Liang Shanbo & Juliet — 梁山伯与茱丽叶

By Joel ~
| Chinese songs | Culture fun | Learning Mandarin | Liang Shanbo & Juliet |

Because laowais can never learn enough karaoke hits! (More songs here.)

梁山伯与茱丽叶/ liáng shānbó yǔ zhù yīngtái
Liang Shanbo & Juliet

The title and lyrics of this song allude to two classic tragic romances: Romeo and Juliet and the “butterfly lovers” Liáng Shānbó and Zhù Yīngtái, often considered Romeo and Juliet’s ancient Chinese equivalent.

Like the Shakespeare play, Liáng Shānbó (the guy) and Zhù Yīngtái (the girl) want to get married but the families won’t cooperate so they end up dying. But unlike Romeo and Juliet, the butterfly lovers become butterflies and fly away together after Zhù Yīngtái jumps into Liáng Shānbó’s tomb while on the way to her arranged marriage. Obviously, such a story was destined for the Chinese pop charts.

Here’s the KTV version, lyrics and guitar chords below:

Here’s the mp3:

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Lyrics & Guitar Chords

Download: LiangShanboYuZhuliye.pdf (lyrics & guitar chords with pinyin/English cheatsheet).

歌词 / gēcí / Lyrics (the English is a little overly literal):

我的心唱首歌给你听 / wǒde xīn chàng shǒugē gěi nǐ tīng
My heart sings a song for you to hear

歌词是如此的甜蜜 / gēcí shì rúcǐ de tiánmì
The lyrics are so honey-sweet

可是我害羞我没有勇气 / kěshì wǒ hàixiū wǒ méiyǒu yǒngqì
But I blush, I don’t have the courage

对你说一句我爱你 / duì nǐ shuō yījù wǒ ài nǐ
To say to you the words ‘I love you’

为什么你还是不言不语 / wèishénme nǐ háishì bù yán bù yǔ
Why do you still not speak?

难道你不懂我的心 / nándào (shì) nǐ bùdǒng wǒde xīn
Could it be you don’t understand my heart?

不管你用什么方式表明 / bùguǎn nǐ yòng shénme fāngshì biǎomíng
No matter whatever style you use to make it clear

我会对你说我愿意 / wǒ huì duì nǐ shuō wǒ yuànyì
I will say to you I’m willing

千言万语里 / qiān yán wàn yǔ lǐ
A thousand words in ten-thousand languages

只有一句话能 / zhǐyǒu yījùhuà néng
Only these few words are able

表白我的心 / biǎobái wǒde xīn
To vindicate my heart

千言万语里 / qiān yán wàn yǔ lǐ
A thousand words in ten-thousand languages

只有一句话就 / zhǐyǒu yījùhuà jiù
Only these few words

能够让我们相偎相依 / nénggòu rang wǒ men xiāng wēi xiāng yī
Are enough to let us cuddle each other close

Chorus:

我爱你 你是我的茱丽叶 / wǒ ài nǐ nǐ shì wǒde zhūlìyè
I love you, you’re my Juliet

我愿意变成你的粱山伯 / wǒ yuànyì biànchéng nǐ de liáng shānbó
I’m willing to become your Liáng Shānbó

幸福的每一天 / xìngfú de měiyī tiān
Happiness every single day

浪漫的每一夜 / làngmàn de měiyī yè
Romantic every single night

把爱 / bǎ ài
Hold love…
永远 / yǒngyuǎn
…forever
不放开 / bù fàngkāi
Don’t let go

I love you

我爱你 你是我的罗密欧 / wǒ ài nǐ nǐ shì wǒde luōmìōu
I love you, you’re my Romeo

我愿意变成你的祝英台 / wǒ yuànyì biànchéng nǐde zhù yīngtái
I’m willing to become your Zhù Yīngtái

幸福的每一天 / xìngfú de měiyī tiān
Happiness every single day

浪漫的每一夜 / làngmàn de měiyī yè
Romantic every single night

美丽的爱情 / měilì de àiqíng
Beautiful romance

祝福着未来 / zhùfú zhe wèilái
Blessing the future

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9 replies to “Liang Shanbo & Juliet — 梁山伯与茱丽叶”


  1. That’s right when he finally vindicates his heart and tells her he loves her. Their feelings for each other are so intense that it actually rips a hole in the space/time continuum. Or something… ;)

    I’m thinking of doing an older karaoke classic next. I want variety in the songs that go up on here. If you’ve got suggestions, let me know! I think I’ll do songs more often in the next few months because we’re in Canada for a bit and I’ll do anything that keeps me looking at Chinese.


  2. Maybe it’s not quite the “older karaoke classic” you’re thinking of, but I reckon Theresa Teng/邓丽君 should be good from a language learning perspective. She sings very clearly and her songs are easy enough to follow. I’m thinking 月亮代表我的心 and 甜蜜蜜 in particular. And if you’re hanging out with the right generation, you could win some serious KTV kudos.

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