If the last song we did on here got 11 out of 10 for cheesiness, this one gets at least that for melodrama. Our teachers sang it last time we went to karaoke.

死了都要爱 / Even in Death I’ll Love / sǐle dōu yào ài

Shin (信乐团) is a popular rock band from Taiwan. “Even in Death I’ll Love” (死了都要爱) is a popular Korean song (“Love Over 1000 Years”) that Shin rewrote in Mandarin, thereby giving young internet-surfing East Asians yet another opportunity to argue about whose culture is derived from whose. The lead singer, A Shin (阿信) — who, as you’ll see in the video, is apparently quite the diva — left the band last year to launch a solo career in which he’s shamelessly selling out to the pretty-fied Asian pop market with syrupy Josh Groban covers. I have two Shin CDs; they sound like Evanescence with an 80′s rocker streak, and list Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin among their musical influences.

Here’s the epic live version (lyrics and guitar chords are below):

And here’s an mp3 of the album version:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lyrics & Guitar Chords

Download: SileDouYaoAi.pdf (lyrics & guitar chords with pinyin/English cheatsheet). The guitar chords match the album version; the live version is in a different key.

歌词 / gē cí / Lyrics (the English needs help):

把每天当成是末日来相爱 / bǎ měitiān dàngchéng shì Mòrì lái xiāngài
Take every day like it’s the last day you have to love each other
(“Take every day like Armageddon has come to your love for each other”)

一分一秒都美到泪水掉下来 / yī fēn yī miǎo dōu měi dào lèishuǐ diào xiàlai
Each minute and each second are all so beautiful that tears fall down

不理会别人是看好或看坏 / bùlǐ huì biérén shì kàn hǎo huò kān huài
Ignore whether other people will think good or think bad

只要你勇敢跟我来 / zhǐyào nǐ yǒnggǎn gēn wǒ lái
So long as you’re brave follow me

爱不用刻意安排 / ài búyòng kèyì ānpái
Love doesn’t need a meticulous plan

凭感觉去亲吻相拥就会很愉快 / píng gǎnjué qù qīnwěn xiāng yōng jiù huì hěn yúkuài
Rely on feelings, go kiss and embrace each other, it’ll be delightful

享受现在别一开怀就怕受伤害 / xiǎngshòu xiànzài bié yì kāihuái jiù pà shòushānghài
Enjoy the present, don’t open up your heart and then just be afraid of injury

许多奇迹我们相信才会存在 / xǔduō qíjì wǒmen xiāngxìn cái huì cúnzài
Many miracles we believe there can be

Chorus:

死了都要爱 / sǐle dōu yào ài
Even in death I’ll love

不淋漓尽致不痛快 / bù línlíjìnzhì bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless totally unrestrained/saturated

感情多深只有这样 / gǎnqíng duō shēn zhǐyǒu zhè yàng
Only deeper affection can in this way

才足够表白 / cái zúgòu biǎobái
be enough to vindicate

死了都要爱 / sǐle dōu yào ài
Even in death I’ll want love

不哭到微笑不痛快 / bù kū dào wēixiào bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless crying until smiling

宇宙毁灭心还在 / yǔzhòu huǐmiè xīn hái zài
The universe perishes but my heart is still here

End Chorus:

穷途末路都要爱 / qióngtúmòlù dōu yào ài
Even at the end of the road with no way out I’ll love

不极度浪漫不痛快 / bù jídù làngmàn bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless extremely romantic

发会雪白土会掩埋 / fā huì xuěbái tǔ huì yǎnmái
Hair will turn snow white and dust will bury

思念不腐坏 / sīniàn bù fǔhuài
but longing doesn’t rot

到绝路都要爱 / dào jué lù dōu yào ài
Even at the dead end road I’ll love

不天荒地老不痛快 / bù tiān huāngdì lǎo bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless heaven and earth pass away

不怕热爱变火海 / búpà rèài biàn huǒ hǎi
Not afraid for passion to become a fiery sea

爱到沸腾才精采 / ài dào fèiténg cái jīng cǎi
After love comes to a boil it’s magnificent

If you didn’t like this one, the last song was much cuter. If you see a problem with the translation (the chorus especially needs help) please point it out in the comments.

More for your karaoke repertoire:

• Nothing to My Name – 一无所有
• Liang Shanbo & Juliet – 梁山伯与茱丽叶
• Mouse Loves Rice – 老鼠爱大米

If the last song we did on here got 11 out of 10 for cheesiness, this one gets at least that for melodrama. Our teachers sang it last time we went to karaoke.

