永远不会嫁给你啦

Tonight I recorded a cover of a song called 明天我要嫁给你 (Ming Tian Wo Yao Jia Gei Ni) by 周华健 (Emil Chau). 

Lyrics:

秒针分针滴答滴答在心中
miao zhong fen zhen di da di da zai xin zhong
我的眼光闪烁闪烁好空洞
wo de yan guang shan shuo shan shuo hao kong dong
我的心跳扑通扑通地阵阵悸动
wo de xin tiao pu tong putong de zhen zhen ji dong

我问自己要你爱你有多浓
wo wen zi ji yao ni ai ni you duo nong
我要和你双宿双飞多冲动
Wo yao he ni shuang shu shuang fei duo chong dong
我的内心忽上忽下地阵阵悸动呜...
wo de nei xin hu shang hu xia de zhen zhen ji dong

明天我要嫁给你啦
ming tian wo yao jia gei ni la
明天我要嫁给你啦
ming tian wo yao jia gei ni la
要不是每天的交通烦扰着我所有的梦
yao bu shi mei tian de jiao tong fan rao zhe wo shuo you de meng
(要不是停电那一夜才发现我寂寞空洞)
(yao bu shi ting dian na yi ye cai fa xian wo ji mo kong dong)

明天我要嫁给你啦
ming tian wo yao jia gei ni la
明天我要(终于)嫁给你啦
ming tian wo yao (zhong yu) jia gei ni la
要不是你问我
yao bu shi ni wen wo
要不是你劝我
yao bu shi ni quan wo
要不是适当的时候你让我心动
yao bu shi shi dang de shi hou ni rang wo xin dong
(可是我就在这时候害怕惶恐)
(ke shi wo jiu zai zhe shi hou hai pa huang kong)

Here's somebody's somewhat clumsy translation, a shame because the words are actually kind of pretty:

Second hand minute hand 'didadida' in heart
My eyes gleam blinking so emptily
My heartbeat 'putongputong' rhythmically beat
I ask myself want you love you how deeply
I want to live and endeavour with you how recklessly fast
My heart goes up and down rhythmically pulsing

Tomorrow I'm marrying you
Tomorrow I'm marrying you
If it isn't everyday traffic bothers all of my dreams
(If it isn't the night that blackout only discover my empty loneliness)
Tomorrow I'm marrying you
Tomorrow I'm (finally) marrying you
If it's not you propose to me
If it's not you advise me
If it's not the suitable time you moved my heart
(But I'm just at this moment terrified)

But can you blame the translator for not capturing it? The languages are so different. The translator renders the title phrase "明天我要嫁给你啦" as "Tomorrow I'm marrying you." In English it is eight syllables as it is in Chinese. But there is no poetry in the English sounds - you get the unattractive rhotic right away in the second syllable and again in the fifth, and "I'm" vivisects the rhythm of the phrase.  In Chinese, you get three pleasing trochees and an iamb, which track the simple 4/4 time signature of the music behind the words. Listen to that triphthong on the upbeat: woh-ya-oo. Feel the way the phrase moves from sounds at the front of your mouth to your throat to your teeth to throat to teeth to tongue.

There's no poetry in the English words, either. "Tomorrow I'm marrying you" is a literal translation of what the singer is saying, but it sounds embarrassingly direct compared to the original, like the one-year-later sequel to the future tense verb conjugation lesson that is Enrique Iglesias's obscene little hit "Tonight I'm Fucking You" (or the radio-friendly "Tonight I'm Luvving You"), the others in the series being "Yesterday I Got You Pregnant" and "Next Year I Will Have Divorced You" and "Forever I Will Be Having Deep Regrets."

Here's my translation:

You meet a small, cute, mean, brilliant, sexy, psychotic Chinese-American gal who writes like a champion, reads for pleasure, and makes quiet, precise observations about the world through her corrective lenses. What do you do? 

CALL THE POLICE!!!! 救命!!

I posted to YouTube since I don't have audio hosting. The image in the background is Ivan Aivazovsky's "The Ninth Wave." It came through the Guggenheim in late 2005, just as I was meeting the first of it turns out several small cute mean brilliant sexy psychotic Chinese-American etceteras I'd get to know. Another sexy etcetera introduced me to this song in 2009.