Help With Song Lyrics

[Insectosaurus]

Lately I've ventured into Chinese music and I've been trying to understand the lyrics of each song I listen to. I have not been translating (i.e. writing down the lyrics in English) but I have been actively trying to understand everything). Now and then I run into stuff I don't understand, no matter how much I try. Having checked with roddy I'm starting this thread to seek out help continuously. Other members would be more than welcome to post their own questions as well!

 

As well all know, song lyrics can sometimes be quite oblique, please note that my questions are not necessarily as to what they "mean", but rather what they "say", quite directly.

 

If other members do loan this thread, please show us what you have understood so far, to avoid other users doing unnecessary work, and to show that you have tried to understand it yourself before you're posting.

 

Song 1

 

There are two lines I've been wrestling with for months. It's from the song 走建國路回家但後座少ㄌ泥. The lyrics in their entirety can be found here, if more context is needed. 

 

Line 1

 

知道妳喜歡自由, 不會去管你太多就算妳說上台要脫

 

If you like freedom, I won't bother you too much, even if... What?

 

Line 2

 

在腳踏墊上數著拍

 

Counting the beat on the doormat? I feel like there's something I'm missing here.

[feihong]

知道妳喜歡自由, 不會去管你太多就算妳說上台要脫

 

I know you like freedom, I wouldn't try to control you much, even if you go on stage and strip

 

在腳踏墊上數著拍

 

On the doormat counting beats

 

Maybe it's a reference to dancing on the doormat

[Insectosaurus]

I've run into some problems with the following verse, from 鸽子 by 宋冬野.

 

明天冰雪封山的时候 我也光着双脚
站在你翻山越岭的尽头 正当年少
两千个秘密 没人知道

 

It's the bold part that trips me up. I'm standing barefoot at the end of your journey, and the what? What does 正当年少 mean in this context?

[EnergyReaper]

On 7/29/2022 at 12:08 AM, Insectosaurus said:

What does 正当年少 mean in this context?

It literally means he is still young.

There are two lines before this one: 

昨天我数到第二十五颗星星
在北京第二十五个秋天的夜晚

He was 25 years old when he wrote the song.

[Babylon]

"走建國路" is a song concerned with lovelorn, I guess that the reason for breaking up is from lacking money.
So it has the lyric "快乐到底去哪里买 到你爱的古着店看 情绪却在门口打转 怎麽会这么难", that means the leading male role has no enough money for her girlfriend on shopping.
"就算你说上台要脱" indicates that his girlfriend needs selling her dignity, stripping to earn money.
At last the "快乐根本就不用买 在脚踏垫上数着拍 也没再那么想不开 好想要变简单" says that he was standing alone at the doormat of that antique shop(古着店), relieved himself, has given up this love relationship beyond his ability. furthermore he is a musician, so he counting beats to create a song for this vanishing love. "就算这样还是写了一首破烂的歌".

[Insectosaurus]

Did not see your reply at first @Babylon , thank you!

 

 I have a new question regarding a verse from this song by Accusefive.

 

我們都在愛裡面找答案
是非成敗謊言面對糾纏
時晴時雨 靈魂的一半
擁抱自我還容易簡單

 

This is my understanding of it. Note that the translation is just for my own understanding, my English is far from perfect and might in itself contain errors.

 

我們都在愛裡面找答案

We both search for answers in love.

是非成敗謊言面對糾纏

(No matter if) right or wrong, winning or losing; lies will always bring conflict.
時晴時雨 靈魂的一半

Sometimes sun, sometimes rain. One half of the soul.
擁抱自我還容易簡單

Embracing yourself is easy.

 

The second line is what's causing me the most trouble and I'm probably quite far off the target, perhaps the parsing is it itself wrong. And perhaps lying doesn't cause conflict, but rather that they are dealing with conflicts by lying? As in: "No matter if we're right or wrong, we always deal with conflicts by lying."

 

And for the third line, is the line somewhat obscure (as this band sometimes tends to be), or am I missing an obvious connection between difference clauses?