Your favourite Chinese songs (Cantonese songs are counted)

[Kenny同志]

It should be interesting to see which Chinese songs each one of us loves best.

My favourite is 王馨平's 別問我是誰.

Please share yours.

Youku link: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTYwNjU4Njg0.html

[Meng Lelan]

Heh, my favorite was 家在東北. It was posted here a long time ago and it was so quirky. I don't enjoy the mushy songs but I do enjoy the wild and wacky songs. Also 中國話 by S.H.E. that was high in the wild and wacky category too.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for sharing, 老孟! We seem to have very different tastes. hehe

[Meng Lelan]

I know, we do, I thought that was quite funny, too. Hope to see what the forumers bring up here!

[Kenny同志]

Sadly, nobody else seems to be interested.

[Meng Lelan]

Maybe because everyone is so busy studying? :-)

[Kenny同志]

Well, maybe.

[Kobo-Daishi]

I suppose being from non-Chinese environments, most of us have not been exposed to much, if any, Chinese music.

I had downloaded a ton of Chinese music, but. because of a catastrophic hard disk failure lost all of them. I haven't gotten around to rebuilding my collection. I'm still on the Beatles, the Stones, The Who and Zeppelin.

Yes, Kobo is still bitter.

I'll get around to the Chinese stuff, eventually. ;-0

I don't really have a particular favorite song, Chinese or otherwise, but I quite like these.

Dong Fang Hong. Only if it's a good version.

Maybe a little too political for some people.

Here are some innocuous, but, quite enjoyable to listen to songs.

晚風 by 伍佰

There was a better clip of the original version but it seems they've taken it down. Here's a live version as well.

晚風 by 葉蒨文 Sally Yeh

Both in Mandarin and Cantonese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HdcjUrenyA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQxiltu7zLM

麥兜與雞 The McDull song based around something by Schubert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hTtVm2OUFs

It's a karaoke version that is in Cantonese. There's also a rather raunchy parody version floating around the internet. Hilarious.

You said Cantonese is okay, but, what about Hakka?

泥水妹 by 邱清云

Or as I like to call it, Muddy Water Hakka Girl. ;-)

It's another karaoke video, but, it doesn't include all the little bits of patter between the lead singer and his backup girls, which is hilarious as well. Where he says they're lazy and they say they're working themselves to death and him not helping.

When I first heard the song and hadn't seen the video, I envisioned it as a stage act with the girls talking back at him, kind of like the old Tony Orlando and Dawn Show.

夜上海 by 周璇.

Notice the use of the variant 亱 for 夜.

I remember when I first saw this video, years ago, asking a co-worker, an ethnic Chinese woman from Vietnam what the character was. Thinking I had her stumped.

Before I was half-way through writing it out. She said it was the character for "night", but, that I was writing it incorrectly.

This amazed me because how did she know it was "ye" and how did she know it was incorrect. I was totally flabbergasted. After more than 30 years of studying Chinese, I wouldn't have known it. Sure I knew it from the video since I knew what I was searching for and the YouTube title and in context.

But here I was writing a character in isolation and she knew it.

Note the other variants used in the video. And this was before the founding of the People's Republic and script reform. When there was still a decadent Shanghai night life.

For the lyrics to the song here's another video.

It also tells the sad life of the singer as well as the actress in this fan cobbled video.

I'll post more when I get to downloading Chinese songs again.

Kobo.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for sharing, 大師.

[adamnhms]

'Kenneth在哪里' by 吾肯尼 is a good one

[Ruben von Zwack]

Sadly, nobody else seems to be interested.

Oh no! Sorry you had this impression. Actually I read this topic already days ago, because I love music in general and listen to Chinese music daily. Why I didn't contribute was just because I love so many songs and many have a special meaning to me, I wouldn't know which one to choose.

But as "wild and wacky" was already mentioned - back then when I was studying Japanese and Chinese, I knew I couldn't carry on both, and was torn which language to pursue and which to give up.

I admire Japanese art very much, and Japanese classical music. But, I don't know why, Japanese contemporary music is just not for me, and Chinese pop music was unknown to me. Then, by some accident, I discovered Jay Chou, and thought, "OMG, who would have thought the Chinese are wild and wacky?" and the decision to let Japanese rest and carry on with Chinese was easy. And I haven't regretted it since!

I wish I could say that first song by Jay Chou was a beautiful 中國風 piece and full of classical references, but it was "牛仔很忙" It's wacky, that's for sure

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for sharing, Ruben同志. I really appreciate it.

[Kobo-Daishi]

早知道 by 野孩子

http://www.tudou.com...iew/NjgJAqgfrp4

Kobo.

[Kenny同志]

Oh, if my judgement is correct, this must be a folk song. Thanks for sharing again, 大師.

[Meng Lelan]

I wish I could say that first song by Jay Chou was a beautiful 中國風 piece and full of classical references, but it was "牛仔很忙" It's wacky, that's for sure

Thanks for sharing that one....I didn't know about that one, I will have to take a listen when I do get some time from studying and working out!

[Demonic_Duck]

早知道 by 野孩子

http://www.tudou.com...iew/NjgJAqgfrp4

Kobo.

I like this a lot. Found lyrics here:

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/139178960

Is it just colloquial putonghua or some closely-related dialect? Also what is the exact meaning of 早知道 in this context?

[Kelby]

情非得已 is the first song I ever learned and is my KTV go to

Anything by Wang Lee Hum is can also be included. Dude's got a voice like an angel.

[Kelby]

Just saw Cantonese is game, so I'll add 陈奕迅, 浮夸

[Kobo-Daishi]

A movie soundtrack song.

天上没有乌云盖 by 凌波 (Ivy Ling Po?).

I didn't know she sang the song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_Ling_Po

This song closes the movie "Just Another Pandora's Box".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Another_Pandora%27s_Box

Kobo.

[Kobo-Daishi]

In keeping with the soundtrack theme...

The opening and closing themes to Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer, 少林足球.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaolin_Soccer

http://www.1ting.com/album/6f/album_18863.html

Click on "opening" and "closing" to hear it. The same song but what the hey.

I seem to remember the tune from somewhere, but, for the life of me I can't place it. A western song? It's an instrumental.

Kobo.