Shanghai Shores (A Translation)

上海滩 (黄沾）

    Shanghai Shores (James Wong) 

 

浪奔，

浪流，

万里滔滔江水永不休。

    They dash.

    They glide.

    Over ten thousand li rippling,

    The Yangtze water has never died.

 

淘尽了

世间事，

混作滔滔一片潮流。

    Every affair of the world it pans out and

    Into these waves it blends.

 

是喜，

是愁？

浪里分不清欢笑悲忧。

    Am I happy, or

    Am I sad?

    There's no telling from the waves.

 

成功，

失败。

浪里看不出有未有。

    Did I win, or

    Did I lose?

    There's no telling from the waves.

 

爱你恨你。

问君知否？

似大江一发不收。

    I have loved and hated you.

    O If you ever know!

    It's like the Yangtze water, once let loose,

    Turning-back is impossible.

 

转千湾，

转千滩。

亦未平复此中争斗。

    It has swirled over a thousand shores.

    It has swirled over a thousand bends.

    Yet it has never soothed the very strife within.

 

又有喜，

又有愁。

就算分不出欢笑悲忧。

 

仍愿翻，

百千浪。

在我心中起伏够。

    I am happy, and

    I am sad.

    Hard as it is to tell how this feels,

    By the hundreds and thousands I'll make them still, and

    Let the waves in my bosom rise and fall.

 

[I first heard the song as a boy from the TV series of the same title and have

loved it ever since. In college, I was so jealous when a classmate from Hainan

could sing it in Cantonese. No longer. I could do it after spending the whole

day on Jan 1, 2022, listening, drilling, and translating. Like other great 

works of human imagination, the song seems to have proved its staying power.]

 

[7grizzly]

回复 '土豆-禾苗' 的评论 : 哈哈，欢迎土豆兄！太会开玩笑啦 :-)))

[土豆-禾苗]

a，ni haihui zhongwen a，dadadi lihai。

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, 暖冬, for liking and your thoughts.
I am very happy to have bumped into the song.
I like both the 叶丽仪 and 刘德华 versions.
(BTW, I like my own version, too, if that doesn't sound hubristic :-)))

Indeed, I agree with you about the 80s even I felt nothing different at the time.
Looking back, I am amazed at my dumb luck!

[暖冬cool夏]

Great translation!
"I have loved and hated you.
O If you ever know!"-- A question mark is converted to an exclamation mark in the translation with a desired effect.
I like the original singer 叶丽仪's version the most-- very powerful!
1980s ushers in a historic turning era, the beginning of an open China. It opened our eyes, hearts and minds, and coming along are the revivals of vibrant arts and literature!
Thanks for sharing your English translation. I like it!