Lyrics [Vicki Zhao] 赵薇 - 木兰香 | The fragrance of magnolia

[renn]

Vicki Zhao (赵薇) -

| The fragrance of magnolia


Lyrics: 王凌云 (Wang Lingyun)
Composition: 祈峰 (Qi Feng)
 

Lyrics translation by renn at www.onehallyu.com

é’苔攀过了墙朽
æ•°ä¸å®Œè‹±é›„风æµ
她å«ç¬‘倚在æžå¤´

qÄ«ng tái pÄn guò le qiáng xiÇ”
shǔ bù wán yīng xióng fēng liú
tÄ hán xiào yÇ zài zhÄ« tóu

Moss has climbed over the decayed wall.
Countless heroes [are] distinguished and admirable in their achievements.
With a smile on her face, she leans against the branches.


庭院深烟é”é‡æ¥¼
å…³ä¸ä½å¹´åŽæœªé…¬
好儿郎断了红袖

tíng yuàn shÄ“n yÄn suÇ’ chóng lóu
guÄn bù zhù nián huá wèi chóu
hǎo ér láng duàn le hóng xiù

In the courtyard, deep mist locks^[1] the multi-storied building,
[but it] cannot keep caged the years that have yet to be realized.
The good young man's red sleeve^[2] has been severed.


梦里曾与你共画眉 看黄河东æµ
那淡淡一笑的温柔 也许ä¸è¶³å¤Ÿ

mèng lÇ céng yÇ” nÇ gòng huà méi / kàn huáng hé dÅng liú
nà dàn dàn yī xiào de wēn róu / yě xǔ bù zú gòu

In dreams [she] had once painted [her] eyebrows and watched the Yellow River flow eastward with you.
The gentleness of that one faint smile is, perhaps, not enough.


*
窗å‰é—»ç€æœ¨å…°é¦™
è°å®¶å¥³å­è¿˜äº†çº¢å¦†
风语é’ä¸èŠ±è½å¢™
等有心人抚伤

chuÄng qián wén zhe mù lán xiÄng
shéi jiÄ nÇš zÇ huán le hóng zhuÄng
fÄ“ng yÇ” qÄ«ng sÄ« huÄ luò qiáng
dÄ›ng yÇ’u xÄ«n rén fÇ” shÄng

Smelling the magnolia's fragrance in front of the window,
The daughter of which family has returned to the splendid attire of a woman?
The wind whispers [against] black strands of hair; the flowers fall [at the foot of] the wall,
Waiting for someone who notices to console the hurts.


**
窗å‰å®ˆç€æœ¨å…°é¦™
是戒ä¸æŽ‰ç›¸æ€å¾®å‡‰
别让花开独自香
有你的过往最难忘

chuÄng qián shÇ’u zhe mù lán xiÄng
shì jiè bù diào xiÄng sÄ« wÄ“i liáng
bié ràng huÄ kÄi dú zì xiÄng
yÇ’u nÇ de guò wÇŽng zuì nán wàng

Guarding the magnolia's fragrance in front of the window,
[it] is the lovesickness that cannot be quit [that is] slightly cool.
Don't let the flower bloom and be fragrant by itself.
The past with you is the most difficult to forget.


关山飞狼烟已休
饮一盅é’梅煮酒
苦寒åŽç”±å¥¹ç‹¬ç§€

guÄn shÄn fÄ“i láng yÄn yÇ xiÅ«
yÇn yÄ« zhÅng qÄ«ng méi zhÇ” jiÇ”
kÇ” hán hòu yóu tÄ dú xiù

Swiftly crossing the fortresses and the mountains as if flying^[3], the flames of war^[4] have already been put to rest.
Drink a cup of warm wine with green plums^[5].
After the bitter cold, she will be the one to stand above the crowd.


å年回壮士解胄
对镜贴黄花ä¾æ—§
为伊人西湖消瘦

shí nián huí zhuàng shì jiě zhòu
duì jìng tiÄ“ huáng huÄ yÄ« jiù
wèi yÄ« rén xÄ« hú xiÄo shòu

The warriors unbuckle their helmets and return home after ten years^[6].
Looking into the mirror, [she] pretties [herself] up^[7] as before.
For the person of her heart, [she] grows thin [like] the Slender West Lake^[8].


梦里åªä¸Žä½ å…±é•¿é†‰ 望穿过秋水
那淡淡一笑的温柔 也许ä¸è¶³å¤Ÿ

mèng lÇ zhÇ yÇ” nÇ gòng zhÇŽng zuì / wàng chuÄn guò qiÅ« shuÇ
nà dàn dàn yī xiào de wēn róu / yě xǔ bù zú gòu

In dreams, [she] only becomes deeply drunk and unwakeable together with you; [she] eagerly and impatiently looks forward [to it]^[9].
The gentleness of that one faint smile is, perhaps, not enough.


Repeat *
Repeat **
Repeat *
Repeat **



T/N:

[1] é”: I used the literal translation "lock" because it connects better with the next line. What this verb is meant to convey is that deep mist shrouds the building.

 

[2] While 儿郎 refers to a family's son/a young man/a soldier, 红袖 refers to the red sleeve of a woman. Mulan "severs her red sleeve" to become her "family's son" and join the army.

 

[3] 关山飞 is short for 关山度若飞, a phrase from the original poem/song (木兰诗) that told the story of Mulan, where 关 = fortress, 山 = mountain, 飞 = fly

[4] The meaning of 狼烟 (lit. wolf smoke) as "flames of war" is a metaphorical extension of its literal meaning, which is the smoke from burning wolf dung, which was used as a beacon of alarm by border guards.

[5] é’梅煮酒 comes from the Three Kingdoms era story of é’梅煮酒论英雄. Dong Cheng, Liu Bei, etc. were planning to form an alliance in order to get rid of Cao Cao. Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to drink wine with him, serving him a warm cup of wine and a plate set with green plums. So they drink and converse about "heroes": what makes a hero and who can be called a hero? Cao Cao gives Liu Bei a good fright when he concludes that "In this world, the only heroes are you and I".

[6] å年回壮士解胄 ties into another phrase from the original poem/song: 壮士åå¹´å½’. It is not literally ten years but rather a less specific "long period of time".

[7] 对镜贴黄花 is another phrase from the original poem/song, word for word. 贴黄花 (lit. stick yellow flower) was a popular "makeup" practice at the time where women would cut stars or moons or flowers from golden paper and stick it on their foreheads...or paint a yellow spot on their foreheads.

[8] 西湖消瘦 technically mentions the West Lake, a famous scenic lake in Hangzhou. But there is another 瘦西湖, or Slender West Lake, in Yangzhou, which is more of a widening in the river than a lake and hence looks very slender. It is implied that she grows thin from yearning/lovesickness.

[9] 望穿过秋水 comes from the idiom 望穿秋水 wherein 秋水 (autumn water) is a metaphor for eyes. It describes looking forward to something so much that even the eyes have been pierced from gazing so expectantly.