Random Thoughts: The Peverell Story

(By The Butterbeer Experience: taken from the "Songs From Beedle The Bard" album)

 

I once happened ‘cross fair brothers three
Who thought they could use all their magic to thwart me
But I, being Death, being sly blocked their path
And said “Brave, cunning brothers oh what do you ask
I will give each a prize and then let brothers pass.”
 
The first brother begged “Please, Death, make me a tool;
A wand that will win every fight, every duel.”
So I broke a branch off of an elder tree
And I fashioned a wand for he thought he was worthy
And gave elder wand to the eldest of three.
 
Go, brother, I bid thee goodnight
I promise you’ll win all your battles and fights
But your wand will be stolen and you will be slain
Then you and I will meet again.
 
The next brother cried “Give me magic instead,
The power to bring others back from the dead.”
So I picked up a stone from the riverside
And I told him the pebble had magic inside
It would bring back the dead and his departed bride.
 
Go, brother I bid thee goodnight
You’ll see your love soon but things will not be right
You’ll drive yourself crazy 'cause she won’t be whole
And then I will claim your soul.
 
The youngest brother said “Death, I don’t trust your ways,
Please leave me alone ‘til the end of my days.”
And though I was reluctant, he was the wisest of the three
So I gave him my cloak of invisibility
And I let the young brother go free.
 
Go, brother I bid thee goodnight
Go take your new cloak and go live out your life
Be happy and healthy and when you are ready
You can take off your cloak and join me.
 
And that is the story of the Peverell brothers
They each made their choice, one wiser than others
They stripped me of wand and of cloak and of stone
And I bade young Ignotus be selfless and roam
And many years passed ‘til he called me his home
But I took the other two for my own. 

N.B. I rather like the moral of this story.

I Feel Pretty

(Except from the musical "West Side Story", also used in the movie "Anger Management" by Dr. Buddy Rydell, played by Jack Nicholson)

MARIA:

I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight.

I feel charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real.

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

I feel stunning
And entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy!

GIRLS:

Have you met my good friend Maria,
The craziest girl on the block?
You'll know her the minute you see her,
She's the one who is in an advanced state of shock.

She thinks she's in love.
She thinks she's in Spain.
She isn't in love,
She's merely insane.

It must be the heat
Or some rare disease,
Or too much to eat
Or maybe it's fleas.

Keep away from her,
Send for Chino!
This is not the
Maria we know!

Modest and pure,
Polite and refined,
Well-bred and mature
And out of her mind!

MARIA:

I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty
That the city should give me its key.
A committee
Should be organized to honour me.

GIRLS:

La la la la . . .

MARIA:

I feel dizzy,
I feel sunny,
I feel fizzy and funny and fine,
And so pretty,
Miss America can just resign!

GIRLS:

La la la la . . .

MARIA:

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:

GIRLS:

What mirror where?

MARIA:

Who can that attractive girl be?

GIRLS:

Which? What? Where? Whom?

MARIA:

Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

GIRLS:

Such a pretty me!

ALL:

I feel stunning
And entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy!

網上歌 - 他約我去迪士尼

原曲歌手: kellyjackie @ Royals
原曲作者: kellyjackie @ Royals
原曲作詞: 海藍 @ Royals ／ 庭 @ Royals
原曲編曲: 林柿 @ Royals


兜過幾個圈　看木馬旋轉　美夢似是遙遠　仍埋藏著繾綣
快樂旅途中　有沒有熱戀　看著這入場券　如同尋獲溫暖

笑問你　你話連夜候票再多的困倦　也不怨　似在平靜地說出　絲絲的愛戀

畢生也願記起　香港迪士尼　煙火璀璨夜晚定會很美
坐咖啡杯　溫馨記憶　旋轉中細味　天邊星宿也沒法比

今天心碎或痛悲　只需要記住陪伴在你身邊有米妮
始終可以幸福地　沉迷在美夢裡希冀

要是你　決定明日伴我去闖天與地　會很美　故事延續下世紀　一生都記起

不必理是與非　不需要顧忌　穿梭堡壘內陪伴我嬉戲
米老鼠　比精品店的美　輕輕靠近　都可使我快樂跳起

當　身邊掛著相機　假使到最後還未望到不准你別離
可知心裡正準備　無緣合照亦抱緊你

公主與白雪都　不需要羨慕　因可跟你在長夜裡擁抱
見阿拉丁　本想說聲坐飛氈　卻又不可媲美你待我好

星空不算是太高　假使有你在旁陪伴我一起每段路
可將一切記心內　明日共你愉快傾訴

N.B. As i understand it, the above song is available for free distribution over the internet, which is in fact the song's initial place of release. The song can be found and downloaded at the following website:
http://www.hkedcity.net/sch_files/a/tpp/tpp-a3570/public_html/dis.mp3

Random Thoughts - Playing among the Fields of Gold

I have again reproduced in the following another of my all-time favourite song from the modern era, "Fields of gold", by Sting. Like "Mad About You" as discussed in my previous posting, the lyrics of Sting’s “Fields of gold” has, in my opinion, also extensively utilised vivid imagery to convey the central theme. Unlike "Mad about you" whose theme centres on the vast emptiness of power, the central theme of "Fields of gold" should be that of love that lives at eternity's sunrise. The last four words of the previous sentence were of course borrowed from the great poet Willaim Blake's "Independence of Joy" which incidentally was reproduced in one of my earlier postings. I just could not find any other phrases that would describe how I feel about the lyrics of the song.

