【Himmel & 大♂古】Zhiyu Moke – Virtual Boy 虚拟少年【English Translation】

Composition: himmel
Lyrics: 大♂古 (Da ♂ Gu)
Tuning: OQQ

Official links: [BiliBili] [Youtube]

Song Translation:

在你陷入沉眠之前 设定好了剧情 计划任务惯例 早已把吵闹的推送关停 你的耳畔 反复着我的低语 请在梨花树下 如约苏醒	The plot of this story has been set up From before you’re sunk deep into sleep The usual practices in planning out each role and task Have long since shut off each push of noise to nil By your ears My whispers ring out again and again If you will, please, Come to again as you always do under that pear blossom tree [1]
才记起 副本的原则最绝情 从末有 相逢不相忘的心 你被放逐在故事里 用梦解锁咒语 明知情动尚不可虚拟 却没来由地沉迷	It was only then That we remember how heartless this doctrine of a copy is There has never been An instance when we’ve seen a heart that won’t forget You’re being exiled into a story To unlock the curse with a dream These motions of feelings we’ve known quite well, still there can be no simulating them But even so you’ve sunk yourself deep without giving any good reason
忘掉鲜衣怒马现身时的那些浮夸 攀谈的每句话 你都不厌其烦入微观察 山长水阔 偶遇未必更潇洒 我的人间 你走不到天涯	Forget, if you will, of all the pompous grandeur we’ve seen out of that ostentatious display [2] Every word of this little conversation You’ve been very patient in taking them to heart down to each minute detail The mountains stand tall while the waters stretch far To meet again may not have been easier This world of mine You’ll never reach the ends of it
就尽情 欣赏沿途一路风景 体会我 建模时宕机的心 我被封存在真实里 不为谁而开启 明知记忆尚不可提取 却一再想要推积	So please, as much as you’d like Feel free to gaze and gawk at the scenery on the road we walk And understand this This heart of mine that crashes when the model is made I’m being sealed up in reality Not to be opened up to anybody These memories I’ve known quite well, still there can be no way to extract them But even so I keep wanting to pile up on it
相拥已经太久 月光褪色般温柔 这衷肠对酒的绸缪 何处扁舟 择棋子 挑灯花 视线交错的一刹 仿佛你 把天地复刻在我眉骨下 辞旧话 煮新茶 管他身是过客 似镜里韶华 漏中流沙	It’s been too long since we’ve held in each other’s arms The moon shines with a faded lustre, warm and gentle This sentimental attachment, poured out with all our hearts to wine I wonder where in it we may find little boats lie? Pick your chess piece, raise a lantern to the flowers In that fleeting moment when our gazes cross It is like You repeatedly carving the world right under my brows Resign the words of old, brew up some fresh tea to chat over Even if he and I had had absolutely no relation He is like the glorious youthful years trapped behind a mirror, the trickling sand in an hourglass
才记起 副本的原则最绝情 从未有 相逢不相忘的心 你被放逐在故事里 用梦解锁咒语 明知情动尚不可虚拟 却没来由地沉迷	It was only then That we remember how heartless this doctrine of a copy is There has never been An instance when we’ve seen a heart that won’t forget You’re being exiled into a story To unlock the curse with a dream These motions of feelings we’ve known quite well, still there can be no simulating them But even so you’ve sunk yourself deep without giving any good reason
我被封存在数据里 从前世苏醒 想挣开岁月 那虚无的侵袭 自定义是我 未命名是你 无关于轮回的密令 你我明知在故事里 梦醒就分离 明知相守模式尚不可沉浸 重置前是我 忘却前的你 还在等那抹黎明	I’m being sealed up in data To wake up from my lives of past How I’d like to open up those years To that onslaught of nothingness The one who is self-defined is me [3a] The one without a name is you [3b] There can be no relation to any secret order from the cycle of reincarnation You and I know quite well that in this story We’ll part once we awake from this dream These methods of protecting each other we’ve known quite well, but still we can’t immerse ourselves into it The me soon to be reset The you soon to be forgotten Are still waiting for that small bit of dawn

Translation notes:

To explain the song lyrics: The song has many poetic nuances (basically lines that reference traditional and abstract concepts/metaphors) that make it hard to interpret. With that being said, most of the song here is translated fairly literally, i.e. I’ve made no effort to translate the metaphors behind many of the lines. To contrast against these traditional concepts, though, there’s also some technical words mixed into the lyrics, e.g. 虚拟 (adj. “unreal”/”made-up”/”virtual”, v. “fabricating”/“simulating”), 副本 (“copy”), 建模 (“model”), 宕机 (“crash”), 数据 (“data”), 自定义 (“self-defined”/”user-defined”), 未命名 (”without a name”/“untitled”), 模式 (“methods”), 重置 (“reset”). I try not to translate them to dictionary definitions since native speakers “feel” these words in a different manner than English speakers do with technical jargon, and because even with these jargon in use, the song still places a personal focus on the narrator/singer and the addressee.

[1] 梨花 pear blossom. Of striking white, poets have taken this flower to represent purity. Because pear trees can survive for 350 years, the flowers are also taken to be a symbol of a wish for longevity. However, even though the flowers are very beautiful, it is considered taboo to present this flower to a match-made couple, because this flower (梨 li2) is homophonous with the Chinese word ‘separate, divide’ (离 li2).
[2] 鲜衣怒马 lit. “fresh fine clothes and well-groomed horses”. I’ve translated this as “ostentatious display” but because the phrase is vague in itself, you can also interpret it as a metaphor for a person wearing such and gaudily showing off.
[3a] 自定义 (“self-defined”/”user-defined”): The word makes it ambiguous to see if it had meant “[The narrator] defines his own self” or “[The narrator] is defined by the user”, though I’ve personally interpreted it to be the former more than the latter.
[3b] 未命名 (”without a name”/“untitled”)