#Song Dongye

[fwoopersongs]

安和桥 - Anhe Bridge

Let me look at you again, from South to North. It’s as if the Fifth Ring Road has clouded my eyes. [1] Please tell me the story again about that day, the young lady carrying the box, and the man wiping off his sweat.

I know. Those Summer days, like our youth, are never coming back; what takes the place of dreams can only be life’s struggles and discontent [2].

I know. All that horn tooting, along with our youth, will be laughed away, leaving me trapped in the city, memorializing you [3].

Let me have a taste again - of that Autumn wine; Just keep driving straight Southwards, it won’t take too long. Let me hear it again - that most beautiful greeting of all, “Oh, you’re home [4]. I’ve been waiting for you.”

I know. Those Summer days, like our youth, are never coming back; what takes the place of dreams can only be life’s struggles and discontent.

I know. All that horn tooting, along with our youth, will be laughed away, leaving me trapped in the city, memorializing you.

I know. Those Summer days, like you, can never come back. I will never again feel this for anyone - this heartfelt excitement [5].

I know. In this world, each and every day brings too many regrets. So, hello (goodbye.) [6]

............................................................................................

I love this song a lot.

Someday in mid ‘23, we were sharing favorite songs and others with interesting lyrics in a group chat, and a friend dropped this link to 安和桥 (this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-I94YpUo4). I was listening to it and enjoying the cute drums and nostalgic lyrics, when suddenly, the first 让我困在城市里 纪念你 came up, leaving me ???? The bridge music coming in a few lines later made me cry rivers lol (I’d put two and two together with the album art - below - and the lyrics). 安和桥 has been added to my list of songs to loop ever since. 

A few months back A. (halfxin) used Anhe Bridge in a fanvid for Qihun for an event we took part in, and it reawakened something in me for this song again :D So, here we are.

[1] 让我再看你一遍 从南到北 / 像是被五环路蒙住的双眼 Let me look at you again, from South to North. / It’s as if the Fifth Ring Road has clouded my eyes.

Trying to understand this line, I looked up Song Dongye, who is both singer and songwriter. It’s the 11th song in his 2013 album, North of Anhe Bridge. There is an interview of his online with 凤凰网文化 (lit. Fenghuang Web Culture). The relevant part is translated below.

Song Dongye at his home which used to be at Anhe Bridge.

Fenghuang Web Culture: You have a song named ‘Anhe Bridge’, and the name of your album this time is ‘North of Anhe Bridge’. You've also said before that ‘Anhe Bridge is just a bridge, but she’s given me the most precious gift in my life’. What exactly is the significance of Anhe Bridge to you?

Song Dongye: I was born near Anhe Bridge. Nearly all of my childhood and teenage years were spent there. Afterwards, my grandmother came to live there, and whenever I was unhappy, I’d run back, play the guitar and sing by the river, and eat the meals my grandmother cooked. Later, the people of Anhe Bridge were evicted and the village demolished, and I brought my grandmother to live with me. At one point, I wanted to write a song about Anhe Bridge, but I kept feeling that I hadn't accumulated enough life experience to truly express the emotions I had for it.

Fenghuang Web Culture: The lyrics, ‘Let me see you again from South to North, like eyes blindfolded by the Fifth Ring Road’, are very moving. Can you tell us about the scene at the time and the feelings in this line?

Song Dongye: It was from a time when I was on the way to Fenghuang Ridge with friends. We passed by Anhe Bridge, driving from South to North. Anhe Bridge had been demolished and the Fifth Ring Road overpass was wrapped over the ruins. It was both very cruel and very comforting, so I took out some paper and wrote that line in the car.

Fenghuang Web Culture: Beijing these days is like a pot of congee, with all sorts of seasoning and ingredients thrown in together, bubbling and boiling. As Beijinger born and bred, what does the city mean to you?

Song Dongye: Well, it's home. Whatever a hometown is in a person's heart, that's what Beijing means to me. But when I say Beijing, I'm talking about the city itself, not the capital.

