Friday, February 24, 2012

[Music] Shirley Kwan - Dream Partner




1. "Dream Partner" ("夢伴") is originally a Japanese song sung by Masahiko Kondo and was first covered in Cantonese by Anita Mui.

I am going to break protocol and list it under Shirley Kwan for the reason that it is her version that has influenced me.

"Dream Partner" has three very distinct Cantonese interpretations:

(a) Anita Mui's original cover came out in 1985 and was influenced by John Travolta's Grease (1978).

It is Anita Mui's version that has the greatest influenced on the Cantonese public.

(b) Shirley Kwan's version was a very interesting cross between Cantopop and Rhythm and Blues.

It came out in 1995 and was part of Shirley's album " 'EX' All Time Favourites".

(c) Erika Lee's version came out in 2010 and is a slow guitar version.

The album name is simply "Erika".


2. A search in YouTube yields many instances of this song.

A version from Shirley Kwan's 1995 album " 'EX' All Time Favourites":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHtrqlE1IM

I really like the feel of this song.


3. A concert version by Shirley Kwan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcF6vZpZNak

The uploader did not say when this concert was; but it must be quite recent.


4. The Japanese original by Masahiko Kondo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNgk5Ej73JM


5. Anita Mui in 1986:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l8PUGDkhTw

Did she look like John Travolta?


6. Anita Mui -- A remix version for disco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6hp2LevB08


7. A pretty rare music video by Anita Mui: 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_p9V1iTYbg


8. A rare Mandarin version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFYYKCixUbo

Anita Mui was performing in Taiwan in 1990.


9. Erika Lee's slow guitar version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEpf9hWIOtc

The album name is "Erika".


10. A must see sidewalk karaoke version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7IXBEo8HHQ

Miss Chan sang with chutzpah. Bravo!

The sidewalk karaoke is located in Mongkok District, Hong Kong.


11. Aaron Kwok paying tribute to Anita Mui in concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSuQR_resI

The concert was in 2004, less than a year after Anita's death from cancer.


12. Cantonese Opera singer Liang Yurong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdhKM6jv-Lg

Liang is from Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China.

She did not get this song right, did she?


13. Miss Lau is a very good singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raqhVcAhyk4


14. Barbie sang surprisingly well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryepQjPSlFM

But what was "Kan" doing?


15. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


夢伴 - 梅艷芳

煤氣燈不禁影照街裡一對蚯蚓
照過以倆心相親一對小情人
沉默以擁吻抵抗一切的冰與冷
晚意借北風輕輕的飄起長長裙
多溫馨 (心裡)
風中那笑聲 (淌淚)

*嘗盡了失意的我將一切都褪去
再到這風中心中竟彷似傷痕纍纍
然後再憶記起當晚跟你在這裡
相依相擁中
交出的心早已失去 (失去 已破碎)
不可以再追 (酒淚)
(DON'T WORRY, DON'T WORRY BABY)

#今天今天星閃閃
剩下我北風中漆黑中帶著淚
念當天當天跟他一起的每天
今天今天星閃閃
剩下我漆黑中北風中帶淚悼念
當天的心   歡欣
再也再也再也不見
一切已失去   不可以再追

Repeat   *,#

一切已失去   不可以再追
一切已失去


16. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


梦伴 - 梅艳芳

煤气灯不禁影照街里一对蚯蚓
照过以俩心相亲一对小情人
沉默以拥吻抵抗一切的冰与冷
晚意借北风轻轻的飘起长长裙
多温馨 (心里)
风中那笑声 (淌泪)

*尝尽了失意的我将一切都褪去
再到这风中心中竟彷似伤痕累累
然后再忆记起当晚跟你在这里
相依相拥中
交出的心早已失去 (失去 已破碎)
不可以再追 (酒泪)
(DON'T WORRY, DON'T WORRY BABY)

#今天今天星闪闪
剩下我北风中漆黑中带着泪
念当天当天跟他一起的每天
今天今天星闪闪
剩下我漆黑中北风中带泪悼念
当天的心   欢欣
再也再也再也不见
一切已失去   不可以再追

Repeat   *,#

一切已失去 不可以再追
一切已失去


17. Names, Words and Phrases:

Shirley Kwan (Traditional Chinese: 關淑怡; Simplified Chinese: 关淑怡).

Aaron Kwok (Traditional: 郭富城; Simplified: 郭富城).

Anita Mui (Traditional: 梅艷芳; Simplified: 梅艳芳).

Barbie (Traditional: 芭比; Simplified: 芭比).

Erika Lee (Traditional: 李悅君; Simplified: 李悦君).

Guangdong (Traditional: 廣東; Simplified: 广东).

Guangzhou (Traditional: 廣州; Simplified: 广州).

John Travolta (Traditional: 約翰·屈伏塔; Simplified: 约翰·特拉沃尔塔).

(Rendition of foreign names in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are often different from each other.)

Liang Yurong (Traditional: 梁玉嶸; Simplified: 梁玉嵘).

Masahiko Kondo (Traditional: 近藤真彦; Simplified: 近藤真彦).

Mongkok District (Traditional: 旺角區; Simplified: 旺角区).

Rhythm and blues (Traditional: 節奏藍調; Simplified: 节奏蓝调).


References:

"Shirley Kwan", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Kwan
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"EX All Time Favourites", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/EX_All_Time_Favourites
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"關淑怡", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E9%97%9C%E6%B7%91%E6%80%A1
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"壞女孩", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A3%9E%E5%A5%B3%E5%AD%A9
(accessed 2012-02-24).

End.