‘Exaggerated’ by Terry Lin (Lin Zhixuan)

While the original 《浮夸》 “Exaggerated” is a Cantonese song by 陈奕迅 Eason Chan aka Chen Yixun, this Mandarin Chinese version came out in 2010 with new lyrics. The singer is 46-year-old Taiwanese singer 林志炫 Terry Lin aka Lin Zhixuan who is most famous for his nice voice and effortless conversions between true tenor and falsetto. Terry Lin’s “Exaggerated” was included in his album ONE take (available for playing and downloading here), which is a live album recorded at the ONE take (Taiwan) Public Television Music Long Live TV Concert. The TV concert was aired on 2011 August 21st.

This song became famous again as Terry Lin championed the popular Hunan Satellite TV show I’m A Singer, a singing competition reality show imported from South Korea’s Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, in the fifth and eighth weeks, ranking No.2 in the sixth week and No. 3 in the seventh week. He promised he would sing “Exaggerated” if he managed to stay on the stage until the eighth week.

Music Videos:

Composer: Jiang Zhiren/C. Y. Kong
Lyrics: Lou Nanwei
Singer: Lin Zhixuan/Terry Lin

Lyrics (Original Chinese, Pinyin Romanization, and English Translation):

夜晚星空 你只看见 最亮的那颗
yè wǎn xīng kōng nǐ zhǐ kàn jiàn zuì liàng de nà kē
In the starry night sky, you only see the brightest one

人海中你崇拜话题最多 最红的那个
rén hǎi zhōng nǐ chōng bài huà tí zuì duō zuì hóng de nà gè
In the sea of people, you worship the one with the most stories, the one who’s most popular

谁不觊觎着要站在舞台中央光环只为我闪烁
shuí bù jì yú zhe yào zhàn zài wǔ tái zhōng yāng guāng huán zhǐ wèi wǒ shǎn shuò
Who doesn’t yearn to stand on center stage, the spotlight shining only for me

散场后落幕后谁关心你想什么 谁在乎你做什么
sàn chǎng hòu luò mù hòu shuí guān xīn nǐ xiǎng shén me  shuí zài hū nǐ zuò shén me
After the show’s over and the curtains come down, who cares what you think, who cares what you do?

夸张不是罪过 能满足空洞乏味的生活
kuā zhāng bú shì zuì guò néng mǎn zú kōng dòng fá wèi de shēng huó
Exaggeration is not a sin, it can fill up the empty, boring life

那窥探的眼 那议论的口 消遣了每一次茶余饭后
nà kuī tàn de yǎn nà yì lùn de kǒu xiāo qiǎn le měi yí cì chá yú fàn hòu
The peeping eye, the gossiping mouth, spices up every party conversation

 

CHORUS:
难道非要浮夸吗 无谓是非与真假
nán dào fēi yào fú kuā ma wú wèi shì fēi yǔ zhēn jiǎ
Do we really have to exaggerate? Whether it is right or wrong, true or false

拼排场 包装 比身价 谁说真心话
pīn pái chǎng bāo zhuāng bǐ shēn jià shuí shuō zhēn xīn huà
Competing on ostentation, image, and social status, who utters words from the heart?

谁说真心话 只要画面够惊讶 只要内容够爆炸
shuí shuō zhēn xīn huà zhǐ yào huā miàn gòu jīng yà zhǐ yào nēi róng gòu bào zhà
Who would utter words from the heart? As long as the picture is shocking enough, as long as the story is explosive enough

一张嘴开出了天花 嬉笑怒骂
yì zhāng zuǐ kāi chū le tiān huā xī xiào nù mà
Open the mouth and out come flowers, laughter, and cursing

[Note: The term “flowers” is adapted from the Chinese idiom 天花乱坠 (tiān huā luàn zhuì), which means “(giving such an extravagantly colorful description that) flowers cascade from the sky”.]

只能在夜里镜子前 偷偷讲实话
zhǐ néng zài yè lǐ jìng zi qián tōu tōu jiǎng shí huà
And only at night in front of the mirror can we secretively speak the truth

 

你喜欢我 不喜欢我 是你的自由
nǐ xǐ huān wǒ bù xǐ huān wǒ shì nǐ de zì yóu
Whether you like me or dislike me, it’s your freedom

我只是希望在某些时候 抓到你耳朵
wǒ zhǐ shì xī wàng zài mǒu xiē shí hou zhuā dào nǐ ěr duo
I just hope that sometimes I can catch your ear

为音乐梦想唱出第一个音符 从此就没放弃过
wèi yīn yuè mèng xiǎng chàng chū dì yī gè yīn fú cóng cǐ jiù méi fàng qì guò
Since I sang the first note of my music dream, I’ve never given up

主观的 客观的 旁观的拦阻太多 好坏要自己承受
zhǔ guān de kè guān de páng guān de lán zǔ tài duō hǎo huài yào zì jǐ chéng shòu
The subjective and objective obstacles are too many, good or bad must be borne by oneself

所以我要歌颂 让情绪释放在歌声之中
suǒ yǐ wǒ yào gē sòng ràng qíng xù shì fāng zài gē shēng zhī zhōng
So I need to sing, to release my emotions in the midst of a song

选择虽然多 好歌有几首 能够去感动人给些什么
xuǎn zé suī rán duō hǎo gē yǒu jǐ shǒu néng gòu qù gǎn dòng rén gěi xiē shén me
Although there are many options, how many are good songs that can move people and give people something?

 

CHORUS
幸运儿不是我 因为我选择的路很难走
xīng yùn ér bú shì wǒ yīn wèi wǒ xuǎn zé de lù hěn nán zǒu
The lucky guy is not me, because the road I chose is difficult

如果够出色 却不能出头
rú guǒ gòu chū sè què bù néng chū tóu
If I am good enough to stand out, but still can’t stick out

至少也做到没第二个我
zhì shǎo yě zuò dào méi dì èr gè wǒ
At least I can make sure there’s not a second me

难道非要浮夸吗 内心也曾很挣扎
nán dào fēi yào fú kuā ma nèi xīn yě céng hěn zhēng zhá
Do we really have to exaggerate? I too struggled in my heart

一个人努力的时候 有谁看见吗
yí gè rén nǔ lì de shí hou yǒu shuí kàn jiàn ma
When one works hard alone, who sees?

有谁知道吗 唱到思绪都融化 唱到声音也沙哑
yǒu shuí zhī dào ma chàng dào sī xù dōu róng huà chàng dào shēng yīn yě shā yǎ
Who knows? When I sing to the point where my thoughts have melted, and my voice has gone hoarse

说是我着了魔也好 疯了也罢
shuō shì wǒ zháo le mó yě hǎo fēng le yě bà
You can say I’ve been carried away, I’ve gone crazy

若不能挥洒 算什么歌唱的玩家
ruò bù néng huī sǎ suàn shén me gē chàng de wán jiā
If I can’t be carefree, how can I call myself a singer?

看着我正在为你发光
kàn zhe wǒ zhèng zài wèi nǐ fā guāng
Look at me shining for you

合不合胃口 都请欣然接受吧
hé bù hé wèi kǒu dōu qǐng xīn rán jiē shòu ba
Whether it [my song] is to your taste, please accept it graciously

下一刻要为你擦出火花
xià yí kè yào wèi nǐ cā chū huǒ huā
Next moment I’ll sparkle for you