The Road Ahead – NDP Theme Song

Such beautiful lyrics…

One man on an island
One drop in the sea
All it takes to set a wave in motion

Is a single word, an action
A hope that we can be
The change that we’ve been longing to see

For our home, our land, our family
It’s all within our reach

See this island, every grain of sand
Hear this anthem, it’s the voices of our friends
Come whatever on the road ahead
We did it before, and we’ll do it again

When the moments turn to hours
And the day’s last light is gone
Look around us always and remember

There were times we were uncertain
But we just kept walking on
It’s always darkest just before the dawn

See this island, every grain of sand
Hear this anthem, it’s the voices of our friends
Come whatever on the road ahead
We did it before, and we’ll do it again

Our home, the home we share
Where the garden always grows toward the light
Though the road ahead is daunting,
I know we’re gonna be alright

See this island, every grain of sand
Hear this anthem, it’s the voices of our friends
Come whatever on the road ahead
We did it before, and we’ll do it again

A-Lin- 有一種悲傷 A Kind of Sorrow

我不羨慕 太陽
Wǒ bù xiànmù tàiyáng
照不亮你 過往
zhào bù liàng nǐ guòwǎng
有些黑暗 我們 都一樣
yÇ’uxiÄ“ hÄ“i’àn wÇ’men dōu yÄ«yàng

我太嫉妒 時光
wǒ tài jídù shíguāng
能離開的 大方
néng líkāi de dàfāng
不用開口 也就無需躲藏
bùyòng kāikǒu yě jiù wúxū duǒcáng

有一種悲傷
yǒu yīzhǒng bēishāng
是你的名字停留在我的過往
shì nǐ de míngzì tíngliú zài wǒ de guòwǎng
陪伴我呼吸 決定我微笑模樣
péibàn wǒ hūxī juédìng wǒ wéixiào múyàng
無法遺忘
wúfǎ yíwàng

有一種悲傷
yǒu yīzhǒng bēishāng
是笑著與你分開 思念卻背對背張望
shì xiàozhe yǔ nǐ fēnkāi sīniàn què bèiduìbèi zhāngwàng
剩下倔強 剩下合照一張
shèng xià juéjiàng shèng xià hézhào yī zhāng

成為彼此的路 多嚮往 怎會失去方向
chéngwéi bǐcǐ de lù duō xiàngwǎng zěn huì shīqù fāngxiàng
有一種悲傷Oh
yǒu yīzhǒng bēishāng Oh
留在我過往 無法遺忘Oh
liú zài wǒ guòwǎng wúfǎ yíwàng Oh

有一種悲傷
yǒu yīzhǒng bēishāng
是你義無反顧 讓愛成為 我身上的光
shì nǐ yìwúfǎngù ràng ài chéngwéi wǒ shēnshang de guāng
給我溫暖 卻不准我遺忘
gěi wǒ wēnnuǎn què bù zhǔn wǒ yíwàng

有一種悲傷
yǒu yīzhǒng bēishāng
不想要與你分開 思念才背對背張望
bùxiǎng yào yǔ nǐ fēnkāi sīniàn cái bèiduìbèi zhāngwàng
你是所有 你是合照一張
nǐ shì suǒyǒu nǐ shì hézhào yī zhāng


English Meaning

i don’t envy the sun
it can’t light up your past
there’s some darkness
we are all the same

i’m jealous of time
that can leave moments so easily
it doesn’t need to say anything
it doesn’t need to hide

there’s a kind of sadness
which is your name stuck in my past
it accompanies my breath
and it determines the way I smile
unable to forget

there’s a kind of sadness
which is smiling while leaving you,
but thoughts of missing you is back facing you
what remains is a photo together

becoming each others path, but losing the direction
there’s a kind of sadness
that stays with my past
unable to forget

there’s a kind of sadness
which is you unconditionally let love become the light in me
giving me warmth but not letting me forget

there’s a kind of sadness
not wanting to be apart from you
but but the memories continue to linger
you are just a photo of us together

Sojung, Korea’s Queen of Ballads

I don’t remember when I first heard Lee Sojung’s voice. Unique, Husky, Sincere, Honest, Gentle. It would have been most likely this video of her singing “I Don’t Love you” by Urban Zakapa from YouTube and I was mesmerised. There is a strange painful and melancholic quality to her voice. She looked like she meant every word she uttered and her facial expressions just reinforced that.

Slowly I went to check out other songs she did.

She did a collab for “I don’t want” by Jung Key and it’s the same heart wrenching quality that makes you want to be honest to yourself and cry your heart out. Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t know how better to explain the feeling when I hear her sing.

One of her latest song “Better than Me” again slows you down and just like in the music video, makes you look into nothing and focus on nothing and just soak in the melancholy.

After getting all the lyrics translated, the powerful phrases made the songs immediate classics in my mind.

How does her voice have this quality? Who is she? What are her life experiences?

I set out to investigate.

Lee So-jung, one of the finalists on The Voice Korea 2012, main vocals of Ladies Code. Then I read up more about Ladies’ Code and I cried…

The band Ladies’ Code was formed by Polaris Entertainment and the band originally had 5 members. Ashley, EunB, RiSe, Sojung, Zuny. On 3 Sep 2014 the group returning to Seoul after a performance at Daegu ran into a fatal accident. The back tire of the van they were in fell out and the van ran into the wall. EunB was dead at the scene of the accident and she was 21. RiSe had 4 surgeries but doctors had to stop when her blood pressure fell and she went into a coma. 4 days later RiSe passed away, she was 23.

Sojung had major injuries as well and underwent surgery for her arm and fractured skull. Sojung reportedly apologised for her inability to continue with their current performances with Ladies’ Code when she regained consciousness not knowing that her bandmates have passed. She then suspected something when all her visitors came in black.

The other two members Ashley and Zuny did not have any major injuries, but were said to be treated for their severe shock.

How did this accident turn out so terribly horrific? The ambulance worker stated, “While saving the lives of those who were collapsed after going out to the site, I do not recall undoing any seat belts.”

*sob*

How would you feel if you were 3 of your 5 band mates that had an accident and needed surgery, but you were the only one that survived?

The accident was on 3 September 2014. Sojung’s turned 21 that fateful day.

*tissues*

A week after the tragedy, a music video for Ladies’ Code’s song “I’m Fine Thank You” was released showing Ladies’ Code having fun, working hard, and talking directly to the camera. The song had become a rallying cry by fans after the tragedy. It also became the memorial song for Ladies’ Code after the accident killed two members.

Then one year later, Ladies’ Code released “I’ll Smile Even If It Hurts”. It’s painful just to see the lyrics knowing what happened.

*breath*

Anyway, Sojung have amazing talent and I’ll continue to watch out for her music.

UPDATE

Sojung released two new songs around the 5th Anniversary of Ladies’ Code. ‘Crystal Clear’ and ‘Stay Here’.

I’m liking how her music direction is going.