Sunday 31 December 2006

Jay Chou - Ju Hua Tai

菊花台 | Ju Hua Tai | Chrysanthemum Flower Bed


This song is the theme song of The Curse of the Golden Flower. The composition is sort of reflective and the lyrics are descriptive as expected from fang wen shan. Personally, I felt that this song is an excellent theme song of the movie. After watching the movie, I had a deeper appreciation of the song. The mood of the song is sad and reflective. Although there are 2nd person and 1st person elements inside the song, the song is predominantly 3rd person.


Technically, the song is not difficult to sing. The chinese instrumentation (gu zhen) contrasts really well with jay's voice and gives a chinese touch to the music. I especially liked the 'orchestral' introduction. However, as with all Jay's music, there is an obvious modulation at the end to create tension. I felt the modulation is too sudden creating a melodramatic effect (that is common in asian music).

Overall, I feel that the piece is well-composed and sung. I'll give it 8/10


曲:周杰倫
Qu : Zhou Jie Lun
Music: Jay Chou

詞:方文山
Ci: Fang Wen Shan
Lyrics: Vincent Fang

妳 的淚光 柔弱中帶傷
ni de lei guang rou ruan zhong dai shang
Your tears glistens with weakness admist the pain

慘白的月彎彎 勾住過往
can bai de yue wan wan gou zhu guo wang
The ghostly white curved moon hooks onto the past

夜 太漫長 凝結成了霜
ye tai man chang ning jie cheng le shuang
The night is too long and has crystallised into frost

是誰在閣樓上 冰冷的絕望
shi shui zai ge lou shang bing leng de jue wang
Who is in the attic [filled with] cold hopelessness

雨 輕輕彈 朱紅色的窗
yu qing qing tan zhu hong se de chuang
Rain gently bounces off vermillon window

我一生在紙上 被風吹亂
wo yi sheng zai zhi shang bei feng chui luan
I have (written) my life story on paper (only to be) blown into a mess by the winds

夢 在遠方 化成一縷香
meng zai yuan fang hua cheng yi lv xiang
The faraway dream has become really faint

隨風飄散 妳的模樣
sui feng piao shan ni de mo yang
The wind has dispersed the image of you

*菊花殘 滿地傷 妳的笑容已泛黃
ju hua chan man di shang ni de xiao rong yi fan huang
Chrysanthemum destroyed A whole floor of pain your smile has become faintly yellow

花落人斷腸 我心事靜靜躺
hua luo ren duan chang wo xin shi jin jin tang
People are heartbroken when the flower falls My thoughts lay quietly (aside)

北風亂 夜未央 妳的影子剪不斷
bei feng luan ye wei yang ni de ying zi jian bu duan
The north wind is chaotic the night is still young your shadows can’t be cut

徒留我孤單 在湖面 成雙*
tu liu wo gu dan zai hu mian cheng shuang
Just leaving me lonely doubled (when I stand) by the lake

花 已向晚 飄落了燦爛
hua yi xiang wan piao luo le can lan
The flower has already come late, drifting down brillantly

凋謝的世道上 命運不堪
diao xie de shi dao shang ming yun bu kan
the wilted morals an unbearable fate

愁 莫渡江 秋心拆兩半
chou muo du jiang qiu xin chai liang ban
(If you are) sad don’t cross the river worries broken into two

怕妳上不了岸 一輩子搖晃
pa ni shang bu liao an yi bei zi yao huang
In fear that you can’t get back on shore and will sway for a lifetime

誰 的江山 馬蹄聲狂亂
shui de jiang shan ma ti sheng guang luan
Chaotic sounds of horse hoofs (in) whose territory?

我一身的戎裝 呼嘯滄桑
wo yi shen de wu zhuang hu xiao cang sang
My armory shouts out the wear of time

天 微微亮 妳輕聲的嘆
tian wei wei liang ni qing sheng de tan
The sky is starting to light up your voice is sighing

一夜惆悵 如此委婉
yi ye chou chang ru ci wei wan
A night of disappointment is (said) in such a roundabout way

REPEAT**

Music Reviews

The Music of Mooty Cow aims to delve into the musical interests of Mooty Cow.
I will give reviews from time-to-time of all kinds of music from Contemporary to Medieval.