死了都要爱 / Even in Death I’ll Love / sǐle dōu yào ài

Shin (信乐团) is a popular rock band from Taiwan. “Even in Death I’ll Love” (死了都要爱) is a popular Korean song (“Love Over 1000 Years”) that Shin rewrote in Mandarin, thereby giving young internet-surfing East Asians yet another opportunity to argue about whose culture is derived from whose. The lead singer, A Shin (阿信) — who, as you’ll see in the video, is apparently quite the diva — left the band last year to launch a solo career in which he’s shamelessly selling out to the pretty-fied Asian pop market with syrupy Josh Groban covers. I have two Shin CDs; they sound like Evanescence with an 80′s rocker streak, and list Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin among their musical influences.

Here’s the epic live version (lyrics and guitar chords are below):

And here’s an mp3 of the album version:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lyrics & Guitar Chords

Download: SileDouYaoAi.pdf (lyrics & guitar chords with pinyin/English cheatsheet). The guitar chords match the album version; the live version is in a different key.

歌词 / gē cí / Lyrics (the English needs help):

把每天当成是末日来相爱 / bǎ měitiān dàngchéng shì Mòrì lái xiāngài
Take every day like it’s the last day you have to love each other
(“Take every day like Armageddon has come to your love for each other”)

一分一秒都美到泪水掉下来 / yī fēn yī miǎo dōu měi dào lèishuǐ diào xiàlai
Each minute and each second are all so beautiful that tears fall down

不理会别人是看好或看坏 / bùlǐ huì biérén shì kàn hǎo huò kān huài
Ignore whether other people will think good or think bad

只要你勇敢跟我来 / zhǐyào nǐ yǒnggǎn gēn wǒ lái
So long as you’re brave follow me

爱不用刻意安排 / ài búyòng kèyì ānpái
Love doesn’t need a meticulous plan

凭感觉去亲吻相拥就会很愉快 / píng gǎnjué qù qīnwěn xiāng yōng jiù huì hěn yúkuài
Rely on feelings, go kiss and embrace each other, it’ll be delightful

享受现在别一开怀就怕受伤害 / xiǎngshòu xiànzài bié yì kāihuái jiù pà shòushānghài
Enjoy the present, don’t open up your heart and then just be afraid of injury

许多奇迹我们相信才会存在 / xǔduō qíjì wǒmen xiāngxìn cái huì cúnzài
Many miracles we believe there can be

Chorus:

死了都要爱 / sǐle dōu yào ài
Even in death I’ll love

不淋漓尽致不痛快 / bù línlíjìnzhì bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless totally unrestrained/saturated

感情多深只有这样 / gǎnqíng duō shēn zhǐyǒu zhè yàng
Only deeper affection can in this way

才足够表白 / cái zúgòu biǎobái
be enough to vindicate

死了都要爱 / sǐle dōu yào ài
Even in death I’ll want love

不哭到微笑不痛快 / bù kū dào wēixiào bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless crying until smiling

宇宙毁灭心还在 / yǔzhòu huǐmiè xīn hái zài
The universe perishes but my heart is still here

End Chorus:

穷途末路都要爱 / qióngtúmòlù dōu yào ài
Even at the end of the road with no way out I’ll love

不极度浪漫不痛快 / bù jídù làngmàn bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless extremely romantic

发会雪白土会掩埋 / fā huì xuěbái tǔ huì yǎnmái
Hair will turn snow white and dust will bury

思念不腐坏 / sīniàn bù fǔhuài
but longing doesn’t rot

到绝路都要爱 / dào jué lù dōu yào ài
Even at the dead end road I’ll love

不天荒地老不痛快 / bù tiān huāngdì lǎo bú tòngkuài
Not joyful unless heaven and earth pass away

不怕热爱变火海 / búpà rèài biàn huǒ hǎi
Not afraid for passion to become a fiery sea

爱到沸腾才精采 / ài dào fèiténg cái jīng cǎi
After love comes to a boil it’s magnificent

If you didn’t like this one, the last song was much cuter. If you see a problem with the translation (the chorus especially needs help) please point it out in the comments.

More for your karaoke repertoire:

• Nothing to My Name – 一无所有
• Liang Shanbo & Juliet – 梁山伯与茱丽叶
• Mouse Loves Rice – 老鼠爱大米

Learning a song now and then is an easy way to play with the language. We found out pretty quick that the lyrics to Chinese pop songs are just as… what’s the word… vapid? as the lyrics in most English pop songs. Except a lot of Chinese pop songs seem to involve more cutesy-ness and less prostitution. That means the lyrics are simple and safe, assuming that large doses of aural saccharine can’t hurt you.

We’ll post songs occasionally, and for each song I’ll put the music video so you can hear it, and post a download link to the lyrics and guitar chord sheets that I made to practice the song… in case you wanna sing along!

