ITWY OST: "Tip Toe Love" by Hong Pei Yu

You Qing, please take this road. NOW. 

Ahem. Would I be bursting anyone's bubble if I said that this song is about You Qing and Ding Li Wei?  

Alright alright, I'm just pulling your leg. God forbid this beautiful song be about You Qing's relationship with Ding, right? Although, it does kinda apply - I did really think that at first (that is, in the earlier episodes before Ding Li Wei came back) - but it's apparent now - if not ever - that You Qing places her "friendship" with Da Ren on a higher importance than anything else. If she were made to choose, no doubt she'll leave Li Wei faster than you can say "Ding who?"

Rather than You Qing, from the lines it's apropos that this song is from Da Ren's POV. *sobs* Let's just say someone is going to get her TWD 100 000 real soon.

Artist: Hong Pei Yu

Lyricist: Xiao Han

Composer: Tanya Chua

Arranger: Derek Chua

Translated lyrics:

The dancing shoe has a hole, a split seam, preparing for a dream

A band-aid, covers the pain, hides the paleness

Courage, fear, which should I use?

When facing him, I put on my most brilliant smile

Waiting for the time to come, it's a tad slow, 

The heavy clock has stopped ticking

Without a trace, he vanished 

Never to return to my life

I'd really like to know

Who let go of my upturned hand

Oh Happiness, 

It's a long queue

I'd like to tiptoe to find Love's faraway existence

Missed the chance to say hi, 

The shadow faded into the sea of people

Being on tiptoe with expectation, afraid of being treated shabbily

I couldn't reach it, but am smiling patiently

Woo~ Waiting for you to come around

That day, missing out on it, but am able to let go now, 
My prayers finally answered

A gust of wind blew in a dream, but lost in miscommunication

I finally understood, 

Why people's lonely eyes turn red when they think of love

I'd like to tiptoe to find Love's faraway existence

Missed the chance to say hi, 

The shadow faded into a sea of people

Being on tiptoe with expectation, afraid of being treated shabbily

I couldn't reach it, but am smiling patiently

Woo~ Waiting for you to come around

You'll come around, woo~  

Come around 

I'd like to tiptoe to find Love's faraway existence

Missed the chance to say hi, 

The shadow faded into the sea of people

Being on tiptoe with expectation, afraid of being treated shabbily

I couldn't reach, but am smiling patiently

Woo~ Waiting for you to come around

Photo Credit: Luk Chen (yeah even guys watch this!) from Facebook sees this road every time he goes to eat fish lmao. Envy!

Hang in there, my ITWY comrades. Repeat after me: S-i-n-g-a-p-o-r-e

You know you're at the point of no return when Show has become a persona non grata overnight and you find yourself still as enamored as ever. YES, I LOVE THIS SHOW, haters be damned! You Qing's an arrogant bitch? (Whatever, she's better than those cookie-cutter heroines in dramas everywhere.) Ding Li Wei's a creepy bastard? (Ahh, how I loathe to hate him.) Da Ren's a wimpy Beta Male who tells everyone (EVERYONE!) he loves You Qing except the poor girl herself? (This one I love to hate, lol. But serenade me with your ukulele and all shall be forgiven.)


Geez, it sure can be tough to justify this show. Now I know how those BOF fanatics must have felt...


Anyhoo, us ArLin fans must come equipped, lest we fall into the dark pit of frustration and headdesking. Put an ice pack to your forehead and chant this with me: "I shall not expect anything till Singapore." I think we all have already been spoiled with these, but let's remind ourselves, shall we? After the jump!


I like this, him being the aggressor for once. Rawr!

Again, me liking this. No more passive Da Ren!

I just had an epiphany. Don't you think the dynamic of their relationship is similar to Kimi Wa Petto?! Omgee, they're the realistic version of KWP O_O

Hehe, sexy shoulder.

Aiyohh, look at her being all shy! *blush*

He's on top! 

 I meant on top of the world, of course. *prim*

Photo Credits: ITWY Facebook and Sina via Baidu's ITWY

In Time With You Closing Theme: Wings by Ariel Lin

I have to say, this song is not my cup of tea; not that it sounds horrible or anything, it's just so... vanilla. Makes me go Zzzz in the middle of it. 

Though the Ariel-fangirl in me will not leave this song untranslated. So, listen to what You Qing has to say and get your ITWY-induced sugar rush now!