This is what's on the back cover of the album.

I also wondered how Anhe Bridge and the landscape in the area would look like. From the way Song Dongye and the interviewer were talking about it, it seems this is the name of an area rather than a specific bridge. So how close is it to the Fifth Ring Road expressway in Beijing? Spatially, how are they all situated?

Digging a bit on baidu maps and google maps for the intersection of the Fifth Ring Road and the Haidian District, I was able to find a Anheqiao Avenue off to the left.

This is the area on google maps.

This is how it looks on baidu.

If you're curious about how the streets look like, this delightful person did what I would have done if I lived close enough (I'm not even in the same country LOL) and got there by train to look around. They didn't manage to find it, but they did get see a lovely light installation piece that also informed about the history.

安河桥，北京地名，位于北系市海淀区中部。[清雍正二年1724年在今天的安河桥村北侧设有圆明园护军营正红旗，并在附近设“丰益仓”，为出行方便，] 在临近的河上修建了一座木桥，取“安澜平和”之意称“安和桥”。 The portion within the [ ] brackets was sourced online as the video only showed the first sentence and the last part of the paragraph. Anhe 'Peaceful River' Bridge, a place name in Beijing, is located in central Haidian District. [In the second year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign during the Qing Dynasty, 1724, the Old Summer Palace's Plain Red Banner Guards were stationed to the north of what is now Anhe 'Peaceful River' Bridge Village. The Fengyi Granary was build close to the area to facilitate travel, and] a wooden bridge was built over the nearby river. Taking its meaning from 'peaceful waters, harmonious times' this bridge was named Anhe 'Peaceful and Harmonious' Bridge.

Anhe 'Peaceful and Harmonious' Bridge (安和桥) was renamed Anhe 'Peaceful River' Bridge (安河桥) during Emperor Qianlong's reign - so between 1736 and 1796 - because of the watergate that was built there as part of flood mitigation measures.

[2] 勉为其难 life’s struggles and discontent This is an idiom meaning to be forced or be forcing yourself to tackle a difficult job, and by extension, doing it reluctantly.

[3] 纪念你 memorializing you ‘In memory of you’ would probably have worked as well here, but I liked how this sounded and stuck with it.

This specific wording when used on a person can only mean they've passed away. Which was why hearing it in the song when I wasn’t expecting it was a small shock.

I also later learnt from my friend that this song was written after his grandmother passed, and then separately found out that the album art was of them together in his childhood at Anhe Bridge.

[4] 你回家了 “Oh, you’re home.” A used ‘Welcome home’ which I LOVE.

The melody in the bridge after this line is played using the Mongolian instrument bowed string instrument, morin khuur, also known as the horsehead fiddle.

Here's the full piece for it if you want more. (I know we all want more xD it's sooooooooo AMAZING)

[5] 满怀期待 -this heartfelt excitement Literally a heart filled with hope and anticipation.

[6] 所以 你好 再见 So, hello  (goodbye.) This was just how it sounds like to me as he sings it. The hello is to his memories of her and Anhe Bridge. At the same time, it's also a goodbye with a bit of finality to it.

Credits

民谣音乐人宋冬野首张个人专辑 《安和桥北》 词／曲／编曲／吉他／手鼓／和声：宋冬野 制作人／编曲／钢琴／键盘／弦乐编写：韦伟 编曲／吉他／贝斯／和声：尧十三 录音师／混音师：陈程 弦乐：李琪＋李琪弦乐团 母带工程师／录音监制：陈东 录音棚：［粮］录音棚／乐家轩录音棚 出品：摩登天空 监制：沈黎晖 经济／摄影：牧师 平面设计：孔阳 文案：宋冬野／高飞

