Another video showing off the talented little bro. This group is his Chinese Startalk group. He's about to complete 3 intense weeks studying Chinese at BYU.
Not quite my music. But always fun to see my brother do his dancing and such.
I guess the music video is part of the assignment. It seems they do one every year. At least, I saw a link from this one to one from 2007 that had me squealing and clapping my hands for joy. I couldn't believe it! But first, the story behind the story.
Winter semester 2001 had my Chinese 102 class. It was the bestest, awesomest Chinese class that I had in my BYU career. Probably one of my top ever classes, too. Part of that was 'cause the classmates were fantastic. And my teacher was the best. She'd been an MTC teacher, and that's the style she used on us. With our recently returned RMs, we soaked up everything. I knew the vocab, the characters, created dialogues and loved every bit of it. (Contrast that to the 202 class....ug.) She was also pregnant, and such a cute pregnant lady. Her first pregnancy, too. I just loved her. And the classmates. And the class. All of it.
But the discovery didn't happen in the 102 class. It was in the 201 class, which I wasn't able to take until the following winter semester--a whole year later. Needless to say, my Chinese skills were greatly lacking by then and that's when my Chinese language self-esteem started to go downhill. (It committed suicide in the aforementioned 202 class.) Luckily, I again had some pretty awesome classmates. Many of them had been to China for one reason or another, and that's when I began to see how I would never fully grasp the language until I myself had that chance. Still waiting for it....
Anywho. These kids knew a bit more about the current cultural things and such. One day we had a sort of play day, and some brought in their Chinese stuff. One included a tape of a bunch of Chinese music videos. I was a bit skeptical, I'll admit. Others' music taste is rarely mine--especially in some of the foreign pop stuff I've had to endure hearing. And that day there were a few that were like the song from my brother's music video. Not for me.
Then came The One Song. I hadn't any idea what it was called. I just noticed that every class member who'd been to China or had better connection to Chinese things knew this song.
And. Loved. It.
They got so excited. They were cheering. They immediately began singing along. They must have played it 4 or 5 times in class. And it only took until the 2nd time for me to start liking it, too. It's too catchy, fun, hilarious, close-to-home wishful-thinking, and funny not to like it! In fact, I loved it! Perhaps the only pop Chinese song and music video that I will love, but I loved it. And I wanted a copy of the song. I remember the video not being too bad, but all I could remember was one part of the chorus. My favorite part, too.
Which meant that for the next 7 1/2 years, all I had to aid me in my search for The One Song was that part of the chorus. I knew it in English and in Chinese. Except to search for it in Chinese, I'd need to know the correct pin yin spelling, since I certainly couldn't remember the characters. They didn't teach characters well at BYU, so I pretty much was failing those in 202. Pinyin I excelled at, until non-Chinese studying years had me forget a lot of it.
Of course, I could remember the tune of the chorus. And I could hum or la it to you at any given time. But how do I put that in a search? Google "la la la, la la, la la, la la, la la la la la la, la la la la" Nope. I don't think so. And I tried to search the one part of the chorus in English. "I look left, look right, look up, look down." Nothing. At least, never any of the times I tried it. And my confidence in what I knew began to wane as my searches became more and more fruitless. So, yes, even my greatness of librarian research skills was no match for this important research question.
Thus to my greatest happiness did I find linked to my brother's music video, this hilarious BYU 2007 Startalk program adaptation. Five seconds into this music video, I knew it. It was my song. The One Song. It really did exist!
Isn't it fantastic!?!?!?!?!? Song and video interpretation? Classic.
I Love It!
I hope you enjoyed that. And if you didn't and now it's stuck in your head...oh well. Your loss.
Of course, the one we watched was a girl singing the guy's version. So it was "nan hai" and not "nu hai." But the sentiments switched over pretty well. After hearing it, I knew right away that the song was called "Kan Guo Lai." I hadn't known it was origianlly sung by a male, so that might have been why I couldn't find what I had seen at BYU.
By the way, in both the version I saw and in the original (male) version, they do the same thing at the chorus that makes it just as catchy as the song. You guessed it. "I look left, look right, look up, look down." I'm glad the BYU program kids did it, too. It made my heart very happy.
I'm sure you're all just as excited and eager to read the original Chinese and the English translation of the lyrics as I am to post them. I got these from someone's website, and it looks like maybe they did a direct translation. At least it's line for line! This is the male version, by the way. And I'm skipping the translation of the speaking part right before the chorus because I'm not so much of a fan of that. Plus, I'm not sure exactly how accurate the translation is. Sorry. That's why my Chinese is so bad.
Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai - The Girl Opposite Please Look Over Here
dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai, kan guo lai, kan guo lai.
The girl opposite please look over here. Look over here, look over here
zhe li de biao yan hen jing cai qing bu yao jia zhuang bu li bu cai
The show over here is very wonderful. Please don't pretend, don't ignore
dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai, kan guo lai, kan guo lai.
The girl opposite please look over here. Look over here, look over here
bu yao bei wo de yang zi xia huai qi shi wo hen ke ai
Please don't be afraid of my appearance. I'm actually very adorable
ji muo nan hai de bei ai. shuo chu lai shui ming bai.
The sorrow of a lonely boy Say it out, who will understand?
qiu qiu ni pao ge mei yan guo lai, hong hong wo dou wo le kai huai
I'm begging you to cast your charming eyes over here , Tease and taunt my joyful heart
(Chorus)
wo zuo kan, you kan, shang kan, xia kan
I look left, look right, look up, look down
yuan lai mei ge nu hai dou bu jian dan
Actually every girl is not that simple
wo xiang le you xiang, wo cai le you cai
I think and think again, I guess and guess again
nu hai men de xin shi hai zhen qi guai
All the girls' thoughts are so strange
(end Chorus)
ji muo nan hai de cang ying pai, zuo pai pai, you pai pai
A lonely boy's blue fly swatter, Swat left, swat right
wei she me hai shi mei ren lai ai, wu ren wen jin, zhen wu nai
Why is there still no one to love? No one will ask, *sigh* It's so helpless
dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai, kan guo lai, kan guo lai.
The girl opposite please look over here. Look over here, look over here
ji muo nan hai qing dou chu kai, xu yao ni gei wo yi dian ai (ai, ai)
A lonely boy's heart opens, Need you to give me a little love (love, love)
Chorus
Chorus
ai zhen qi guai! (lai lai lai lai.....)
Ah! Really strange! (Come, come, come, come, come)
(ah.. suan le, wo hui jia ba)
(forget it , i'll come back home)
I'd still like to see the music video that I orignally saw. But this recording will have to do. I'm not sure if it's the same girl I heard. If I saw the video, I could tell you. It's only part of the Girl Version. Click on the "full song" to hear all of it.
P.S. I think Heavenly Father will forgive me for hearing this on the Sabbath, for He knows how much I've searched for it and longed for--and how happy it has made me to find it!!! But I promise to resist listening to it on the Sabbath in the future. Just all the other days for the next couple of weeks at least! Ha ha!!
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