平凡之路 The Ordinary Road 【中英双语 English/Chinese Version by 肖恩 Shaun Gibson】

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- LYRICS -

平凡之路 The Ordinary Road
作曲 Melody：朴树
中文作词 Chinese Lyrics：朴树/韩寒
英文作词 English Lyrics：肖恩Shaun Gibson
编曲 Production:：肖恩Shaun Gibson

To and fro on the long road
写给那条漫漫长路

Do you really want to go?
你是否真的想踏上它远走？
A fragile heart feels so bold
易碎的心此刻却如此坚勇
That face is one I used to know
那也曾是我的模样
Apprehension forms like a cloud
不安的情绪凝聚成阴云
And marks the land on which we stand
漂浮在你我脚下的这片土地上空
Can’t see the way eyes in shroud
蒙住的双眼看不清前方的路
A tale that we all understand
一个声音讲述着那我们悉知的传说

I climbed a mountain up to the sky
我沿那直入云霄的山峰攀缘
Let the trail marks fall behind
让脚印遍布在山间
I held the world aloft in my hands
我曾经拥有着一切
Yet I had nothing but a guise
如今都飘散如烟
A swirling torment wrapped around
无穷尽的苦痛在心里盘旋
And left me empty inside
最后只留给我空虚的躯壳
But a word to the wise
但智者之言曾向你我昭示
Ordinary road is life’s true prize
那生活的馈赠就蕴藏在最平凡的路途间

While you dream of what tomorrow brings
当你仍然还在幻想明天
Will you feel joy or cruel dismay?
可曾感受过喜悦与悲痛的交织？
Lie with laymen or stand beside kings
情愿世俗一生亦或站在那王者的身边享受荣华
For me it’s just another day
于我而言这都只是另外的一天

I rid myself of all I’d obtained
我抛却了从前的一切
So I could move to a new plane
好让自己走向新的起点
A chance to save myself from abyss
终于有了从深渊中拯救自己的机会
Could not escape I was helpless
那时的我无处可躲无助绝望
I used to be like you like him her
我曾经像你像他
Wild flowers in the mist
像那迷雾中绽放的野花
Growing wild and running free
自由无拘的生长随心所欲的奔跑
Living life just being ordinary
生活着平凡着

向前走就这么走就算你被给过什么
向前走就这么走就算你被夺走什么
向前走就这么走就算你会错过什么
向前走就这么走就你算会

我曾经跨过山和大海也穿过人山人海
我曾经拥有着的一切转眼都飘散如烟
我曾经失落失望失掉所有方向
直到看见平凡才是唯一的答案

我曾经毁了我的一切只想永远地离开
我曾经堕入无边黑暗想挣扎无法自拔
我曾经像你像他像那野草野花
绝望着也渴望着也哭也笑平凡着

I climbed a mountain up to the sky
我沿那直入云霄的山峰攀缘
Let the trails marks fall behind
让脚印遍布在山间
Questions of life they stifled my voice
我曾经质问人生
Could find no answers only choice
没有答案 只有抉择
I am just like you like him her
我不过像你像他
Wild flowers in the mist
像那迷雾中绽放的野花
On our predetermined paths
走在那既定的生命轨迹上
We journey through the looking glass
旅行在那镜花水月之中

Time has no sound is silenced
时间无息无声
Tomorrow’s dawn is already here
明天旋即到来
There are storms on the road ahead
前路依然坎坷
Where will your story now be led?
你的故事讲到了哪儿？

- MY STORY WITH THIS SONG -

It was actually 5 years ago I wrote the English lyrics for this beautiful song by 朴树 Pushu called 平凡之路 Ping Fan Zhi Lu (The Ordinary Road/Path). At that time my Chinese level was pretty poor and this was the first Chinese song I fell in love with. There was just something about the delivery of 朴树 Push's singing that resonated with me.

The melody was simple and organic, not trying to impress me, not trying to excite me, just talking to me. Together with the acoustic-sounding music production, it stood out as a very special song in a way I can't describe in words. It was when my friend explained the meaning of the lyrics that the song touched my soul.

With a tear in my eye I replayed the song again and again that summer, and it kept my heart feeling warm in the winter months. Still now, whenever I listen I can feel the depth of Chinese lyrics and the philosophies and experience of a traditional culture so rich in awareness.

I wanted to transform the message of this song into English so more westerners could understand. The way the lyrics are written in Chinese are simple and succinct, yet deep and powerful. I found that using English language I just couldn't find the right words to explain the right meaning without using words that we rarely use anymore.

Words like "guise", and sentences like "Apprehension forms like a cloud, and marks the land on which we stand" are far from common phrases or language we often use. On the contrary, they are very poetic. But I think that says a lot about the Chinese language in itself. It has the ability to communicate so much in just a few simple words. Beyond language, that is culture, and that is the culture I feel a deep connection with.

I felt like I failed to capture the true essence of this song because of my use of more complicated English words in the lyrics. So I left it on the shelf gathering dust all this time. Until December 2021 Westlife 西城男孩 performed the song live (in Chinese) for the first time, and some of you guys started asking me for my version.

And so here it is. The Ordinary Road (Ping Fan Zhi Lu) English version. I guess even with lyrics I'm not so happy with, I can still see beauty in what I've created. Not everything in this world is perfect from first glance, but being able to see beauty that exists in everything, including failure, is more important. Flowers grow out of the dirt, so the dirt must also be beautiful. I think in that sense, the story behind my lyrics reflect the song's philosophy perfectly: Everything is ordinary, everything is beautiful.

#平凡之路 #PingFanZhiLu #朴树