摩托車日記   Motorcycle Diary

曲：怪獸　詞：阿信
Music by Monster, Lyrics by Ashin

 

Crossing South America, 12,000 miles of poverty I ride, outrageously arrogant, on an impulse Vast and boundless earth, but I can’t grow a dream I can only see the countless hungry children and hopeless tenant farmers Ah, who is waiting for a hero Ah, with my revolver I take aim at the heartless sky Who’s willing to come with me, to create a legend together Do you still dream?  Are you still crazy? Do you still have the old romanticism? Who’s willing to come with me, to create a legend together Even if someone can eliminate me They still cannot seize our freedom to dream In a thousand years, a rainbow hasn’t appeared in the Indies’ skies Unemployed, old people are playing the banjo Who is sleeping in the streets, and who lives in a royal palace The diary is full of dreams, I decide to use this life to recite them Ah, who cares to shout for freedom Ah, I use my life to challenge the predestined universe

橫越過南美洲一萬兩千里的貧窮 我騎著　狂妄的　一股衝動 無垠的大地　種不出一個夢 只看到　那無數的　飢餓的孩子　和　絕望佃農 嗚　誰在等待英雄 嗚　我把左輪瞄準無情天空 誰願意和我　一起寫一個傳說 你還夢不夢　瘋不瘋 還有沒有當初　浪漫溫柔 誰願意和我　一起寫一個傳說 就算誰能　消滅了我 卻奪不走我們　作夢的自由 印地斯的天空　千年沒有出現彩虹 失業的　老人在　彈著斑鳩 誰露宿在街頭　誰卻住在皇宮 日記上　寫滿了夢想　我決定要用　這一生背誦 嗚　誰在呼喊自由 嗚　我用生命挑戰宿命宇宙

Language: Mandarin
Copyright 2006 by Rock Records, Believe in Music
Translated by M. Oyen
 

Notes:  Quite obviously, this song is based on the highly romanticized version of the life of Che Guevara presented in the book and film, the Motorcycle Diaries.  This telling seems to latch on to the lofty ideals and principles, ignoring all those pesky summary executions that are also a part of Guevara’s revolutionary past.  I've gotten over the politics here, but I will note that I still find it odd that a Chinese language song idolizing a communist hero was 1. written by a band from Taiwan and 2. on the same album as a track about Mickey Mouse.  Arguably, both the Cult of Che and the Disney icon are examples of the wonders of 20th century capitalism, though, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

More to the point of the translation, once I heard the song, I realized that old people are most likely playing the banjo, not doing anything cruel or unusual to turtledoves, so the translation has been updated accordingly.