Stories of our Youthful Days
《光阴的故事》 is a folk song with lyrics and music penned by songwriter Tayu Lo (罗大佑), and it was first recorded by Sylvia Chang (张艾嘉) in 1981. This song is a track on her album 《童年》 (Childhood). While the title song 童年 of the album is confined to singing about “childhood,” 光阴的故事 is about the passage of time through one’s youthful days.
The songwriting style of 光阴的故事, much like 童年, is distinct from that of many other songs; it lacks a traditional build-up — so one may feel either that there is no climax, or that the entire song is a climax.
Particular to 光阴的故事, the lyrical structure is unique in that only two specific elements are changed at the end of each verse. For example, the line 流水它带走光阴的故事, translated as “Days of our youth and stories of our time,” is repeated as the second-last line in each verse, followed by 改变了我 (“changed me”) in the first verse, 改变了两个人 (“changed the two of us”) in the second verse, and 改变了我们 (“change much of our...”), implying more than just two people. Each verse then ends with 的青春 (translated as “youthful days”).
The repetitive nature of the lyrics does not weaken but instead strengthens the sense of imagery. Being immersed in the lyrics makes one feel that time is truly slipping away, bit by bit.
I hope the translated English lyrics convey that same feeling as the Mandarin lyrics.
This English lyric is singable to the original melody.
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The flowers of spring, the autumn winds
and the setting sun of winter
春天的花开秋天的风以及冬天的落阳
Restless days of youth when I was naive,
and my thinking was so simple
忧郁的青春年少的我曾经无知的这么想
As time passes by with the four seasons,
I would hum with laughter
光阴它带走四季的歌里我轻轻的悠唱
Through the verses of romance and love
year by year, I would grow older
风花雪月的诗句里我在年年的成长
Days of our youth and stories of our time,
change me in many ways
流水它带走光阴的故事改变了一个人
Such sappy dreamy moments
see me through all those youthful days
就在那多愁善感而初次等待的青春
A few pale photos, some old letters
and a few faded greeting cards
发黄的相片古老的信以及褪色的圣诞卡
A song I've written just for us that
you don't recall or you discard
年轻时为你写的歌恐怕你早已忘了吧
The promises of days now gone by
are just like colourful bookmarks
过去的誓言就像那课本里缤纷的书签
Many nice love lines I crafted,
soon they disappear in the dark
刻划着多少美丽的诗可是终究是一阵烟
Days of our youth and stories of our time,
change two of us in a craze
流水它带走光阴的故事改变了两个人
In tender moments, I shed
the very first tears of my youthful days
就在那多愁善感而初次流泪的青春
The road traveled with our dreams
and laughter echoing in the distance
遥远的路程昨日的梦以及远去的笑声
When we meet again we would share
tales of all our new experience
再次的见面我们又历经了多少的路程
No longer are you the same old you
with your new dreams and new insights
不再是旧日熟悉的你有着旧日狂热的梦
Nor am I smiling like you once knew,
in all of your life's delight
也不是旧日熟悉的我有着依然的笑容
Days of our youth and stories of our time,
change much of our old grace
流水它带走光阴的故事改变了我们
As we relive those happy moments
we miss our youthful days
就在那多愁善感而初次回忆的青春
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