I don’t know why I didn’t post this earlier. This song, “Olive Tree” (橄榄树) is Taiwanese songstress Chyi Yu’s (Qiyu / 齐豫) most famous work. It was released in 1979, and it’s an interesting mix of 1970s hippie vibes, and ancient Chinese poet-wanderer vibes. The lyrics of the song were actually inspired by a poem written by Taiwanese authoress Sanmao, the tragic poetess whose work I’ve featured on CRP before.
This song is also awesome for motivated beginner learners. To be clear, the vocabulary here is definitely upper-intermediate. BUT! There just aren’t that many words total, the song is very repetitive, and the sentence structure is very easy, meaning you only have to learn a few words, and then you can follow along.
Key vocab
故乡 – gùxiāng – homeland, hometown
远方 – yuǎnfāng – distant place, far away
流浪 – liúlàng – to wander, to roam
飞翔 – fēixiáng – to soar, to fly
山涧 – shānjiàn – mountain stream, ravine
小溪 – xiǎoxī – brook, small stream
宽阔 – kuānkuò – wide, broad, vast
草原 – cǎoyuán – grassland, prairie
橄榄树 – gǎnlǎnshù – olive tree
梦中 – mèngzhōng – in a dream
橄榄树
不要问我从哪里来 我的故乡在远方
为什么流浪 流浪远方 流浪
为了天空飞翔的小鸟 为了山涧轻流的小溪
为了宽阔的草原 流浪远方 流浪
还有还有 为了梦中的橄榄树 橄榄树
不要问我从哪里来 我的故乡在远方
为什么流浪 为什么流浪远方
为了我梦中的橄榄树
不要问我从哪里来 我的故乡在远方
为什么流浪 流浪远方 流浪
The Olive Tree
Don’t ask me where I come from, my homeland is far away
Why do I wander? Wandering to distant places, wandering
For the birds soaring in the sky, for the streams gently flowing through mountain valleys
For the vast grasslands, wandering to distant places, wandering
And also, also for the olive tree in my dreams, the olive tree
Don’t ask me where I come from, my homeland is far away
Why do I wander? Why do I wander to distant places?
For the olive tree in my dreams
Don’t ask me where I come from, my homeland is far away
Why do I wander? Wandering to distant places, wandering