2008-02-07

Do you cheer, do you hear?

It is the New Year's Eve to the holiday celebrating Chinese Spring Festival. While we are either leaving a party or expecting a friends reunion tomorrow, childhood memory may come back to refresh how happy and enjoyful of a New Year will be. Do you hear the laughter? Do you hear the music? Do you remember of a song known and sung by kids all over the world, whatever nation or language?

The story was from French in origin. See Frère Jacques in wikipedia.org, as well as a multilingual collection on video. The English song is like this:
    Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping?(睡眼朦胧,睡眼朦胧)
    Brother John, Brother John?(约翰兄,约翰兄?)
    Morning bells are ringing,Morning bells are ringing(外面响起晨钟,外面响起晨钟),
    Ding, dang, dong!Ding, dang, dong(叮、铛、咚!叮、铛、咚!)

Certainly there is a Chinese version (my translation on right):
    两只老虎,两只老虎,         There're two tigers, there're two tigers
    跑得快,跑得快,           Ran like deers, ran like deers
    一只没有耳朵(眼睛),一只没有尾巴, One had no tail, one had no ear
    真奇怪!真奇怪!           It's so weird, it's so queer

Here comes my version:
    Do you cheer, do you hear?
    I am here, I am near
    Do you like to stare? Don't you have to fear
    Oh my deer, oh my dear

Well, the rhymes are from here.

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