1. When one is down in life and needs encouragement, "I Believe" is one of the songs to turn to - listening to this song is very therapeutic.
"I Believe" is the Cantonese theme song for the Japanese TV drama "Oshin", which started airing in Japan in April, 1983.
"Oshin tells the story of a girl born in a very poor rural family in Japan, who through hard work and perseverance eventually triumphs over pain and adversity to achieve fame and success." ("Oshin" in DramaWiki)
"Shin" is the name of that girl.
The accent or emphasis of the story of Oshin is not "to achieve fame and success", but "triumphs over pain and adversity" through "hard work and perseverance".
Three actresses played Shin in the TV Drama:
(a) Ayako Kobayashi (6 to 10 years old) .
(b) Yuko Tanaka (16 to 46 years old) .
(c) Nobuko Otowa (50 to 84 years old) .
Oshin is a very powerful drama - watching it in the 1980s actually brought me to tears many times.
2. To cater to the Hong Kong market, two songs were specially written for the Cantonese dubbing of Oshin: "I Believe" ("信") by Judy Ongg and "Offerings for Love" ("愛的奉獻").
To cater to the Taiwan market, two songs were also written for the Mandarin dubbings: "Always Believe" ("永遠相信") by Judy Ongg and "A Thankful Heart" ("感恩的心") by AuYeung Fei Fei.
The word "shin" means "believe" in both Japanese and Chinese, so "believe" appears a lot in the songs' title.
"Shin" ("Believe") is the name of the girl; "believe", as in believing in goodness and the future in the face of adversities, is also a major motif of the TV Drama.
So the single worded title of the song "信" can simply be translated as "Believe"; but given the story line of Oshin, it can equally well be translated as "I Believe".
My preference is for "I Believe".
3. A Mandarin version of "I Believe" also appeared.
It was also sung by Judy Ongg; the music is the same but the title and lyrics are different.
The new title is "Because I Believe" ("因為相信").
The Mandarin lyrics are more relaxed than its Cantonese counterparts and, in my opinion, nearly as good.
4. A search in YouTube yields a few instances of this song.
The original Cantonese version by Judy Ongg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPGe3qlOzJk
A memorable song!
The video consists of a static photo of the three Japanese actresses that played Shin.
5. A cover version by Andy Lau:
"I Believe" is the Cantonese theme song for the Japanese TV drama "Oshin", which started airing in Japan in April, 1983.
"Oshin tells the story of a girl born in a very poor rural family in Japan, who through hard work and perseverance eventually triumphs over pain and adversity to achieve fame and success." ("Oshin" in DramaWiki)
"Shin" is the name of that girl.
The accent or emphasis of the story of Oshin is not "to achieve fame and success", but "triumphs over pain and adversity" through "hard work and perseverance".
Three actresses played Shin in the TV Drama:
(a) Ayako Kobayashi (6 to 10 years old) .
(b) Yuko Tanaka (16 to 46 years old) .
(c) Nobuko Otowa (50 to 84 years old) .
Oshin is a very powerful drama - watching it in the 1980s actually brought me to tears many times.
2. To cater to the Hong Kong market, two songs were specially written for the Cantonese dubbing of Oshin: "I Believe" ("信") by Judy Ongg and "Offerings for Love" ("愛的奉獻").
To cater to the Taiwan market, two songs were also written for the Mandarin dubbings: "Always Believe" ("永遠相信") by Judy Ongg and "A Thankful Heart" ("感恩的心") by AuYeung Fei Fei.
The word "shin" means "believe" in both Japanese and Chinese, so "believe" appears a lot in the songs' title.
"Shin" ("Believe") is the name of the girl; "believe", as in believing in goodness and the future in the face of adversities, is also a major motif of the TV Drama.
So the single worded title of the song "信" can simply be translated as "Believe"; but given the story line of Oshin, it can equally well be translated as "I Believe".
My preference is for "I Believe".
3. A Mandarin version of "I Believe" also appeared.
It was also sung by Judy Ongg; the music is the same but the title and lyrics are different.
The new title is "Because I Believe" ("因為相信").
The Mandarin lyrics are more relaxed than its Cantonese counterparts and, in my opinion, nearly as good.
4. A search in YouTube yields a few instances of this song.
The original Cantonese version by Judy Ongg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPGe3qlOzJk
A memorable song!
The video consists of a static photo of the three Japanese actresses that played Shin.
5. A cover version by Andy Lau:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXwqJpQsZMk
I like the arrangement of this version.