Lyrics

让我再看你一遍 从南到北 像是被五环路蒙住的双眼 请你再讲一遍 关于那天 抱着盒子的姑娘 和擦汗的男人

我知道 那些夏天就像青春一样回不来 代替梦想的也只能是勉为其难

我知道 吹过的牛逼也会随青春一笑了之 让我困在城市里 纪念你

让我再尝一口 秋天的酒 一直往南方开 不会太久 让我再听一遍 最美的那一句 你回家了 我在等你呢

我知道 那些夏天就像青春一样回不来 代替梦想的 也只能是勉为其难

我知道 吹过的牛逼 也会随青春一笑了之 让我困在城市里 纪念你

我知道 那些夏天就像你一样回不来 ���已不会再对谁 满怀期待

我知道 这个世界每天都有太多遗憾 所以 你好 再见

[prettyquotes]

Ich bleibe müde in der Stadt zurück mit der Erinnerung an dich.

安和桥 Anhe-Brücke- 宋冬野 - Song Dongye

[treethymes]

feeling sad thinking about song dongye being blacklisted in china for smoking weed

[sorrowfulbeast]

《安和桥》 – 宋冬野

The Bridge of Peace and Harmony – Song Dongye

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

《 中文歌曲 | Chinese Lyrics 》

ràng wǒ zài kàn nǐ yī biàn cóng nán dào běi

让我再看你一遍 从南到北

xiàng shì bèi wǔ huán lù méng zhù de shuāng yǎn

像是被五环路蒙住的双眼

qǐng nǐ zài jiǎng yī biàn guān yú nà tiān

请你再讲一遍 关于那天

bào zhè hé zǐ de gū niang hé cā hàn de nán rén

抱着盒子的姑娘和擦汗的男人

.

wǒ zhī dao nà xiē xià tiān

我知道 那些夏天

jiù xiàng qīng chūn yī yàng huí bù lái

就像青春一样回不来

dài tì mèng xiǎng de yě zhǐ néng shì miǎn wéi qí nán

代替梦想的也只能是勉为其难

wǒ zhī dao chuī guò de niú bī

我知道 吹过的牛逼

yě huì suí qīng chūn yī xiào liǎo zhī

也会随青春一笑了之

ràng wǒ yīn zài chéng shì lǐ

让我困在城市里

jì niàn nǐ

纪念你

.

ràng wǒ zài cháng yī kǒu qiū tiān de jiǔ

让我再尝一口 秋天的酒

yī zhí wǎng nán fāng kāi bù huì tài jiǔ

一直往南方开不会太久

ràng wǒ zài tīng yī biàn zuì měi de nà yī jù

让我再听一遍 最美的那一句

huí jiā le wǒ zài déng nǐ ne

回家了 我在等你呢

.

wǒ zhī dao nà xiē xià tiān

我知道 那些夏天

jiù xiàng qīng chūn yī yàng huí bù lái

就像青春一样回不来

dài tì mèng xiǎng de yě zhǐ néng shì miǎn wéi qí nán

代替梦想的也只能是勉为其难

wǒ zhī dao chuī guò de niú bī

我知道 吹过的牛逼

yě huì suí qīng chūn yī xiào liǎo zhī

也会随青春一笑了之

ràng wǒ kùn zài chéng shì lǐ

让我困在城市里

jì niàn nǐ

纪念你

.

wǒ zhī dao nà xiē xià tiān

我知道 那些夏天

jiù xiàng nǐ yī yàng huí bù lái

就像你一样回不来

wǒ yě bù huì zài duì shéi mǎn huái qī dài

我也不会再对谁满怀期待

wǒ zhī dao zhè ge shì jiè

我知道 这个世界

měi tiān doū yǒu tài duō yí hàn

每天都有太多遗憾

suǒ yǐ nǐ hǎo

所以你好

zài jiàn

再见

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

《 英文歌曲 ｜ English Lyrics 》

[verse 1]

Let me see you one more time, from north to south

Although it’s as if my eyes are blinded by 5th Ring Road*

Please repeat what you said about that day

The girl carrying boxes and the boy wiping his sweat

[chorus]

I know those summers

Are like youth, never to return

But replacing that vain hope is only ever promising the impossible

I know our foolish arrogance

Will get brushed off like youth

Letting me remain trapped in the city

Remembering you

[verse 2]