老鼠爱大米 / Mouse Loves Rice / lǎoshǔ ài dàmǐ

Our teachers tell us that this is maybe the cheesiest Chinese pop song ever. It’s famous, and has been redone in many different languages, but don’t go looking for the English version on Youtube because you’ll find it, and it’s horrible. Also, Chinese mice don’t eat cheese, they eat rice. Actually come to think of it, most Chinese people don’t eat cheese. Anyway, you can play the song while you look at the lyrics below:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lyrics & Guitar Chords

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

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

我听见你的声音 / wǒ tīng jiàn nǐ de shēng yīn
I hear your voice

有种特别的感觉 / yǒu zhǒng tè bié de gǎn jué
Have a special kind of feeling

让我不断想 / ràng wǒ bù duàn xiǎng
Makes me constantly miss (you)

不敢再忘记你 / bù gǎn zài wàng jì nǐ
(I) don’t dare forget you again

我记得有一个人 / wǒ jì de yǒu yī gè rén
I remember there’s one person

永远留在我心中 / yǒng yuǎn liú zài wǒ xīn zhōng
(who) forever stays in my heart

哪怕只能够这样的想你 / nǎ pà zhǐ néng gòu zhè yang de xiǎng nǐ
Even still all (I’m) able to do is miss you like this

如果真的有一天 / rú guǒ zhēn de yǒu yī tiān
If really there’s a day

爱情理想会实现 / ài qíng lǐ xiǎng huì shí xiàn
(when) ideal romance is achieved

我会加倍努力好好对你 / Wǒ huì jiā bèi nǔ lì hǎo hǎo duì nǐ
I will doubly strive to be good to you

永远不改变 / yǒng yuǎn bù gǎi biàn
Forever not changing

不管路有多么远 / bù guǎn lù yǒu duō me yuǎn
No matter the road is however far

一定会让它实现 / yī dìng huì ràng tā shí xiàn
(I) will definitely make it happen

我会轻轻在你耳边 / wǒ huì qīng qīng zài nǐ ěr biān
I will softly beside your ear

对你说，对你说 / duì nǐ shuō, duì nǐ shuō
Say to you, say to you

Chorus:

我爱你，爱着你 / wǒ ài nǐ, ài zhe nǐ
I love you, loving you

就象老鼠爱大米 / jiù xiàng lǎo shǔ ài dà mǐ
Just like a mouse loves rice

不管有多少风雨 / bù guǎn yǒu duō shǎo fēng yǔ
No matter there is how much wind and rain

我都会依然陪着你 / wǒ dōu huì yī rán péi zhe nǐ
I will still as before be there with you

我想你，想着你 / wǒ xiǎng nǐ, xiǎng zhe nǐ
I miss you, missing you

不管有多么的苦 / bù guǎn yǒu duō me de kǔ
No matter it’s however bitter

只要能让你开心 / zhǐ yào néng ràng nǐ kāi xīn
So long as (I’m) able to make you feel happy

我什么都愿意 / wǒ shén me dōu yuàn yì
I’m willing to do anything

这样爱你 / zhè yang ài nǐ
This way love you

More help for your karaoke repertoire:

• Nothing to My Name – 一无所有
• Liang Shanbo & Juliet – 梁山伯与茱丽叶
• Even in Death I’ll Love – 死了都要爱

Learning a song now and then is an easy way to play with the language. We found out pretty quick that the lyrics to Chinese pop songs are just as… what’s the word… vapid? as the lyrics in most English pop songs. Except a lot of Chinese pop songs seem to involve more cutesy-ness and less prostitution. That means the lyrics are simple and safe, assuming that large doses of aural saccharine can’t hurt you.

We’ll post songs occasionally, and for each song I’ll put the music video so you can hear it, and post a download link to the lyrics and guitar chord sheets that I made to practice the song… in case you wanna sing along!

老鼠爱大米 / Mouse Loves Rice / lǎoshǔ ài dàmǐ

Our teachers tell us that this is maybe the cheesiest Chinese pop song ever. It’s famous, and has been redone in many different languages, but don’t go looking for the English version on Youtube because you’ll find it, and it’s horrible. Also, Chinese mice don’t eat cheese, they eat rice. Actually come to think of it, most Chinese people don’t eat cheese. Anyway, you can play the song while you look at the lyrics below:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lyrics & Guitar Chords

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

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

我听见你的声音 / wǒ tīng jiàn nǐ de shēng yīn
I hear your voice

有种特别的感觉 / yǒu zhǒng tè bié de gǎn jué
Have a special kind of feeling

让我不断想 / ràng wǒ bù duàn xiǎng
Makes me constantly miss (you)

不敢再忘记你 / bù gǎn zài wàng jì nǐ
(I) don’t dare forget you again

我记得有一个人 / wǒ jì de yǒu yī gè rén
I remember there’s one person

永远留在我心中 / yǒng yuǎn liú zài wǒ xīn zhōng
(who) forever stays in my heart

哪怕只能够这样的想你 / nǎ pà zhǐ néng gòu zhè yang de xiǎng nǐ
Even still all (I’m) able to do is miss you like this

