Friday Song: Soft Lipa is pissed off, seriously pissed off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNAsKTaPpo
In 2009, Taiwan native Soft Lipa (蛋堡 dàn bǎo) released his debut album, 收敛水 (shōulián shuǐ). Since, he has made waves for the way he’s rethought contemporary hip-hop. His musical palate, composed of jazzy riffs and lucid melodies, contrasts with the boisterous hip-hop of his East Asian counterparts. Instead, Soft Lipa characterizes his music as “soft rap,” and rightfully so. His tracks are smooth and laid back, while his lyrics, alternating between Mandarin and Taiwanese, are both clever and simple.
Following suit, the song 金赌兰 (jīn dǔlán) features a twinkling organ and an emotive bassline reminiscent of jazz in the 1950s. 金赌兰, a crude Taiwanese term for “pissed off,” is essentially a playful laundry list of Soft Lipa’s pet peeves, from chatty cab drivers to having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Soft Lipa reveals a certain sassiness that is charming even as he complains about life’s most trivial inconveniences. His grievances get more sober as the song continues, hinting that he is just as self-aware as he is witty.
Let’s take a look at his complaints:
我讨厌每次才睡觉 又起床尿尿
Wǒ tǎoyàn měi cì cái shuìjiào yòu qǐchuáng niào niào
I hate getting up to pee after I’ve fallen asleep
讨厌被吵醒了脸上还要笑笑
tǎoyàn bèi chǎo xǐngle liǎn shàng hái yào xiào xiào
I hate how some people have the audacity to laugh after they’ve woken me up
我讨厌汉堡没有美式的配料
wǒ tǎoyàn hànbǎo méiyǒu měishì de pèiliào
I hate when my burger doesn’t come with American condiments
讨厌在胀气时候找不到胃药
tǎoyàn zài zhàngqì shíhòu zhǎo bù dào wèi yào
I hate that I can’t find my antacids when I’m gassy
我讨厌老师说「你们两个对调」
wǒ tǎoyàn lǎoshī shuō “nǐmen liǎng gè duìdiào”
I hate when my teacher says, “You two switch seats”
我讨厌同学拿鞋子来跟我炫耀
wǒ tǎoyàn tóngxué ná xiézi lái gēn wǒ xuànyào
I hate when my classmates show off their shoes
我新买的衣服沾到油渍都洗不掉
wǒ xīn mǎi de yīfú zhān dào yóuzì dōu xǐ bù diào
I can’t wash the oil stains out of my new clothes
我粉刺都挤不掉 用什么都没效
wǒ fěncì dōu jǐ bù diào yòng shénme dōu méi xiào
I can’t pop away the pimples off of my face, whatever I use never works
讨厌吃饭时候有人跟我分
tǎoyàn chīfàn shíhòu yǒurén gēn wǒ fēn
I hate when people want to split my food with me
还有东西在嘴里嚼 就对我喷
hái yǒu dōngxī zài zuǐ lǐ jué jiù duì wǒ pēn
Food in their mouth, spitting all over my face
讨厌那种明明不懂的还爱跟我争
tǎoyàn nà zhǒng míngmíng bù dǒng de hái ài gēn wǒ zhēng
I hate the kind of person that doesn’t know what they’re talking about but wants to argue anyway
讨厌室友一直在那边「登登登」「登登登」
tǎoyàn shìyǒu yīzhí zài nà biān “dēng dēng dēng,” “dēng dēng dēng”
I hate how my roommate’s phone is always pinging, pinging
我讨厌下雨天 我讨厌淋湿
wǒ tǎoyàn xià yǔtiān wǒ tǎoyàn lín shī
I hate rainy days, I hate getting wet
我讨厌故意的感觉 我讨厌形式
wǒ tǎoyàn gùyì de gǎnjué wǒ tǎoyàn xíngshì
I hate this intentional feeling, I hate this form
讨厌 有好多讨厌的事都说不完
tǎoyàn yǒu hǎoduō tǎoyàn de shì dōu shuō bu wán
I hate — there’s so many things I hate that I can’t say it all
讨厌每次一想到这些事 挖丢赌兰
tǎoyàn měi cì yī xiǎngdào zhèxiē shì wā diū dǔ lán
I hate how I get angry every time I think about these things
我金赌兰 我金赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ jīn dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m pissed off
我金赌兰 我真正盖赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ zhēnzhèng gài dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m seriously pissed off
我金赌兰 我金赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ jīn dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m pissed off
我金赌兰 我真正盖赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ zhēnzhèng gài dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m seriously pissed off
讨厌电话打来响一声就给我挂掉
tǎoyàn diànhuà dǎ lái xiǎng yīshēng jiù gěi wǒ guà diào
I hate when the phone rings but the caller hangs up immediately
讨厌转寄信说我不转寄就会挂掉
tǎoyàn zhuǎn jì xìn shuō wǒ bù zhuǎn jì jiù huì guà diào
I hate when someone calls to tell me the email I forwarded didn’t go through, and then they hang up
讨厌打球遇到那种硬要跟你讲规则
tǎoyàn dǎqiú yù dào nà zhǒng yìng yào gēn nǐ jiǎng guīzé
I hate playing ball with someone who plays by the book
讨厌每次骑车都要闪靠站的公车
tǎoyàn měi cì qí chē dōu yào shǎn kào zhàn de gōngchē
I hate how I have to ride around the buses every time I ride my bike
讨厌计程车司机跟我聊政治
tǎoyàn jìchéngchē sījī gēn wǒ liáo zhèngzhì