I never fail to watch this show till the credits end - still trying to figure out what they're whispering to each other (any takes?).

CD (Full) Version:

Artist: Ariel Lin

Lyricist: Flyn Zeng

Composer: Flyn Zeng

Translated Lyrics:

You finally have the courage to hold my hand

You said you've loved me for a long, long time

 I nodded

Took your hand and now... we're together

You said you'll go around the world with me

We'll be together till the end

Having you here protecting me, my heart is at ease

Once we held hands, the skies seem vast

Because with you, my world is no longer dark

With you in my sky, I no longer fly aimlessly

You're my wings, accompanying me to the front

Taught me that I'll see the rainbow once the storm has passed

You're my wings, enabling me to fly

And when I get tired, you'll warm me

You make me braver, stronger 

You said you'll go around the world with me

We'll be together till the end

Having you here protecting me, my heart is at ease

Once we held hands, the skies seem vast

Because with you, my world is no longer dark

With you in my sky, I no longer fly aimlessly

You're my wings, accompanying me to the front

Taught me that I'll see the rainbow once the storm has passed

You're my wings, enabling me to fly

And when I get tired, you'll warm me

You make me braver, stronger 

Oh oh~

I  hope that you'll stay forever by my side

You're my wings, accompanying me to the front

Taught me that I'll see the rainbow once the storm has passed

You're my wings, enabling me to fly

And when I get tired, you'll warm me

You make me braver, stronger 

Chloe Says: And this shall be the ending!

Translation notes: The drama version of the song starts from paragraph 2 and ends at 4. The translation is based on the CD version of the song. 

Pictures Credit: ITWY Facebook

Lovesick Movie (YES the Ariel-Wilson movie) OST: Don't Wanna Ever by Jeffrey Kong

What does one do when the OTP in In Time With You doesn't seem to be hooking up anytime soon? No, you do not release your frustrations on a Ding Li Wei voodoo doll.


You watch Lovesick, or the next best thing: Their official MV.

This song's reminiscent to those boyband hits in the 90's; those yunno, about how my heart breaks and I can't live another day without you girl, please come back to me yadda yadda. Yawn, I'm so over that phase.

I came to the vid purely to get my ArLin (Ariel x Bo Lin) fix; for all I care they can have Rebecca Black's "Friday" as the OST and I'd still happily watch it (with mute of course).

But once heard, it proved to be so cheesey-licious! I was harping "Buyao buyao~" (roughly translated to be "Don't wanna" in chinese) before I knew it. And you will too. Trust me, this song does funny things to you.

Artist: Jeffrey Kong [exciting fact: Holey M! Did you know that he's the 76th descendant of Confucius (Kong Zi)? - The Man himself! - mind-boggling]
Lyricist: Jeffrey Kong
Composer: Jeffrey Kong, TheresaL
Translated Lyrics:

Those times you told me you love me

It's like it never happened

Every lie you told

Still haunting me

Not afraid of loneliness

I don't want to be vulnerable again (no)

Can no longer rely  on a warm embrace

Till we separate

No longer hoping

Even if there are countless scars, it's fine

(Love has four seasons, my heart has only winter)

Don't, don't say you're popular

Don't, don't make me fall for you

I beg you

(Delved in and out of your heart, can't find the answer)

Don't, don't say I don't believe

Don't, don't wanna ever...  believe again

Everyone has more or less experienced

The pain of a breakup

Every promise you made

Taunts me

I'm not afraid of loneliness

I won't be vulnerable again

No

Can no longer dwell on   those happy times

You're no longer here

Your heart left long ago

Even if I cry and plead, what good will that do?

(Love has four seasons, my heart has only winter)

Don't, don't say you're popular

Don't, don't make me fall for you

I beg you

(Delved in and out of your heart, can't find the answer)

Don't, don't say I don't believe

Don't, don't wanna ever... believe

Don't, don't say I don't believe

Don't, don't wanna ever... love you

No no no no, I don't wanna believe

Don't wanna believe

I don't wanna...

Don't wanna ever.... love you

Those times you told me you love me...

Translation Notes: To understand what this song, first you have to know what the movie, Lovesick is about. Ruo Qing (not You Qing), played by Ariel Lin, develops a love phobia (the more accurate translation of the Chinese title) after having being dumped in a very Skip Beat-esque manner by her first love, Ai Lun (Lin Yi Feng). Many years later, the disillusioned her meets the man of her dreams, Lu Zhe Han (Wilson Chen). But he can't be perfect! There's got to be be something wrong with this man...

