MSG Weekly Playlist #2
Studying flashcards everyday to learn vocabulary can be a drag. To mix things up, you can listen to music and pick up new vocab while improving your listening skills. Singing AKA studying in the shower can also help you fit study time into already overbooked days. Unfortunately, few Chinese learning sites online recommend true bops; 小苹果 (the song everyone inextricably recommends) is great for karaoke, but can drive you crazy if you listen to it too many times. So, Mandarin Study Guide will be adding 4 new songs to our Spotify playlist every Wednesday. We will post key vocab terms, lyrics, and translations for each song. Most importantly, each song will be enjoyable to listen to – the goal is to stealthy integrate studying into free time, so the music needs to actually be good.
This week’s selections are popular pop, R&B, and rap songs. In addition to the key words + translations listed below, flashcards for the key words can be accessed on Quizlet here (Quizlet for week one and songs 1-4 here). If you’d like to study the key terms in Anki, follow our importing guide to convert the cards over from Quizlet. Happy listening!
Lyrics, Translations, Key Terms, and Music Videos for Playlist Songs
#1 Life without you (少了你的生活) by Kumachan
Key vocabulary
| 节奏 | jiézòu = rhythm |
| 拍子 | pāizi = beat |
| 灵感 | línggǎn = inspiration |
| 白痴 | báichī = moron |
| 温柔 | wēnróu = tender |
| 传递 | chuándì = transfer |
Lyrics with translation
创作来自生活
Creativity comes from life
但我是生活白痴
But I’m an idiot in life
创作白痴 是我
Creative idiot, that’s me
从你离开那天开始
From the day you left
灵感竟然停产
My inspiration dried up
进入创作 crisis
I entered a crisis
flow 缺货 节奏
My flows out of rhythm
也都 唱错 拍子
And I sing with the wrong tempo
早习惯你的 温柔
I got used to your tenderness early
即时再无理的要求
No immediate or unnecessary requirements
你总能够 将心意传递到我手
You can always place your heart in my hands
24/7 每一天
24/4 everyday
体贴没极限
Your thoughtfulness has no limit
从没想过你也会疲倦
I never thought you’d become tired
我有五百万种需求
I have 5 million needs
你都照单全收
You accept everything
你总说走就走
You always just said go
配合我的刁钻节奏
Went along with my tricky rhythm
对你说出专属暗号
I told you the secret code
你又便宜了我
You let me rip you off
无时无刻惦记着我
Remembering me all the time
少了你的生活我该怎么办
What should I do without you in my life
I don’t know, I don’t know
I don’t know, I don’t know
少了你的节奏我该怎么rhyme
Without your rhythm how can I rhyme
Got no tempo, got no bars, got no flow
Got no tempo, got no bars, got no flow
少了你的生活我该怎么办
What should I do without you in my life
No, no, no, no
No, no, no, no
少了你的节奏我该怎么
What should I do without your rhythm
Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
思绪一团乱乱乱 Thoughts are a total mess
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
你说只要我方便
You say as long as I’m convenient
Call you up 随时能相见
Call you up to meet at any time
约会可以宅在家
Can have our date at home
或便利商店
Or a convenience store
陪我逛逛我喜欢的唱片
Join me to enjoy my favorite records
二手家电 进口拉面
Second-hand appliances, imported ramen
探索新的发现
Explore new discoveries
当你不在 我的生活乏味
When you’re not around my life is boring
脑袋打结 独自在大卖场迷航
Head in knots, I get lost in the supermarket alone
被阿北插队
Cut by Abe
少了你的呵护 我才终于发觉
Without your care, I finally realized
我的心是易碎品
My heart is fragile
Don’t let my heart break now
Don’t let my heart break now
那些模仿你的瞎妹
Those blind girls who imitate you
只学到皮毛
Learn nothing at all
没办法给你给的家味
