See below for Light Years Away by GEM: lyrics, pinyin and English translation! (aka 光年之外 Guang Nian Zhi Wai by 鄧紫棋 Deng Zi Qi)
“Lightyears Away” is the Chinese theme song for the 2016 sci-fi movie Passengers. Written and sung by Hong-Kong singer GEM, the song describes the relationship between the two main characters.
The haunting opening melody evokes a sense of the dark emptiness of outer space (where the movie is set) and erupts into a desperate chorus where the speaker describes his/her desperate and overwhelming love for the other person.
CONTENTS
Original Lyrics / Pinyin / Translation
(I) feel the fingers that stop in my hair
How a moment freezes time
(I) see the pair of eyes looking steadily at me
Maybe there already is no tomorrow
Facing a vast sea of stars
We are as small as dust
Floating in helplessness
Destiny made us fall in love in the middle of danger
Maybe in the future, far beyond light years
I am willing to guard an unknown location, waiting for you
I never thought that for your sake, I would go insane to the point of
Landslides, tidal waves. Without you, I don’t want to escape
My own mind. For your sake, I’ve already gone insane to the point of
(feeling like) my pulse and heartbeat are totally unimportant without you
are sufficient for resisting the rotation/revolution of the Earth
A type of stubborn persistence not willing to let go
Is enough to light up all hopes
The universe is immense and cold
Our love is small yet shining
precarious, yet selfless
Perhaps outside of this path is a dream from which (we) do not wake
Outside of this chaotic worold is the most pure embrace
(We) met outside a choatic word, (we) fell in love in the midst of danger
Lyrics in Colloquial English
I feel your fingers stopping in my hair and sense how a moment can freeze time. I remember your steady gaze, and think that perhaps there is no more tomorrow.
Facing a vast sea of stars, we are as small and insignificant as dust, floating helplessly.
BRIDGE
Fate led us to meet each other outside this troubled world, destiny made us fall in love in these dangerous times. Maybe our future is in a distant place, lightyears away from here. I’m willing to wait for you in that unknown place.
CHORUS
I never thought that for your sake I’d go crazy, it feels like landslides and tidal waves. Without you I don’t even want to escape my own mind. Because of you, I’ve gone crazy to the point where even my pulse and heartbeat are unimportant without you.
A pair of arms wrapped around my chest are enough to protect me from the revolution of the earth and sky. A type of stubborn persistence is enough to light up all my hopes.
The universe is majestic yet cold, and our love is tiny, yet shining, precarious and bumpy, yet selfless.
Perhaps outside this road there is a dream from which we don’t wake. Perhaps outside this path there is a pure embrace.
Lyrics Explained
(I) feel the fingers that stop in my hair
- 感受 / 停在 / 我 / 髮端 / 的 / 指尖 = Feel / stopping in / my / hair end / ‘s / fingertips
How a moment freezes time
- 如何 / 瞬間 / 凍結 / 時間 = how / a moment / freezes / time
(I) see the pair of eyes looking steadily at me
- 記住 / 望著 / 我 / 堅定 / 的 / 雙眼 = Remembering / watching / me / steady / (possessive word) / pair of eyes
Maybe there already is no tomorrow
- 也許 / 已經 / 沒有 / 明天 = Maybe / already / no / tomorrow
Facing a vast sea of stars
- 面對 / 浩瀚 / 的 / 星海 = facing / vast / (possessive word) / star+sea=sea of stars
We are as small as dust
- 我們 / 微小得 / 像 / 塵埃 = we / small / like / dust
Floating in helplessness
- 漂浮 / 在 / 一片 / 無奈 = floating / in / a piece of / helplessness
- 緣份 / 讓 / 我們 / 相遇 / 亂世 / 以外 = Fate / let or made / us / meet / chaos or trouble / outside
Destiny made us fall in love in the middle of danger
- 命運 / 卻要 / 我們 / 危難 / 中 / 相愛 = Destiny / yet wanted / us / danger / midst / love (each other)
Maybe in the future, far beyond light years
- 也許 / 未來 / 遙遠 / 在 / 光年 / 之外 = Maybe / future / distant / at / light years / beyond or outside
I am willing to guard an unknown location, waiting for you
- 我 / 願 / 守候 / 未知裡 / 為你 / 等待 = I / (am) willing / wait / inside the unknown / for you / wait
I never thought that for your sake, I would go insane to the point of
- 我 / 沒 / 想到 / 為了你 / 我能 / 瘋狂到 = I / not / think of / for you / I can / go crazy to the point of
Landslides, tidal waves. Without you, I don’t want to escape
- 山崩 / 海嘯 / 沒有你 / 根本 / 不想 / 逃 = landslide / tidal wave / without you / totally / don’t want / escape
My own mind. For your sake, I’ve already gone insane to the point of
- 我的 / 大腦 / 為了你 / 已經 / 瘋狂到 = my / head / for your sake / (I’ve) already / gone crazy to the point of
(feeling like) my pulse and heartbeat are totally unimportant without you
- 脈搏 / 心跳 / 沒有你 / 根本 / 不重要 = Pulse / heartbeat / without you / totally / not important
- 一雙 / 圍在 / 我胸口 / 的 / 臂彎 = a pair (of) / wrapped around / my chest / (possessive word) / bent arms
are sufficient for resisting the rotation/revolution of the Earth
- 足夠 / 抵擋 / 天旋地轉 = enough / (to) withstand / sky+spin+land+turn=rotation
A type of stubborn persistence not willing to let go
- 一種 / 執迷 / 不 / 放手 / 的 / 倔強 = A type of / obstinate / not / letting go / (possesive word) / stubbornness
Is enough to light up all hopes
- 足以 / 點燃 / 所有 / 希望 = enough to / light up / all / hopes
The universe is immense and cold
- 宇宙 / 磅礡 / 而 / 冷漠 = Universe / majestic / and / cold or indifferent
Our love is small yet shining
- 我們的愛 / 微小 / 卻 / 閃爍 = our love / tiny / yet / twinkling
precarious, yet selfless
- 顛簸 / 卻 / 如此 / 忘我 = Bumpy / yet / so / self-forgetful
Perhaps outside of this path is a dream from which (we) do not wake
- 也許 / 航道 / 以外 / 是 / 醒不來 / 的 / 夢 = Maybe / channel, path, road / outside / is / can’t wake up / (possessive word) / dream
Outside of this chaotic worold is the most pure embrace
- 亂世 / 以外 / 是 / 純粹 / 的 / 相擁 = troublesome (world or times) / outside / is / pure / embrace
(We) met outside a choatic word, (we) fell in love in the midst of danger
- Same as above
Singable English Lyrics
I feel your fingers linger in my hair
And a moment from time borrow
I am arrested by your piercing pair
of eyes looking; no tomorrow
Seeing this unending sky
We seem to be no more than dust fly-
-ing in a helpless timeline
BRIDGE
In the midst of chaos we have come to know
Love that supercedes all danger, even so
Maybe in the distance, lightyears far from here
I am willing to stay and wait for you dear
CHORUS
Never knew that
For your sake I would go insane
Waves and landslides
Without you I cannot escape
From my own mind
For your sake I can only say
My heart will die
Without you I can’t live one day
Your arms are wrapped securely around me
They can hold up both earth and sky
And your persistent love is all I need
to fill me up with hope and light
The universe is boundless and cold
But I know that our love will always hold
and enfold us within its mold
Maybe
Beyond this road
Are dreams that do not wake
Outside this world
Is the only pure embrace