*Purple are lines sung in English.

Chloe Says: I'm probably overgeneralizing here, but what is it about ABC*(American Born Chinese) artists that makes them such write cheesy lyrics (see also: Wang Lee Hom)? Though they sure know how to compose cracktastic songs. Oh buyao buyao~

In Time With You Opening Theme: "I'll Still" by William Wei

Yay! Finally a happy song! I say happy because even though it's about a leaving a loved one, I can picture Da Ren in the foreseeable future leaving for his business trips and missing wifey YQ in this manner. So yeah, happy song :)

William Wei aka. WeiBird sang, composed and written this himself! Impressive huh? He's one of my favorite singer-composers. I actually prefer the CD version as it feels "lighter", not so much going on with the accompaniment compared to that of the drama's. That being said, In Time With You has one of the best, and most importantly, NON-SPOILERY openings I've seen in years (how can you say so much yet so little? Now that's a teaser). And it's so sweet; especially the high school version of themselves - see-saw rofl.


Drama's Opening Theme:


CD (full) Version:

Artist: William Wei
Lyricist: William Wei
Composer: William Wei
Translated Lyrics: 

Before the sun rises, 

Can I have one last look at your face?

Before leaving, 

Won't you tell me some of your sincere promises again?

Won't you give me  a little more time  to lay beside you?

Capture this image, your tranquil face, gentle shoulders, 

Forged into my heart

I'll still...

Feel afraid, times when I wake up and you're not beside me

Feel afraid, that I won't be around you anymore

Maybe I...

I'll still, I'll still, I'll still be at a loss

From now on, without me, will you be...

Terribly lonely?

Before the sun rises, 

Can I have one last look at your face?

Before leaving,

Won't you tell me some of your sincere promises again?

Won't you give me  a little more time  to lay beside you?

Capture this image, your tranquil face, gentle shoulders, 

Forged into my heart

I'll still...

Feel afraid, times when I wake up and you're not beside me

Feel afraid, that I won't be around you anymore

Maybe I...

I'll still, I'll still, I'll still be at a loss

From now on, without me, will you be...

Terribly lonely?


Terribly lonely~
I'll still...
Feel afraid, times when I wake up and you're not beside me
Feel afraid, that I won't be around you anymore
Maybe I...
I'll still, I'll still, I'll still be at a loss,
From now on, without me, will you still be...
Terribly lonely?


Terribly lonely~

Chloe Says: Now, wasn't that healing from the trauma that was Episode 8? Sighhh~

ITWY OST: "Friend Of An Ordinary Friend" by Emerson Tsai

The lyricist of this song, Poppy Xong himself has confirmed that, indeed, this song contains a swear word, mwahaha! Though to be fair, I'm not sure it even counts (it's an acronym), but imo it suits the context. To the clueless ones, not to worry as it will be revealed later in this post :D

The Unsent Letter: "I'm willing to be responsible for you."

This song sounds breezy to the unsuspecting. Happy, even. But that's cause you probably only heard the cheeky line, "(You're) Not an ordinary friend, but the friend of an ordinary friend." Little did you know it contains such bleakness and resignation. Look at the last line, "In the end, we're just... friends"? So NOT how I want the drama to end. Gawd, if Da Ren ends up "just a friend" to You Qing and she goes on to make babies with that Ding fella... NOOOOO!!! *touch wood*

No offense to Li Wei, I love him and it's a fact my interest shot up 60% with his appearance. I mean, one can only stand Not Nic But NIC But Really My Real Name's Latte and Wawa Voice Maggie for so long. Also, Sunny Wang OWNS the whole Harlequin Hero act. C'mon, the whole "No! No! Really Means Yes" scenes? OWN. So much so I wonder if his acting coach slipped him The Sheikh's Captive Bride for character study. 

Artist: Emerson Tsai
Lyricist: Poppy Xong
Composer: Feng Yuan
Translated Lyrics:

As the sun beams,

The desolate soul waits for the moment the sun sets

Wondering what will accompany him for the rest of his life

Unable to send away the loneliness

Unable to run away from the agitation

Why are you making me stay in your cold indifference

Listening to your plans

Encounters are like fireworks

Short, beautiful and fragile

What was once so majestic

The day breaks,

Leaving an endless black hole

What should I say? What should I say?