I can’t give you the taste of home
不懂我的喜好
I don’t understand what I like
我只需要 你能回到
I just need you to be able to return
我的轨道 我的解药
My track, my antidote
让我微笑随叫随到
Make me smile on call
少了你的生活我该怎么办
What should I do without you in my life
I don’t know, I don’t know
I don’t know, I don’t know
少了你的节奏我该怎么rhyme
Without your rhythm how can I rhyme
Got no tempo, got no bars, got no flow
Got no tempo, got no bars, got no flow
少了你的生活我该怎么办
What should I do without you in my life
No, no, no, no
No, no, no, no
少了你的节奏我该怎么
What should I do without your rhythm
Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
思绪一团乱乱乱 Thoughts are a total mess
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
Please Come Home sweet home
#2 流星 performed by Katherine Ho
Key vocabulary
| 流星 | liúxīng = meteor |
| 散落 | sànluò = scatter / to be scattered |
| 狂奔 | kuángbēn = gallop |
| 蜕变 | tuìbiàn = to morph; to change |
| 黄昏 | huánghūn = dusk |
| 清晨 | qīngchén = dawn |
我想知道 流星能飞多久
I want to know how long a meteor can fly for
它的美丽 是否 值得去寻求
Whether its beauty is worth looking for
夜空的花 散落在你身后
Flowers in the night sky scatter and fall behind you
幸福了我很久 值得去等候
Making me happy for a long while. It’s worth waiting for
于是我心狂奔 从黄昏到清晨 不能再承受
My heart rushes from dusk to early morning, unable to bear it anymore
情愿 坠落在你手中
My feelings and hopes land in your hands
羽化 成黑夜的彩虹
Sprouting into night’s rainbow
蜕变 成月光的清风 成月光的清风
Morphing into the moonlight’s breeze, into moonlight’s breeze
Refrain:
幸福 跳进你的河流 一直游到尽头 跳进你的河
Happiness / Leap into your river and swim to the end / Leap into your river
我想知道 流星能飞多久
I want to know how long a meteor can fly for
它的美丽 是否
Its beauty, is it true
#3 怪美的 by Jolin Tsai
Key vocabulary
| 坑疤 | kēng bā = scars |
| 瞎眼 | xiāyǎn = blind |
| 称赞 | chēngzàn = praise |
| 怪美 | guài měi = extremely beautiful (strange beauty) |
| 灵魂 | línghún = soul |
| 拒绝 | jùjué = refuse / deny |
垂涎的邪恶 陪我长大
Lurking evil has always been around me
在软烂中生长 社会营养
I’ve grown up in squalor with little support from society
过去坑疤的 让我站稳了
But those traumas nourished me and made me tough
那些神丑的 评谁乱正的
Those comments condemning the ugly and idolizing the beautiful
喔 我都笑哭了
Oh, they made me laugh until I cry
这什么标准 急着决定适者生存
Survival of the fittest? Who are you to judge? What’s the rush?
爱我 恨我 非我
Self-loving, self-loathing, self-negating
有一些外在我 来自内在我
My external self reflects my internal self
听谁说 错的 对的
Who are you to say wrong or right?
说美的 丑的
Beautiful or ugly?
若问我 我看 我说
If you ask me, I would say
我怪美的
I’m insanely beautiful
看不见我的美 是你瞎了眼
If you can’t see my beauty, you must be blind
称赞的嘴脸 却转身吐口水
Talking sweetly in front of me but saying foul thing behind my back
审美的世界 谁有胆说那么绝对
Who dares to set the standards of beauty
真我 假我 自我 看今天这个我
True self, false self, myself who I wanna be today
想要哪个我
It all depends on me
听谁说 错的 对的
Who are you to say wrong or right?
说美的 丑的
Beautiful or ugly?
若问我 我看 我说
If you ask me, I would say
我怪美的
I’m insanely beautiful
看不见我的美 是你瞎了眼
If you can’t see my beauty, you must be blind
称赞的嘴脸 却转身吐口水
Talking sweetly in front of me but saying foul thing behind my back
审美的世界 谁有胆说那么绝对
Who dares to set the standards of beauty
真我 假我 自我 看今天这个我
True self, false self, myself who I wanna be today
想要哪个我
It all depends on me
听谁说 错的 对的
Who are you to say wrong or right?
说美的 丑的
Beautiful or ugly?
若问我 我看 我说
If you ask me, I would say
我怪美的
I’m insanely beautiful
谁来推我一把On to the next one
Who can take me to the next one?