One of my greatest desire is to be able to sit at the verandah of my ranch house, overlooking vast fields of barley under the setting sun, together with the person I love, holding her hands firmly and kissing her lips gently, while our children play hide and seek among the fields of barley. Nothing would ever make me happier than the day when this scenario materialises. As such, I guess the reason why I feel so deeply for this song is because inside me, i secretly wanted to be the person in the song.

Fields of Gold (By Sting)

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold

So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold

It's Probably Me

(By Sting with Eric Clapton)

If the night turned cold and the stars looked down
And you hug yourself on the cold cold ground
You wake the morning in a stranger's coat
No one would you see
You ask yourself who'd watch for me
My only friend who could it be
It's hard to say it
I hate to say it but it's probably me

When you belly's empty and the hunger's so real
And you're too proud to beg and too dumb to steal
You search the city for your only friend
No one would you see
You ask yourself, who could it be
A solitary voice to speak out and set you free
I hate to say it
I hate to say it, but it's probably me

You're not the easiest person I ever got to know
And it's hard for us both to let our feelings show
Some would say
I should let you go your way
You'll only make me cry
If there's one guy, just one guy
Who'd lay down his life for you and die
It's hard to say it
It's hard to say it, but it's probably me

When the world's gone crazy and it makes no sense
There's only one voice that comes to your defence
The jury's out and your eyes search the room
And one friendly face is all you need to see
If there's one guy, just one guy
Who'd lay down his life for you and die
It's hard to say it
I hate to say it, but it's probably me
I hate to say itI hate to say it, but it's probably me

N.B. This is a wonderful song about friendship in a sad and desolate sort of way. The effect was further enhanced by the simple acoustics accompaniment which came in the form of Eric Clapton's guitar. At this point, I would like to highlight that there are actually two versions to the song. One version has only Sting performing to a traditional jazzy arrangement. The version I am referring to has both Sting and Eric Clapton performing to a bluesy arrangement, with Eric Clapton on the guitars and as backup vocals.

Random Thoughts - Emptiness of Power

I have reproduced in the following one of my all-time favourite song from the modern era, "Mad about you", by Sting. The lyrics of Sting’s “Mad about you” has, in my opinion, incorporated one of the most extensive use of vivid imagery in modern music. If you should be so kind as to review the lyrics, I am very sure that you would concur with my opinion.

Mad about you (By Sting)

A stone's throw from Jerusalem
I walked a lonely mile in the moonlight
And though a million stars were shining
My heart was lost on a distant planet
That whirls around the April moon
Whirling in an arc of sadnessI
'm lost without you, I'm lost without you
Though all my kingdoms turn to sand and fall into the sea
I'm mad about you, I'm mad about you

And from the dark secluded valleys
I heard the ancient songs of sadness
But every step I thought of you
Every footstep only you
Every star a grain of sand
The leavings of a dried up ocean
Tell me, how much longer,
How much longer?

They say a city in the desert lies
The vanity of an ancient king
But the city lies in broken pieces
Where the wind howls and the vultures sing
These are the works of man
This is the sum of our ambition
It would make a prison of my life
If you became another's wife
With every prison blown to dust
My enemies walk free
I'm mad about you, I'm mad about you

And I have never in my life
Felt more alone than I do now
Although I claim dominions over all I see
It means nothing to me
There are no victories
In all our histories
Without love

A stone's throw from Jerusalem
I walked a lonely mile in the moonlight
And though a million stars were shining
My heart was lost on a distant planet
That whirls around the April moon
Whirling in an arc of sadness
I'm lost without you, I'm lost without you

And though you hold the keys to ruin of everything I see
With every prison blown to dust my enemies walk free
Though all my kingdoms turn to sand and fall into the sea
I'm mad about you, I'm mad about you

The song's central theme on the vast emptiness of power has resonated very strongly with one of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s most famous poem, Ozymandias, which I had the honour of being examined upon in my literature lessons during my secondary school days. I have reproduced the said poem below.

Ozymandias (By Percy Bysshe Shelley)

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert.
Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

N.B. The morale of the story in this case should be everything is only transient and nothing lasts forever :)

Stairway to Heaven

(By Led Zeppelin)

There’s a lady who’s sure,
All that glitters is gold,
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows,
If the stores are all closed,
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

There’s a sign on the wall,
But she wants to be sure,
’cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook,
There’s a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.

Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There’s a feeling I get,
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen,
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking.

Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it’s whispered that soon,
If we all call the tune,
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn,
For those who stand long,
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow,
Don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the may queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run,
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.

And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won’t go,
In case you don’t know,
The piper’s calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know,
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road,
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know,
Who shines white light and wants to show
How ev’rything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard,
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all,
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

N.B. Although he will probably never get to read this in this life, I would however still like to extend my gratitude and thanks to MajorEasy for mentioning and dictating the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven in his post, thereby reviving my memory in respect of this very wonderful song :)

童年时

张国荣

童年时,我与你家乡中相见天未亮.
你与我永远心意也一样.
何时能再与你家乡中相见天未亮.
我这里每晚每朝也会对你想一趟.

童年时,我与你一双双走到阡陌上.
你要我替你采花插襟上.
何时能再与你一双双走到阡陌上
每次我看见野花也会对你想一趟

童年时,我与你打千秋想要攀月亮.
你说过要我将心挂天上.
何时能再与你打千秋飞到星月上.
每次我看见星星也会对你想一趟

童年时,我与你将颗心刻到花树上.
你说过两个痴心永守望.
何时能再与你一双双走到花树望.
再看看这两颗心有无永远相向

N.B. 这歌中的词是我所读过当中最有凄美感的一个.