Rock School: Between the Mountains and the Sea by Chunqiu

OK I admit… i have slacked a bit in my whole Chinese lyrics section but blame my work at the Leading English Language media company in Beijing for that… or blame my little local bar.. either ways, i didn’t really stick with the program but it’s not cancelled, not by far!

So, last week, i got the opportunity to sneak away and catch the return of ChunQiu ( Spring Autumn) at Mao livehouse, albeit with a new singer. Cool little gig that will be reviewed soon hopefully but in the meantime, here is a little song by the band that I do like. It’s the perfect sing-along at their show and hopefully some folks in Germany can stumble upon this before they watch them live at Wacken..

So press play and follow:
Note: don’t forget to actually watch the video for the part where a very special guest makes it onstage!!!

Between the Mountains and the Sea – Spring Autumn
山海间 春秋乐队

呼唤着山
hū huàn zhe shān
Calling out to the mountains

我的声音总被风打断
wǒ de shēng yīn zǒng bèi fēng dǎ duàn
My call is always broken off by the wind

十方无应对
shí fāng wú yìng duì
No from either 10 directions

孤意入顽空
gū yì rù wán kōng
Entering into emptiness

CHORUS:

伊哟伊哟
yī yo yī yo
Yi yo Yi yo

梦醒仍然在梦中
mèng xǐng réng rán zài mèng zhōng
Waking up from a dream inside my dream

呼唤着海
hū huàn zhe hǎi
Calling out to the sea

我的声音总被浪排穿
wǒ de shēng yīn zǒng bèi làng pái chuān
My call is overshadowed by the sound of the waves (?)

漫漫浮世途
màn màn fú shì tú
MIndlessly floating through the world

长歌送悲欢
cháng gē sòng bēi huān
Long songs about joy and sorrow

CHORUS

让我的心池明镜再打开
ràng wǒ de xīn chí míng jìng zài dǎ kāi
Let my (?) heart open up again

我期待这一瞬间
wǒ qī dài zhē yī shùn jiān
I look forward to the moment

那会是灵感喷洒的夜晚
Nà huì shì línggǎn pēnsǎ de yèwǎn
where inspiration comes out of the sparking night

泛音化尽痛苦与悲伤
fàn yīn huà jìn tòng kǔ yǔ bēi shāng
Chants of Pain and Sorrow (?)

聆听自己的脉络与心弦
líng tīng zì jǐ de mài luō yǔ xīn xián
Listing to my desires and the voice of my heart

我在山海间坐忘
wǒ zài shān hǎi jiān zuò wàng
I sit in the oblivion between the mountains and the sea

感受这宽广的时空与所爱
gǎn shòu zhè kuān guǎng de shí kōng yǔ suǒ ài
feeling this broad space/time and all the love

无论哪方会是真的彼岸
wú lùn nǎ fāng huì shì zhēn de bǐ àn
Regardless of which direction is the real other side (?)

man.. that is some poetic shit.. there were some really weird things going on in this song about void, emptiness, sadness and what not. Still, despite the gloom, it’s got a real sense of hope about it.
与 is the first character that jumps out at me in this song.. it’s one that i seldom use and true to form, has a whole bunch of potential meanings. Here, more often than not, it’s used as “with” or “and”
间 (jiān) is also one of those simple ones that i personally never use, at least not in the way it’s been thrown around in the song. I would usually say 山海的中间 thus wasting valuable characters in my weibo stream.
顽空 in the first verse i had to more or less guess because i couldn’t quite find anything similar in the dictionaries. That said, void/emptiness make sense in that context.
Another one that i just don’t get, not even with translating, is 心池明镜(xīn chí míng jìng).. roughly translated as Heart Mirror Pool. Knowing how the band started, I’m sure they’re referencing some long lost poems from the Spring Autumn era or other sophisticated stuff that this ignoramus is not privy too.

Other than that, really, the song felt straight forward. I’m not sure i’m gonna really remember this one easily but I’ll try my best. So, for you sinophiles, did i get it right?