一路背着太多道德活着令人会喘
I’ve shouldered too many moral responsibilities
任谁去伤去想去讲不相关就别管
Hurt me as you may, defame me as you may I don’t care
太婉转的相处 灵魂拉扯左右为难
Being too polite to people can take a negative toll on the soul
正负能量全都吃掉
Positive and negative energy, I’ve taken them all in
美的丑的自有他存在的必要
Beauty and ugliness are both necessary
爱恨随你各自喜好
I don’t care if you love me or hate me
拒绝你的伪善拥抱
Save your disingenuous hugs
想要活得显耀 回应心中恶之必要
To thrive, we have to unleash our inner evil
谁说 错的 对的
Who are you to say wrong or right?
说美的 丑的
Beautiful or ugly?
若问我 我说我呢
If you ask me, I would say
怪美的
I’m insanely beautiful
#4 You’ll Never Know by J. Sheon
Key vocabulary
| 欣赏 | xīnshǎng = enjoy / appreciate / admire |
| 伤疤 | shāngbā = scar |
| 颠倒 | diāndǎo = reverse / invert |
| 独一无二 | Dú yī wú èr = unique |
我欣赏她特别的幽默跟独到
I appreciate her special humor and uniqueness.
配她的真, 让人失了神
Matching her realness, it makes people lose it.
但感情部分她只跟我提到
But her emotional part, she only brings up with me.
Some dark shit
Some dark shit
从她的脸我了解
From her face, I understand.
看着你不断跟他争吵
Looking at you endlessly argue with him.
一道道伤疤由他制造
A scar made by him.
但妳依然对他眷恋
But you’re already devoted to him.
我只能睁着眼, 由著妳沦了陷
I can only stare, since you’re falling into a trap.
If I could stand up be your man now
If I could stand up be your man now
会懂得欣赏妳的美好
I will know how to appreciate your beauty.
想要能够带妳离开这
I want to be able to take you away from here.
Don’t want you stuck in this love
Don’t want you stuck in this love
变成互相对敌, 算什么爱?
How can turning into enemies of each other count as love?
我会留着陪妳, 陪着妳待
I’ll stay and be with you, wait with you.
I could give you my world
I could give you my world
一起把世界颠倒
Together to turn the world upside down.
泼上颜料 脱离喧闹
Add some pigment, take away the noise.
哪天就算妳变老
Someday even if you grow old.
依旧会为妳倾倒but you’ll never know
I’ll be fall for you like the old days, but you’ll never know.
I could show you some love
I could show you some love
能为妳编一首歌
I can make a song for you.
搭着副歌 独一无二
Make a unique chorus.
I could give you my world
I could give you my world
愿为妳烧尽一切but you’ll never know
Be willing to burn up everything for you but you’ll never know.
如果妳的故事是由我来填写
If your story is filled in by me.
我会让它带点甜
I’ll make it a bit sweet.
但故事通常没这么简单可以改变
But stories usually aren’t so easy to change.
A man can’t treat his girl right
A man can’t treat his girl right
Ain’t man enough, he’s lowlife
Ain’t man enough, he’s a lowlife
早就应该撤 该走开
You should have left long ago.
因为他对妳 不够爱
Because he doesn’t love you enough.
我无权跨过线
I have no right to cross the line.
关于妳跟他之间
Between you and him.
但照样跟妳同队
But still on the same team with you as usual.
Telling you everything gon’ be okay
Telling you everything gon’ be okay
我会留着陪妳
I’ll stay and be with you.
I could give you my world
I could give you my world
一起把世界颠倒
Together to turn the world upside down.
泼上颜料 脱离喧闹
Add some pigment, take away the noise.
哪天就算妳变老
Someday even if you grow old.
依旧会为妳倾倒but you’ll never know
I’ll be fall for you like the old days, but you’ll never know.
I could show you some love
I could show you some love
能为妳编一首歌
I can make a song for you.
搭着副歌 独一无二
Make a unique chorus.
I could give you my world
I could give you my world
愿为妳烧尽一切but you’ll never know
Be willing to burn up everything for you but you’ll never know.
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