njun hung
Lost through translation
A friend of mine from Phú Quốc is commissioned to translate dozens of Vietnamese songs for Tây's to sing in karaoke. The requirement is to make those Tây's easily understand the meaning of Vietnamese songs, rather than conveying the rythm and rhyme for them. I have helped him do some of them, of course I have already received my retainder to work. I just did one of those songs. Now I'd like to post in here for you all to read to see if you, from the foreign point of view, can understand the meaning of it. I'd appreciate your comments if any.
The Vijaya vengeance
The deserted jungle!
How much hatred and vengeance burried under!
The wind's surfing in the greens
Multitude of echoes sounding in the limitless dark.
Night-herons are crying in fog
The sadness reminds here of how much old-time valor.
The swarm of fireflies hovering
like human specters coming back in the long night
The forlorn eaglewood forest
The high col the deep waterfall
Desolate hills springs rumbling
empty caves suspending
Thousands of otherworldly sounds
Months and years sorrowfully mourning...
Silently blending in the nationhood-losing symphony
Where are the people of old?
But the tall towers standing in sorrow.
Where are castles and palaces?
Now just seen the green expanse of jungle.
The road to Vijaya here in the central region
soaked and stained with blood still indelible
white skeletons deeply burried the vengeful air hardly dissipated
There on the ocean whose fleet rocking in waves in the offing!
The dreaming hallucination of Champa vessels of Po Binasor
Cruising the offshore
Returning to kingdom capital
Thousands of combat elephants threatening the enemy...
Like the wave surges
Thousands of rows of Champa troops advancing like water bursting the dam
The celebrating banquet
The music reverberatinly played in the Holy Vijaya
The feast dispensed
The palace maids dancing to the chant of Champa Return
Once in the Glory
The Champa subjects
Gloriously registered their victory
Glamorously through the whole country.
Though the dream was smashed
Gone with the time, the souls still follow the country for thousands of generations.
Where are the people of old?
The high mounded tombs have turned to deep moats.
Where are castles and palaces?
Now just seen the green expanse of jungle.
Where are the people of old?
Where are the people of old?
Where are the people of old?
nguyentanquang
phamhuong
njun hung
Phổ thôngcorrected: Line 3: The wind's soughing in the greens