Let me once again taste some autumn wine

Driving straight south will not take long

Let me once again hear that most beautiful line

“I’m home”, “I’ve been waiting for you”

[chorus]

I know those summers

Are like youth, never to return

But replacing that vain hope is only ever promising the impossible

I know our foolish arrogance

Will get brushed off like youth

Letting me remain trapped in the city

Remembering you

[chorus version 2]

I know those summers

Are like you, never to return

So I’ll never again hold out hope for anyone

I know that this world

Sees too much sorrow day to day

So hello

And farewell

* 5th Ring Road is a ring road encircling Beijing that interlinks nearly all other expressways in Beijing. As it’s a ring, there is not clear start or end, in contrast with the linear cardinal directions from the prior lyric. 5th Ring Road is also a metonymy for modern urban living in the higher social strata of inner Beijing, closed off from those outside the 5th Ring Road and out of touch with the rural and lower classes.

[allsadnshit]

What are your favorite Chinese/Taiwanese artists?

i'm sure i'm missing some but here are a few!

Liu Xiaodong - Painter

Ren Hang - Painter

yue minjun - Painter

edward yang - Film

dongye song - Music

dot zio - music

i'm difficult - music

esme weijun wang - writer

Chiu Miao-Chin - writer

[pumpkinpaix]

Hi :)

this is so much harder than i expected ;A; i’m taking some small liberties for better flow.

When I get off the subway, it’s still not too crowded— Oh, as soon as I see you, I feel good! Miss Dong, you’ve never forgotten your smile. With my back to you, reading a book: “The stories say that at the beginning, people lived in the dark, far beneath the earth.”

Original lines with links to songs:

刚下的地铁还不算拥挤 （下个,路口,见 by Chris Lee）

Oh, 我一见到你 I feel good（恋语1910 by Modern Brothers）

董小姐 你从没忘记你的微笑 （懂小姐 by Song Dongye）

背着你读书 （背着你 by Sodagreen）

传说中人类在远早 住于黑暗的地下之遥（蜂鸟 by Wu Qingfeng）

(say hi)

[fyeahcindie]

Spotted this on the StreetVoice main page, the current #1 song on their most-played chart.   Nice to also see it uploaded to YT!  =D

房东的猫 Fangdong De Mao (The Landlord’s Cat) is a duo from Wuhan, China  吴佩岭 & 王心怡.  Very quiet folk music, so lovely!   You can hear much more at weibo, StreetVoice &  Douban.  I don’t see a facebook page for them, but a lot of fb peeps have posted photos and clips.  (my search also turned up lots of photos of random cats, heh-heh)

There are several YouTubers that have posted 房东的猫 songs, but I dunno if the band have their own YT official channel.  Here is a cover of a tune by Donye.S 宋冬野 Song Dongye:

I wanna add that the YT channels where I found these 2 clips both do a LOT of Chinese pop (and themes songs from dramas, etc.), but also mix in the occasional 小清新 ‘small fresh’ indie acoustic artists. 

[charliecharles017]

Blank lyric#2

It is a song well known and sung in my city, Beijing. Its name is 安河桥(Anhe Bridge) by Dongye Song. People resonate with it for the simplicity and authenticity of the lyric that bring so much nostalgia and memory of the city. Two literary elements demonstrated are personification and imagery. 

Here is the translated lyrics in three fragments:

"Let me see you again

South to the North

Like eyes blinded by busy roads

Play your reminiscence

under that day

holding a box, the girl

A man's sweating

I know that

those summers

are just like youth that never comes back

What replaces dreams should merely be reluctance

I know that

those jokes I said have just elapsed as my seventeen

Make me trapped in this city

Remember you



Let me have one more taste

Of autumn wine

Driving towards the South

Won’t be too long

Let me hear one more time

The most beautiful line

You are home now

I am waiting for you



I know that

those summers

are just like youth that never comes back

What replaces dreams should merely be reluctance

I know that

those jokes I said have just elapsed as my seventeen

Make me trapped in this city

Remember you

I know that

those summers

are just like you that never come back

I will no longer put my faith in anyone

I know that

Every day there are so many regrets in this world

So that

Hello

See you"