如果真的有一天 / rú guǒ zhēn de yǒu yī tiān
If really there’s a day

爱情理想会实现 / ài qíng lǐ xiǎng huì shí xiàn
(when) ideal romance is achieved

我会加倍努力好好对你 / Wǒ huì jiā bèi nǔ lì hǎo hǎo duì nǐ
I will doubly strive to be good to you

永远不改变 / yǒng yuǎn bù gǎi biàn
Forever not changing

不管路有多么远 / bù guǎn lù yǒu duō me yuǎn
No matter the road is however far

一定会让它实现 / yī dìng huì ràng tā shí xiàn
(I) will definitely make it happen

我会轻轻在你耳边 / wǒ huì qīng qīng zài nǐ ěr biān
I will softly beside your ear

对你说，对你说 / duì nǐ shuō, duì nǐ shuō
Say to you, say to you

Chorus:

我爱你，爱着你 / wǒ ài nǐ, ài zhe nǐ
I love you, loving you

就象老鼠爱大米 / jiù xiàng lǎo shǔ ài dà mǐ
Just like a mouse loves rice

不管有多少风雨 / bù guǎn yǒu duō shǎo fēng yǔ
No matter there is how much wind and rain

我都会依然陪着你 / wǒ dōu huì yī rán péi zhe nǐ
I will still as before be there with you

我想你，想着你 / wǒ xiǎng nǐ, xiǎng zhe nǐ
I miss you, missing you

不管有多么的苦 / bù guǎn yǒu duō me de kǔ
No matter it’s however bitter

只要能让你开心 / zhǐ yào néng ràng nǐ kāi xīn
So long as (I’m) able to make you feel happy

我什么都愿意 / wǒ shén me dōu yuàn yì
I’m willing to do anything

这样爱你 / zhè yang ài nǐ
This way love you

More help for your karaoke repertoire:

• Nothing to My Name – 一无所有
• Liang Shanbo & Juliet – 梁山伯与茱丽叶
• Even in Death I’ll Love – 死了都要爱

CSL, as in, “Chinese as a Second Language,” not, “China’s Sassy Lyrics,” though either works for this song. One of our friends downloaded a bunch of popular Chinese songs for us this weekend. He said if I learn them, I could be the King of Karaoke (K歌之王). This is the “MV” (卡拉OK version!) for “中國話” by S.H.E. You gotta at least watch through the first chorus (lyrics below):

(If the video doesn’t work, you can probably see it here, here, and here.) Or you can listen to the mp3:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The chorus says:

The whole world is learning Chinese
Confucius’ words are becoming more and more international
The whole world is speaking Chinese
What we say makes all the people of the world listen up!

In the verses, they alternate rapping Chinese tongue twisters with little stories of Chinese culture spreading around the world (like, “In London, Marilyn bought a qí páo as a gift for her mother”), and lines like this:

People of every skin color
People with hair of every color
What they’re reading, what they’re saying…
Chinese is becoming the new trend

How many years did we painstakingly practice English pronunciation and learn their grammar?
For a change, now it’s their turn to get their tongues all in a knot!
How smart the Chinese are! How beautiful the Chinese language is!

The black guy at the end, with the Shanghai skyline in the background, says: “Pardon me, where’s the nán xiáng xiǎo lóng?” in typical language student style Chinese (请问，南翔小笼在哪里?).

Our school’s teachers performed this song karaoke-style for last semester’s China Night.

S.H.E. is an impossibly-white, inhumanely-photoshopped girl group from Taiwan. You can see them sing this 2006 hit live here.

See a full translation of the lyrics here (thanks to tammiest@AsianFanatics). You might notice that the karaoke Chinese characters are different from the characters I’ve provided. I’ve used simplified characters (the Mainland’s script); the karaoke video uses traditional characters (the more complicated characters used by Hong Kong and Taiwan).

Ha… are you scared yet? ;)

Apparently every kid in China knows this song Jessica found it at ChinesePod.com. Usually people don’t use the tones when they sing in Mandarin, but this guy sings with the tones on the third time around. Careful, though. If you listen too many times, it will be stuck in your head for days.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

* * *

Some versions use tail (尾巴 – wěi ba) instead of ears (耳朵 – ěr duo). I’m gonna learn to write it so I have some “poetry” to write next time we visit the guys who write calligraphy with water on the sidewalk in the park.

Enhance your KTV repertoire!

• Nothing to My Name – 一无所有
• Liang Shanbo & Juliet – 梁山伯与茱丽叶
• Even in Death I’ll Love – 死了都要爱
• Mouse Loves Rice – 老鼠爱大米