Jiu Shi Ying Gai De (Xin Nian Kuai Le)

First, you may be shocked to see that I am posting twice in one day. That's what happens when I create something so truely aweful I must share it with the world. Okay, you knew it wasn't going to take me long before I broke from the mandarin training and started to do crazy things to distract myself from the piles of cue cards. But seriously? Writing a song?

Thus the birth this weekend of Jiu Shi Ying Gai De (Xin Nian Kuai Le). Against all odds, a monstrous beast clawing at the heart of musicality and shredding it to tasty bite size morsels has erupted from my apartment. Not knowing much mandarin didn't stop me. Neither did a healthy ignorance of grammar. Nor a lack of a decent recording device - behold the marvel of a 20 buck on sale at Dick Smiths in New Zealand generic brand MP3 player with the front LCD panel smashed in. Yes, that's what I used. What's more, I had to put the piano damping pedal on for the whole song to limit all the distortion in the recording. To top it off, Americal Idol I aint. Not even Local 7/11 Idol. So, enjoy.

For the folks back home, here is a rough translation of the pidgin mandarin I've used:

(Verse 1)
Early morning in winter, I hear the music inside your heart.
More and more the cold departs,
Tomorrow you then need to fly.
Of course, the fragrant and fresh morning encourages me to hope you'll return,
It's best that you follow your music,
Perhaps the music will make you miss home.

(Chorus)
Happy new year, happy new year,
Build a new road towards tomorrow and graduate from today.
Happy new year, happy new year,
Right now we don't fear the world,
This is as it should be.

(Verse 2)

Don't forget, always,
In the night markets of life,
You get what you pay for,
My love is not something sundry.
Now, please decide carefully,
If we together seem happy,
Tomorrow we don't need to have concern.
We all sing, we all always sing:

(Chorus)
(Bridge)
We could sleep 1,010,000 years,
Afterwards all people male female old and young
Will for certain still be singing:
(Chorus).