今天不回家 - 姚苏蓉

[Thime]

大家好! ?

I discovered this song of Yao Surong (see here for the lyrics) and I’m trying to translate it, but I have some doubts about the meaning.

I know the songs’ lyrics, like poems, are difficult to interpret, but I would be happy if you can help me a bit to resolve my doubts anyway.

1- The subject is implied, but I think it’s 我 , right?

2- At some point, in the lyrics you can read: 今天 不 回家, 为什么 你 不 回家? I do not understand who is asking the question. The girl who is not coming home or someone else?

3- I read that the title of the album was changed from 今天 不 回家 to 今天 要 回家, because the Chinese government of those years considered the first title inappropriate. So I suppose the original title perhaps suggests something immoral. A form of youth rebellion? A young woman who does not want to go home is not a good example. Is there more?

 

预谢你们的回答!

[edelweis]

I think the subject is 你 and the full song is from the 我 point of view. So the singer feels abandoned.

 

[Thime]

Hello @edelweis, thanks for the reply.
I'm a bit confused. If the subject is 你, why does the singer (我) feel abandoned?
Actually, I discovered this song while brushing up on Chinese on Duolingo. There, the title had been translated as "I'm not coming home today" 

 

Does anyone know the reason for the censorship of the title?

 

[edelweis]

Sorry, I meant I think  你 is the subject of the phrase 今天 不 回家, so the singer is abandoned by a husband who goes back to an old lover. This is my understanding.

[Thime]

Ok, I got it. Your interpretation looks to me plausible. Thanks again.

 

If someone else has different hypotheses, let me know. Don't be shy or lazy and answer this topic 

[Thime]

I'm still waiting for other opinions 

[Publius]

I think a plot summary of the original film will help you understand the lyrics.

 

The subject of the sentence is "You" (referring to three different persons in the film: 徘徊的人/徬徨的心/迷失在十字街頭的你 => 張珍珍 a runaway high school girl; 往事如煙/愛情如謎/迷失在舊日情愛的你 => 華成 a newlywed husband whose old lover just returned from abroad; 朦朧的月/暗淡的星/迷失在煙霧夢境的你 => 洪敬德 a middle-aged man who dreads going home after work).

 

As to who is asking the question, well, it could be the song writer, the collective audience, the inner voice of the characters, a concerned citizen, or God. It doesn't matter. The moral of the story (as is customary in China, there is always one) is: Everybody should return home.

 

It was before my time, but I think it is terrible as a song, objectively, by the way.