改變自己

I am posting one of my absolute FAVORITE Taiwanese songs here! It is called, "改變自己," or "Change Me," by 王力宏 (Wang Li Hong). I translated the lyrics from Chinese to English myself... it doesn't sound quite as good in English, but I think it still gets the message across... a little bit of change can go a long way, and if we each try a little to improve ourselves, together, we can make a change in this world for the better. I think it is an awesome song. Here are the Chinese and English lyrics, as well as a link to the youtube music video!

Click here to see the music video!

改變自己
詞曲:王力宏

今早起床了
看鏡子裡的我
忽然發現我的髮型睡的有點KUSO
一點點改變
有很大的差別
你我的力量也能改變世界

最近比較煩
最近情緒很Down
每天看新聞都會很想大聲尖叫
但髒話沒用
大家只會嫌兇
我改變自己發現大有不同
新一代的朋友我們
好好的加油
大家一起大聲說
Na Na Na Na Na~

我可以改變世界
改變自己 改變龜毛 改變小氣
要一直 努力努力 永不放棄
才可以 改變世界
C'mon 改變自己

今早起床了
覺得頭有點痛
可能是二氧化碳太多 氧氣不夠
一點點改變
有很大的差別
你我的熱情也能改變世界

只能代表自己
沒有政治立場
即使這世界讓我看得十分緊張
要調整自己
恩~
沒想到一點就能 畫龍點睛


English translation:

“Change Me”

by Wang Li Hong

Today when I got out of bed

I saw myself in the mirror

And suddenly discovered that when I slept my hairdo got a little funny

A little bit of change

Makes a lot of difference

Together, our strength can also change the world

Recently times have been bad

Recently my feelings have been down

Every day when I watch the news I feel like screeching out loud

But bad language doesn’t have a use

Everyone only criticizes

I changed myself and discovered that I became totally different

The new generation’s people

We must work harder

Everybody shout together

Na Na Na Na Na~

I can change the world

Change myself, change my perfectionism, change my stinginess,

Must continuously strive and never give up

In order to change the world

C’mon, change yourself

Today when I got out of bed

My head was in a little bit of pain

It was probably too much carbon dioxide, not enough oxygen

A little bit of change

Makes a big difference

Our passion can also change the world

We are obligated to represent ourselves

There is no political position

Even if this world makes me completely anxious

You have to revise yourself

Yeah~

You never thought that a little bit change could make such a difference.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I find Wang Li-Hong especially amazing because like me, he is an American-born Taiwanese (aka ABC). Although he was fluent in Taiwanese since a young child, he did not begin learning Mandarin until he was 18 (last year I could not tell from his singing voice that he is an ABC, but I can tell the difference now... I think his dancing style is also much more Western). He was a musical prodigy and attended Williams College to pursue music academically. He signed his first record label in Taiwan while visiting relatives in 1995, and this particular song (改變自己) came out July 13, 2007. Wang Li-Hong is a great inspiration because he began learning Mandarin so late in life, and now, he is completely fluent, writes his own songs, and is one of the big singing stars all throughout Asia. The fact that he started studying Chinese so late in life ~ and is still so successful ~ gives me much motivation to study hard while I am here!