On Wanderers and Olive Trees

One of the first Chinese singers I ever got into was Qi Yu, folk sister of Taiwan rock-pop god, Qi Qin (rock on!), who though he sold his sole to the devil of commercial pop, stilled maintained a rock element to his music way into his career. I saw him perform at a stadium in Shanghai several years ago, and he stilled rocked hard. Qi Yu doesn't rock at all--she stayed firmly in the land of Taiwanpop and folky music, but I loved her early stuff. One of my all-time favorites was "Olive Tree," which has that air of simple profundity that we associate with great poets like Mr. "Road Less Traveled" himself, Robert Frost. Here's my own

You should be able to listen to and download the song "gan lan shu" (olive tree) from this site:

http://www.sayjoy.com/...2fa524b6b69/edit.mp3

The song was sung by Qi Yu, but it was originally written by San Mao, a famous authoress from Taiwan. Here I offer you the original Chinese characters, the pinyin, and my own translation into English:

《橄榄树》
gan lan shu

作词：三毛 作曲：李泰详
songwriter: San Mao, music: Li Taixiang

不要问我从哪里来 我的故乡在远方
bu yao wen wo cong nali lai wo de guxiang zai yuanfang
Don't ask me where I come from, my home is far away

为什么流浪 流浪远方 流浪
wei shenme liulang liulang yuanfang liulang
Why do I wander, wander far, wander?

为了天空飞翔的小鸟
wei le tiankong feixiang de xiao niao
for the sake of the small bird flying in the sky

为了山间轻流的小溪
wei le shanjian qingliu de xiao xi
for the sake of the small stream flowing clear in the mountains

为了宽阔的草原
wei liao kuankuo de caoyuan
for the sake of the broad grassland

流浪远方 流浪
liulang yuanfang liulang
wander far, wander


还有还有
haiyou haiyou
also, also

为了梦中的橄榄树橄榄树
wei liao mengzhong de ganlan shu ganlan shu
for the sake of the olive tree in my dreams

不要问我从哪里来
bu yao wen wo cong nali lai
don't ask where I come from

我的故乡在远方
wo de guxiang zai yuanfang
my home is far away

为什么流浪 为什么流浪 远方
wei shenme liulang wei shenme liulang yuanfang
why wander, why wander, far away?

为了我 梦中的橄榄树
wei liao wo mengzhong de ganlan shu
for the sake of the olive tree in my dreams