6. Sally Yeh covering the song in concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmTPQ97aYBk
Sally is a very talented singer.
7. "Because I Believe" by Judy Ongg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdM5mjAHGI0
Very nice.
8. Another version of "I Believe" by Judy Ongg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqdG1PafnzQ
(All four of Judy Ongg's songs associated with Oshin!)
9. This sidewalk karaoke performance is quite good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb40901OkVY
Another angle of the same performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlX8b3Nkdz8
According to the uploader, this sidewalk karaoke is located in Mongkok District, Hong Kong.
10. A nice cover version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3FDGDSrTi4
11. Judy Ongg in concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8gagAzqCgI
She was so beautiful!
12. The Lyrics of "I Believe" in Traditional Chinese:
信 - 翁倩玉
雲與清風可以常擁有
關注共愛不可強求
不強求 不強求 永遠等候
如必需苦楚 我承受
＊ 誰會珍惜當你還擁有
將要逝去總想挽留
想挽留 想挽留 看似荒謬
求今天所得 永遠守
＃ 命運是對手 永不低頭
從來沒抱怨半句 不去問理由
仍踏著前路走 青春走到白頭
成功只有靠一雙手
重唱 ＊,＃,＃
命運是對手 永不低頭
從來沒抱怨半句 不去問理由
仍踏著前路走 青春走到白頭
成功只有靠堅守信心 奮鬥
13. The Lyrics of "I Believe" in Simplified Chinese:
信 - 翁倩玉
云与清风可以常拥有
关注共爱不可强求
不强求 不强求 永远等候
如必需苦楚 我承受
＊ 谁会珍惜当你还拥有
将要逝去总想挽留
想挽留 想挽留 看似荒谬
求今天所得 永远守
＃ 命运是对手 永不低头
从来没抱怨半句 不去问理由
仍踏著前路走 青春走到白头
成功只有靠一双手
重唱 ＊,＃,＃
命运是对手 永不低头
从来没抱怨半句 不去问理由
仍踏著前路走 青春走到白头
成功只有靠坚守信心 奋斗
14. The Lyrics of "Because I Believe" in Traditional Chinese:
因為相信 - 翁倩玉
白雲清風怎麼可能擁有 只有今天握在我手
讓生活讓愛情將我左右 為一個值得的理由
該做的事做的毫無保留 該走的路不再回頭
一個人兩個人總會要走 即使有孤獨的時候
因為我相信所以我追求 不該屬於我的一切我不想擁有
在花花世界裡什麼才是不朽 曾經付出 也是一種成就
只要我相信就讓我追求 不該屬於我的一切我不想擁有
在花花世界裡什麼才是不朽 能夠隨心所欲 也是一種成就
15. The Lyrics of "Because I Believe" in Simplified Chinese:
因为相信 - 翁倩玉
白云清风怎么可能拥有 只有今天握在我手
让生活让爱情将我左右 为一个值得的理由
该做的事做的毫无保留 该走的路不再回头
一个人两个人总会要走 即使有孤独的时候
因为我相信所以我追求 不该属于我的一切我不想拥有
在花花世界里什么才是不朽 曾经付出 也是一种成就
只要我相信就让我追求 不该属于我的一切我不想拥有
在花花世界里什么才是不朽 能够随心所欲 也是一种成就
16. Names, Words and Phrases:
Judy Ongg (Traditional Chinese: 翁倩玉; Simplified Chinese: 翁倩玉).
Andy Lau (Traditional: 劉德華; Simplified: 刘德华)
AuYeung Fei Fei (Traditional: 歐陽菲菲; Simplified: 欧阳菲菲).
Ayako Kobayashi (Traditional: 小林綾子; Simplified: 小林绫子).
Nobuko Otowa (Traditional: 乙羽信子; Simplified: 乙羽信子).
Oshin (Traditional: 阿信的故事; Simplified: 阿信的故事).
Sally Yeh (Traditional: 葉蒨文; Simplified: 叶倩文).
Yuko Tanaka (Traditional: 田中裕子; Simplified: 田中裕子).
References:
"Judy Ongg", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Ongg
(accessed 2011-12-30).
"Oshin", DramaWiki,
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Oshin
(accessed 2011-12-30).
"Oshin", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshin
(accessed 2011-12-30).
"翁倩玉", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%BF%81%E5%80%A9%E7%8E%89
(accessed 2011-12-30).
"阿信的故事", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%98%BF%E4%BF%A1_%28%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87%29
(accessed 2011-12-30).
End.
