This is a really special project. I practiced my Mandarin-speaking skills to cover this song by the Chinese artist, step.jad. I left the studio with two different versions: one in its original Mandarin, and one in English with my take on translating the lyrics.

I definitely wanted to honour the original lyrics and find a way to tell a similar story in English. Translating word for word is often difficult especially when translating from Asian languages to English so it was necessary to take a step back and look at the bigger messages in the song overall.

Being lost, mixed signals, loss of control, vulnerability, etc. Once the themes of the song were established it was easier to figure out what needed to be said in each section.

Melodically the song is already so beautiful so I really wanted to make sure that the way the lyric sounded while being sung emphasized the melody rather than fighting it. Sometime, I thought I had the right word but it didn’t sing properly so it was important to listen with not just a poetic ear but a musical one.

Take a listen to both versions and let me know what you think.

-Theo