Throughout the lyric, the city of Beijing is addressed as "you", using the literary device of personification, as if the singer is having an intimate talk with his beloved one. The first phrase - “Let me see you again” - immediately abridges the distance between the singer, audience and Beijing city, creating a nostalgic atmosphere in which the singer wishes to confess his mixture of sophisticated emotions. At the end, however, as the lyric goes - “I know that every day there are so many regrets in this world”- the singer makes it evident that there is no way he could possibly meet the beloved city no more, figuratively showing  such remorseful feeling as a love tragedy. 

The second device is the use of imagery. This might not be as crystal as the first implementation for the English translation has a limited capacity of carrying the original meaning of Chinese expression. One eminent characteristic of Chinese poetry is imagery, in which short phrases that portrays sensory sentiments appears consistently and rhythmically though syntactically wouldn’t make any sense. The composer repetitively uses these simple sensory descriptions, unfolding multiple reminiscing scenes throughout the song. Several examples pf such implementations are: “Like eyes blinded by busy roads”, “Let me have one more taste of autumn wine”, and “I know that those summers are just like you that never come back”. 

[liu-anhuaming]

莉莉安 Lillian-- 宋冬野 Song Dongye

[hyacynthbaby]

Troye Sivan - Bloom (2018) // Song Dongye - Lilian (2013)

[dyemelikeasunset]

Naf, could you rec some slow (or slow-ish) songs in mandarin? I'm trying to learn mandarin and in my experience at least song is always a good way to learn a new language and practice pronunciation :)

Oh yeah of course!! I don’t have too many because most of the cpop I’ve listened to is my mom’s old CDs from the 80s and 90s, and she’s awful and never remembers their names lmao, but here are a couple newer ones I’ve gotten from Tumblr!

“Mo” by Na Ying (lyrics included)

“Anhe Bridge” by Song Dongye

I also suggest any song by Teresa Teng! Super famous singer with very gentle songs. One of her most popular songs is “The Moon Represents My Feelings” which also uses generally pretty simple lyrics that should be easy to understand!

“Waking from Dreams” by Sarah Chen is a personal favorite of mine too (has a lot of personal meaning). It can be a little faster than the other ones listed here but I think it’s easy enough to follow!

I know it’s a small list, but I hope that gives you a good start!

[tgcpl]

突然很想念16岁那年秋天遇到的你，虽然因为我的懦弱，直到最后也没能见到你。那是我第一次体会到成熟的爱意和被人关心的幸福，你实实在在的出现过在我的生命中，可现在能想起来的关于你，关于我们都少的可怜了。董小姐，你现在过得开心吗？

2017.12.25 20:28

[treethymes]

tagged by @crastinating to shuffle 10 songs but real stans know that i don’t really use a music library these days. usually i just listen to random albums on youtube. but on my computer i have a core playlist of a few albums that i play on shuffle. currently, the albums are:

d’angelo and the vanguard - black messiah lianne la havas - lianne la havas sade - promise jeff buckley - grace pj harvey - to bring you my love kids see ghosts - kids see ghosts janet jackson - control song dongye - north of anhe bridge

[allsadnshit]

got this cookbook with so many little secrets to cooking that I didn’t get to have passed down to me by my mom. My dad always says how sad he is I’ll never have her cooking because she was the best of the best and had a home remedy for everything. My little heart is so swollen today. Listening to dongye song and crying before work.

[fyeahcindie]

汪冠宇 Kuan Yu (his fb address reads: myenglishnameisjoe) with a performance for Yuran Session’s iCover series.  (orig. song by Song Dongye 宋冬野)   =D

He also has a beautiful (and very popular) cover up on his StreetVoice, recommended!

[countfeed]

Song Dongye, Modern Sky Festival, New York City, 2015.

www.sikichphotography.com