverence as I feel out your rules of conduct
即使惡夢卻仍然綺麗　甘心墊底　襯你的高貴
Even in a nightmare, you’re still gorgeous
I’m willing to be the underlay for your nobility*[2]
一撮玫瑰　無疑心的喪禮　前事作廢當愛已經流逝　下一世
With a bouquet of roses at the unsuspecting funeral
Void the past as if our love has already passed on to the next life

白如白忙　莫名被摧毀　得到的竟已非那位
White like busying for nothing*[3] as I’m inexplicably cut down,
Who I catch is no longer ‘the one’
白如白糖　誤投紅塵俗世　消耗裡亡逝
White like white sugar, I return mistakenly to this superficial world
It consumes me from within even in death
但是愛驟變芥蒂後　如同骯髒污穢不要提
But when love suddenly turns unpleasant,
like not mentioning the filthy and the sordid,
沉默　帶笑玫瑰　帶刺回禮　只信任防衛
in silence, the smiling rose wears thorns in return
It believes only in defense

怎麼冷酷卻仍然美麗　得不到的　從來矜貴
No matter how cold-hearted you are, you’re still beautiful
What’s unattainable has always been of high value
身處劣勢　如何不攻心計　流露敬畏試探你的法規
In my precarious situation, how can I not be calculated
Exuding reverence as I feel out your rules of conduct
即使惡夢卻仍然綺麗　甘心墊底　襯你的高貴
Even in a nightmare, you’re still gorgeous
I’m willing to be the underlay for your nobility
一撮玫瑰　無疑心的喪禮　前事作廢當愛已經流逝　下一世
With a bouquet of roses at the unsuspecting funeral
Void the past as if our love has already passed on to the next life

怎麼冷酷卻仍然美麗　得不到的　從來矜貴
No matter how cold-hearted you are, you’re still beautiful
What’s unattainable has always been of high value
身處劣勢　如何不攻心計　流露敬畏試探你的法規
In my precarious situation, how can I not be calculated
Exuding reverence as I feel out your rules of conduct
即使惡夢卻仍然綺麗　甘心墊底　最美的姿勢
Even in a nightmare, you’re still gorgeous
I’m willing to be the underlay for the most beautiful pose
一撮玫瑰　模擬心的喪禮　前事作廢當我已經流逝
With a bouquet of roses at the unsuspecting funeral
Void the past as if I have already passed on

即使惡夢卻仍然綺麗　甘心墊底　襯你的高貴
Even in a nightmare, you’re still gorgeous
I’m willing to be the underlay for your nobility
給我玫瑰　前來參加喪禮　前事作廢當我已經流逝　又一世
Give me roses, come forward and join my funeral
Void the past as if I have already passed on to yet another life

Translator’s Notes:

*[1] The more correct translation for 靈位 should be memorial markers– little wooden plaques erected in homes or temples to revere the dead, since it’s often inconvenient and hard for people (especially in the olden days, when the Chinese buried their loved ones far away in the mountains) to visit the actual graves, but for the sake of lyrical flow I stuck to the more commonly known term.

*[2] I didn’t translate this literally so it may sound a bit confusing, but he’s basically referring to himself as the mat/padding – in other words, the lowly being – which people of the higher classes typically step or sit upon (think carpeting rolled out from their cars, or the handkerchiefs laid down upon chairs before they sit).

*[3] 白忙, though it also has the word white in it, is a colloquial term that doesn’t actually have a literal meaning like the other three (eg. white teeth, white sugar) do.

Source

http://listentoeason.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/white-rose/