红尘客栈 ‘Red Dust Inn’ is included in the Taiwanese Mandopop artist 周杰伦 Zhou Jielun aka Jay Chou‘s latest album Opus 12, which was released on December 28th, 2012. This 中国风”Chinese-style” song is about a swordsman who pursued a reclusive lifestyle with his love but was eventually killed by the enemy.
Official Music Video:
Jay Chou’s performance of ‘Red Dust Inn’ at Jiangsu Satellite TV’s New Year’s Eve Gala on December 31st, 2012:
Composer: Zhou Jielun/Jay Chou
Lyrics: Fang Wenshan/Vincent Fang
Singer: Zhou Jielun/Jay Chou
Lyrics (Original Chinese, Pinyin Romanization, and English Translation):
VERSE #1:
天涯 的尽头是风沙
tiān yá de jìn tóu shì fēng shā
The other end of the world is windy and dusty红尘 的故事叫牵挂
hóng chén de gù shì jiào qiān guā
The story of red dust1 is called having someone in your heart封刀隐没在寻常人家 东篱下
fēng dào yǐn mò zài xún cháng rén jià dōng lí xià
Hung up my sword and hid myself in the home of an ordinary person, under the eastern fence2闲云 野鹤 古剎
xián yún yě hè gǔ chà
Floating clouds, wild cranes, old temples3
VERSE #2:快马 在江湖里厮杀
kuài mǎ zài jiāng hú lǐ sī shā
The swift horse, fighting in the chaotic world4无非 是名跟利放不下
wú fēi shì míng gēn lì fàng bú xià
only because I was unable to let go of fame and fortune心中有江山的人岂能快意潇洒
xīn zhōng yǒu jiāng shān de rén qǐ néng kuài yì xiāo sǎ
With the country in his heart, how can a man be truly carefree我只求与你共 华发
wǒ zhǐ qiú yǔ nǐ gòng huā fà
I only wish for our hair to turn gray together
CHORUS:剑出鞘 恩怨了 谁笑
jiàn chū qiào ēn yuàn liǎo shuí xiào
The sword unsheathed, feeling resentment, who is laughing?5我只求今朝 拥你入 怀抱
wǒ zhǐ qiú jīn zhāo yōng nǐ rù huái bào
I only wish to have you in my arms today红尘客栈 风似刀 骤雨落 宿命敲
hóng chén kè zhān fēng sì dāo zhòu yǔ luò sù mìng qiāo
Red Dust Inn, the wind cutting like knives, the rain falling, fate knocking任武林谁领风骚我却 只为你 折腰
rèn wǔ lín shuí lǐng fēng sāo wǒ què zhǐ wèi nǐ zhé yāo
I don’t care who takes the lead in the world of martial arts, I only bend my back for you6过荒村野桥 寻世外 古道
guò huāng cūn yě qiáo xún shì wài gǔ dào
(We) would pass by the deserted villages and untrodden bridges, (we would) look for the roads not taken远离人间尘嚣 柳絮飘执子之手逍遥
yuǎn lí rén jiān chén xiāo liǔ xù piāo zhí zǐ zhī shǒu xiāo yáo
Far away from the bustling mortal world, catkins floating in the air, hand in hand, free and unfettered
VERSE #3:檐下 窗棂斜映枝桠
yán xià chuāng líng xié yìng zhī yá
Under the eaves, the twigs slant across the lattice window与你 席地对座饮茶
yǔ nǐ xí dì duì zuò yǐn chá
We sit on the ground sipping tea我以工笔画将你牢牢 的记下
wǒ yǐ gōng bǐ huà jiāng nǐ láo láo de jì xià
I use Gongbi painting to etch you in my heart7提笔 不为风雅
tí bǐ bú wèi fēng yǎ
I put pen to paper, but not for literary pursuits
VERSE #4:灯下 叹红颜近晚霞
dēng xià tàn hóng yán jìn wǎn xiá
Under the light, your blushing face is like the sunset’s glow我说缘份 一如参禅不说话
wǒ shuō yuán fèn yì rú cān chán bù shuō huà
I remark that chance (comes) is like practicing Zen meditation, without saying a word8你泪如梨花洒满了纸上的天下
nǐ lèi rú lí huā sǎ mǎn le zhǐ shàng de tiān xià
Your tears like pear blossoms sprinkled across the world on the paper [meaning painting and writing]爱恨如写意 山水画
ài hèn rú xiě yì shān shuǐ huà
Love and hate are like the Xieyi landscape painting9
CHORUS任武林谁领风骚我却 只为你 折腰
rèn wǔ lín shuí lǐng fēng sāo wǒ què zhǐ wèi nǐ zhé yāo
I don’t care who takes the lead in the world of martial arts, I only bend my back for you你回眸多娇 我泪中 带笑
nǐ huí móu duō jiāo wǒ lèi zhōng dài xiào
How beautiful you were glancing back, I smiled through tears酒招旗风中萧萧 剑出鞘 恩怨了
jiǔ zhāo qí fēng zhōng xiāo xiāo jiàn chū qiào ēn yuàn liǎo
The wine inn’s flag fluttered in the wind, the sword unsheathed, feeling resentment
Footnotes:
- ^ A figurative term referring to “the world of mortals”.
- ^ “Under the eastern fence” is quoted from the poem “Drinking Wine” by Tao Yuanming (365–427) of the Jin Dynasty: “I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern fence / And serenely I gaze at the southern mountains”. This poem is famous for the pursuit of a reclusive lifestyle.
- ^ Images associated with that reclusive lifestyle.
- ^ “The swift horse” is a synecdoche. It’s hard to translate the word 江湖 (jiāng hú) “rivers and lakes”——a figurative term often used to refer to a chaotic world of unpredictable changes.
- ^ 恩怨 (ēn yuàn) literally means “gratitude and resentment”, but this term often means “resentment”.
- ^ 折腰 (zhé yāo) “bend my back, bow” alludes to the anecdote that Tao Yuanming would not “bow like a servant in return for five bushels of grain”.
- ^ 工笔 (gōng bǐ) Gongbi is a realistic technique Chinese painting.
- ^ “Chance” refers to the possibility of two people encountering each other——in this case, the possibility of meeting one’s soul mate.
- ^ 写意 (xiě yì) Xieyi is an interpretive and freely expressive Chinese painting style, the opposite of Gongbi.
