The above video first appeared on Youku four days ago and currently has nearly 48,000 views. The two singers — a Chinese tour guide and an American student, according to the video’s somewhat melodramatic description (They are a guide, a student. It was tourism that made them acquaintances, a song that made them familiars, reality that made them bewildered) — present their version of “Beijing Beijing”《北京北京》. Judging by the video’s comments, the duo has struck a chord. “Only those children who have shed tears in Beijing know in their hearts how bitter Beijing can be,” writes commenter Ho Fengbo. “Worth hearing a hundred times, I’ve listened to it N times already,” writes another. Admittedly, the singing’s not bad, and neither are the lyrics — which appear, translated, after the jump along with the Youku video and Wang Feng singing the original.
《北京北京》
When I walk these every street
My heart can never seem to be calm
In addition to the generator’s roar and the noise of the electricity
I can almost hear his candle like a heartbeat
I’m here laughing
I’m here crying
I’m here living, and here dying
I’m here praying
I’m here in this confusion
I’m here looking, and here losing
Beijing, Beijing, Beijing, Beijing
Between the cafe and the square are three blocks
Just like the distance between the neon light and the moon
People in the midst of struggle will comfort each other and embrace
Looking … chasing … dying of a broken dream
We are here laughing
We are here crying
We are here living, and here dying
We are here praying
We are in this confusion
We are here looking, and here losing
Beijing, Beijing, Beijing, Beijing
If there’s a day I had to leave
I hope people bury me here
Here I can feel my existence
Here I’m attached to too many things
I’m here laughing
I’m here crying
I’m here living, and here dying
I’m here praying
I’m here in this confusion
I’m here looking, and here losing
Beijing, Beijing, Beijing, Beijing
Thanks to Alicia for the translating help. Here’s Wang Feng singing the original:
