‘Old Boy’ by Chopsticks Brothers

“Old Boy” is the theme song of the popular Chinese short film “Old Boy” that was co-produced by and released on popular Chinese online video-sharing platform Youku in late 2010 and quickly became a viral hit with tens of millions of views. The music video below includes scenes from the film, but you can read our original report and watch the original here.

Song and Music Video:

Composer: Takuya Ohashi
Lyrics: Chopsticks Brothers (Xiao Yang & Wang Taili)
Singers: Chopsticks Brothers (Xiao Yang & Wang Taili)

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

那是我日夜思念深深爱着的人啊
na4 shi4 wo3 ri4 ye4 si1 nian4 shen1 shen1 ai4 zhe de ren2 a
That was the girl that I thought of day and night, longed for and deeply loved with all my heart

到底我该如何表达 她会接受我吗
dao4 di3 wo3 gai1 ru2 he2 biao3 da2  ta1 hui4 jie1 shou4 wo3 ma
Just how should I confess my love? Would she accept me?

 
也许永远都不会跟她说出那句话
ye3 xu3 yong3 yuan3 dou1 bu2 hui4  gen1 ta1 shuo1 chu1 na4 ju4 hua1
Perhaps I will never tell her those words,

注定我要浪迹天涯 怎么能有牵挂
zhu4 ding4 wo3 yao4 lang4 ji4 tian1 ya2  zen3 me neng2 you3 qian1 gua4
destined to wander the world. How can I be attached to anything?

 
梦想总是遥不可及 是不是应该放弃
meng4 xiang4 zong3 shi4 yao2 bu4 ke3 ji2  shi4 bu2 shi4 ying1 gai1 fang4 qi4
Dreams are always beyond my reach. Should I just give up?

花开花落又是一季 春天啊你在哪里
hua1 kai1 hua1 luo4 you4 shi4 yi2 ji4  chun1 tian1 a ni3 zai4 na3 li3
Flowers bloom and wilt, and another season has come and gone. Where are you, my Spring?

 
CHORUS 1:

青春如同奔流的江河 一去不回来不及道别
qing1 chun1 ru2 tong2 ben1 liu2 de jiang1 he2  yi2 qu4 bu4 hui2 lai2 bu4 ji2 dao4 bie2
Youth is like a running river, rushing by and never coming back, without a moment to say goodbye

只剩下麻木的我没有了当年的热血
zhi3 sheng4 xia4 ma2 mu4 de wo3 mei2 you3 le dang1 nian2 de re4 xie3
I am left only with numbness, without the passion of the past

看那漫天飘零的花朵 在最美丽的时刻凋谢
kan4 na4 man4 tian1 piao1 ling2 de hua1 duo3  zai4 zui4 mei3 li4 de shi2 ke4 diao1 xie4
Look at all the flowers falling from the sky, wilting at their most beautiful moment

有谁会记得这世界它来过
you3 shui2 hui4 ji4 de2 zhe4 shi4 jie4 ta1 lai2 guo4
Who will remember that they came to this world?

 
转眼过去多年世间多少离合悲欢
zhuan3 yan3 guo4 qu4 duo1 nian2 shi4 jian1 duo1 shao3 li2 he2 bei1 huan1
In the blink of an eye, years go by. How many ons and offs and ups and downs have been witnessed by this world?

曾经志在四方少年 羡慕南飞的雁
ceng2 jing1 zhi4 zai4 si4 fang1 shao4 nian2  xian4 mu4 nan2 fei1 de yan4
Once ambitious youth, admiring the wild goose flying southward

 
各自奔前程的身影 匆匆渐行渐远
ge4 zi4 ben1 qian2 cheng2 de shen1 ying3  cong1 cong1 jian4 xing2 jian4 yuan3
Our respective silhouettes rushed forward, hurriedly drifting further and further apart

未来在哪里平凡 啊谁给我答案
wei4 lai2 zai4 na3 li3 ping2 fan2  a shui2 gei3 wo3 da2 an4
but how was [the past] pedestrian? Who can give me an answer?

 
那时陪伴我的人哪 你们如今在何方
na4 shi2 pei2 ban4 wo3 de ren2 na  ni3 men ru2 jin1 zai4 he2 fang1
Those who were with me back then, where are you today?

我曾经爱过的人啊 现在是什么模样
wo3 ceng2 jing1 ai4 guo4 de ren2 a  xian4 zai4 shi4 shen2 me mo2 yang4
The girl that I once loved back then, what do you look like today?

 
CHORUS 2:

当初的愿望实现了吗 事到如今只好祭奠吗
dang1 chu1 de yuan4 wang4 shi2 xian4 le ma  shi4 dao4 ru2 jin1 zhi3 hao3 ji4 dian4 ma
Have those dreams come true? Or have things gotten to the point where we have to bury them?

任岁月风干理想再也找不回真的我
ren4 sui4 yue4 feng1 gan1 li3 xiang3 zai4 ye3 zhao3 bu4 hui2 zhen1 de wo3
Time has withered my dreams, and I can no longer find the real me

抬头仰望这漫天星河 那时候陪伴我的那颗
tai2 tou2 yang3 wang4 zhe4 man4 tian1 xing1 he2  na4 shi2 hou4 pei2 ban4 wo3 de na4 ke1
I raise my head toward the Milky Way, to see the star that stayed by me on those days

这里的故事你是否还记得
zhe4 li3 de gu4 shi4 ni3 shi4 fou3 hai2 ji4 de2
Do you still remember the stories that we had shared in this place?

 
生活像一把无情刻刀 改变了我们模样
sheng1 huo2 xiang4 yi4 ba3 wu2 qing2 ke4 dao1  gai3 bian4 le wo3 men mu2 yang4
Life is like a ruthless knife, that changed how we look.

未曾绽放就要枯萎吗 我有过梦想
wei4 ceng2 zhan4 fang4 jiu4 yao1 ku1 wei3 ma  wo3 you3 guo4 meng4 xiang3
Are my dreams to wilt and wither before they’ve blossomed?

 
CHORUS 1

 
CHORUS 2

 
如果有明天 祝福你亲爱的
ru2 guo3 you3 ming2 tian1  zhu4 fu2 ni3 qin1 ai4 de
If there is a tomorrow, you have my blessing, dear