I hate when my cab driver wants to talk politics
讨厌想要一个人的时候遇到认识
tǎoyàn xiǎng yào yīgè rén de shíhòu yù dào rènshì
I hate bumping into someone I know when I want to be alone
有的小孩叫得超大声大人也不管
yǒu de xiǎohái jiào dé chāo dàshēng dàrén yě bùguǎn
Some adults don’t care when their kids are being loud
看电影的时候总是友人手机不关
kàn diànyǐng de shíhòu zǒng shì yǒurén shǒujī bù guān
My friends never turn off their phone in the movie theater
我讨厌碎碎念 我讨厌计画
wǒ tǎoyàn suì suì niàn wǒ tǎoyàn jì huà
I hate broken thoughts, I hate plans
我讨厌每次吵架都要说分手的气话
wǒ tǎoyàn měi cì chǎojià dōu yào shuō fēnshǒu de qì huà
I hate how we threaten to break up every time we argue
我讨厌每看一篇网志就要关一次音乐
wǒ tǎoyàn měi kàn yī piān wǎng zhì jiù yào guān yīcì yīnyuè
I hate how I can’t listen to music and read a blog post at the same time
讨厌每次换季就被感冒病毒侵略
tǎoyàn měi cì huànjì jiù bèi gǎnmào bìngdú qīnlüè
I hate how every time the season changes I get a cold
讨厌累了一天洗澡却没有热水
tǎoyàn lèile yītiān xǐzǎo què méiyǒu rè shuǐ
I hate showering after a full day to find that there’s no more hot water
看着变粗的小腿 讨厌身材改变
kànzhe biàn cū de xiǎotuǐ tǎoyàn shēncái gǎibiàn
My calf’s getting fatter, I hate how my body changes
讨厌 有好多讨厌的事都说不完
tǎoyàn yǒu hǎoduō tǎoyàn de shì dōu shuō bu wán
I hate — there’s so many things I hate that I can’t say it all
讨厌每次一想到这些事 挖丢赌兰
tǎoyàn měi cì yī xiǎngdào zhèxiē shì wā diū dǔ lán
I hate how I get angry every time I think about these things
真讨厌 得跟讨厌的人见面
zhēn tǎoyàn dé gēn tǎoyàn de rén jiànmiàn
I hate meeting up with the people that I hate
我更讨厌在他们面前不能摆臭脸
wǒ gèng tǎoyàn zài tāmen miànqián bùnéng bǎi chòu liǎn
I really hate that I can’t scowl when I’m around them
最讨厌人家喜欢做我讨厌的事
zuì tǎoyàn rénjiā xǐhuān zuò wǒ tǎoyàn de shì
What I hate most are people that like doing things that piss me off
但就算喜欢的人还是会做讨厌的事
dàn jiùsuàn xǐhuān de rén háishì huì zuò tǎoyàn de shì
But even the people that I like will inevitably piss me off
我又不喜欢人家讨厌我
wǒ yòu bù xǐhuān rénjiā tǎoyàn wǒ
I also don’t like people hating me
喜欢人家喜欢我 所以搞到最后我最讨厌我
xǐhuān rénjiā xǐhuān wǒ suǒyǐ gǎo dào zuìhòu wǒ zuì tǎoyàn wǒ
I like when people like me, so in the end it turns out I hate myself the most
讨厌的事情那么多 每件事都考验我
tǎoyàn de shìqíng nàme duō měi jiàn shì dōu kǎoyàn wǒ
I hate so many things, everything tests me
我该怎么做 我该怎么做
wǒ gāi zěnme zuò wǒ gāi zěnme zuò
What should I do? What should I do?
生活不好混 我讨厌这些矛盾
Shēnghuó bù hǎo hùn wǒ tǎoyàn zhèxiē máodùn
Life is hard, I hate these problems
睡的很饱 上班时间还是觉得好困
shuì de hěn bǎo shàngbān shíjiān háishì juédé hǎo kùn
Even after I’ve slept well I’m still exhausted at work
而我该怎么办 我该怎么办
ér wǒ gāi zěnme bàn wǒ gāi zěnme bàn
And what should I do? What should I do?
不知道怎么办不知道该怎么办
Bù zhīdào zěnme bàn bù zhīdào gāi zěnme bàn
I don’t know what to do, don’t know what to do
挖丢金赌兰 我金赌兰
wā diū jīn dǔ lán wǒ jīn dǔ lán
I’m so pissed off, I’m pissed off
挖丢金赌兰 金赌兰
wā diū jīn dǔ lán jīn dǔ lán
I’m so pissed off, I’m pissed off
挖丢金赌兰 金赌兰
wā diū jīn dǔ lán jīn dǔ lán
I’m so pissed off, I’m pissed off
挖丢金赌兰 你娘勒金赌兰
wā diū jīn dǔ lán nǐ niáng lēi jīn dǔ lán
I’m so pissed off, pissed off motherfucker
我金赌兰 我金赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ jīn dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m pissed off
我金赌兰 我真正盖赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ zhēnzhèng gài dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m seriously pissed off
我金赌兰 我金赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ jīn dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m pissed off
我金赌兰 我真正盖赌兰
wǒ jīn dǔ lán wǒ zhēnzhèng gài dǔ lán
I’m pissed off, I’m seriously pissed off
我还是喜欢这样 慵懒
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng yōng lǎn
But I still like to be this lazy
我还是喜欢这样 松散
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng sōngsǎn
But I still like to be this chill
我还是喜欢这样 空转
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng kōngzhuǎn
But I still like to be this idle
我还是喜欢这样 慵懒
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng yōng lǎn
But I still like to be this lazy
我还是喜欢这样 松散
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng sōngsǎn
But I still like to be this chill
我还是喜欢这样 空转
wǒ háishì xǐhuān zhèyàng kōngzhuǎn
But I still like to be this idle
Friday Song is SupChina’s weekly sign-off. Let us know what you thought of the week that was in the comments below, or email editors@thechinaproject.com.
