Matthew Arnold's
"Dover Beach" reminded me of a famous Taiwanese song that my
generation grew up with called 聽海, which literally means "Listening to the
Sea." This is my attempt of a translation of the lyrics (It may sound
weird in English, but, I tried...)
Write
me a letter and tell me what colour is the sea today
How does the sea that stays with you every night feel?
"Gray" means you don't want to talk, "Blue" means melancholy
Then what about your wild, drifting heart
How does the sea that stays with you every night feel?
"Gray" means you don't want to talk, "Blue" means melancholy
Then what about your wild, drifting heart
Where
is it stopping?
Listen
to the wailing sea!
Sighing
that someone is heartbroken again yet is still blinded by love
It
couldn't be me, at least I'm calm
But
my tears, even my tears won't believe it
Listen
to the wailing sea!
This
sea is too emotional, weeping with grief until the break of day
Write
me a letter for one last time
Tell me, what were you thinking when you left me?
Tell me, what were you thinking when you left me?
While the
speaker of the poem mourns the loss of religious faith when listening to the
sea, the speaker of the song mourns the loss of her lover and his faithfulness. Having
lived in cities that set on islands – Hong Kong and Victoria – the sound of the
sea is nothing new. Unlike the speakers in both the poem and the song, I always
find the sound of the waves very soothing and calming. I guess it is our own
mind sets that determine what we interpret the sounds of nature which,
actually, are emotionless. All the “eternal note of sadness” (14) and the “granting
roar” (9) are just in our heads.
No comments:
Post a Comment