Tell me, what else can I do for you?

Not an ordinary friend, but the friend of an ordinary friend

At the end of the day, we're ultimately strangers

Write a song, to revel in

No matter how insignificant the moments were

Until the feelings force themselves into

A camel that stores memories

Feeling weighed down

What should I say? What should I say?

Tell me, what else can I do for you?

Not an ordinary friend, but the friend of an ordinary friend

As a friend... of your friend, we're not that familiar

What "friend", this "friend", QNMD (to hell with) "friend"

In the end, "We're just... friends."

In the end, "We're just... friends."

Translation Notes - Chinese Swearing 101: QNMD is an acronym for the Chinese expletive, "Qu ni ma de, ... (followed by an object of one's dislike)" Literally it means, "Go to your mom's ...." but since when are swear words to be taken literally, lol. To understand it in this context, Da Ren the author is in the much feared "Just Friends" territory and tells the girl, no, we're NOT friends, we barely know each other. You're the friend of an ordinary friend, so we qualify as strangers. Strangers = a good thing since one can start off with a relationship; friends = bad bad, a curse (see In Time With You). Hence his cursing of the phrase, "friend," rather than the friend herself. "To hell with" is interchangeable with "screw," or the classic "fuck".

Alas, poor author! From woebegoneness, cajoling to denial; desperation and then anger, it ends on a bittersweet note, with him accepting the fact that they are and will be nothing more than just... friends.

In Time With You OST: Translated Lyrics for "I Won't Love You" by Wilson Chen

Luckily, I'm on time with In Time With You
Ello! You can expect to see me returning from my cave whenever there's a highly addictive show airing (then again, "addictive" is subjective). This time, it's a TWDrama! Well well well, who'd thought. This is romance done well, w/o the usual twdrama slapstick routine (read: romcoms) or the OTTness (read: rom without the com) that has become inseparable from Taiwanese dramas.


Not that I mind funnies and OTTness, but once in a while the girl needs to de-suspend her disbelief, y'know? That's where this show comes in like a breath of fresh air. It's real AND a joy to watch. I guess you can call it the feel good version of the The Fierce Wife (which was real, but NOT enjoyable).

I appreciate the fact that the main dude in this show, Li Da Ren (played by Wilson Chen) gets to have the passive character trait usually attributed to the 2nd lead. It's about time we get a decent main character, a variation of the holy trinity in a drama = Spunky Girl + Douchebag Boy + Saintly 2nd lead. But in here, to our everlasting headdesking (and basically what makes this show 13 episodes long), the man simply won't. make. a FRICKIN' move. Frankly, I think if given the choice, he'll just sit contentedly by the sidelines and play friends till the cows come home.

That's when the bad boy (turned good?) comes to town to give Da Ren a lil' nudge (more like pushes him off the cliff... but hey, no complains from me here). And the fact that he is yummy and has this tinge of American accent whenever he speaks Chinese doesn't hurt either ;P


So anyways, as I promised, this is the translated lyrics for the aptly named "I Won't Love You," which is basically about how Da Ren is convincing himself he doesn't love You Qing (Ariel Lin). The saddest thing is, at the end he even convinces her that he doesn't love her, telling her "not to think about it." Boy, there's a martyr if I ever heard one.

Song: I Won't Love You

Lyricist: Xu Yu Ting (who's also the scriptwriter of this show)
Composer: Wilson Chen Bo Lin, Wang Hong En
Artist: Wilson Chen 

I think I probably, probably won't love you.

I tried, tried hard not to fall for you.

That's why I let myself like you so.

That way you won't have the heart to stay away from me.

I think I hate, hate the arrogant you.

Also, the beautiful, beautiful you.

That's why I want to pretend to hate you.

So that you can't bear to leave me.

　

I must say, I really won't love you

I don't like the way you invade all of my thoughts.

Even your chuckle leads me on.

From the breakfast after "good morning" till the "goodnight" after dinner

Stop laughing, stop laughing, I won't love you.

I tried to forget, free myself, but you're still in my eyes

I loved, I hated, but it doesn't affect my breathing

Turns out it's too late for me to get out of this secret love for you

You don't have to understand, I really won't love you

I don't want you to be down because of me,

The city that has you in it is even beautiful when it rains.

From the sun after dawn to the moonlight in the middle of the night 

Don't think about it (don't think about it), I won't love you

Don't think about it (don't think about it), I won't love you