Renungan Pagi – Nella Fantasia
27 May 2011 10 Comments
in Music and Songs Tags: Nella Fantasia, Song, Thoughts
Sudah lebih dari dua minggu ini di Melbourne sini cuacanya selalu mendung dan sering hujan atau gerimis. Rasanya lama juga aku tidak melihat matahari bersinar. Hanya kemarin ini tanggal 21 Mei seharian cerah (katanya hari ini mau kiamat?). Setelah itu besoknya sampai sekarang matahari tetap bersembunyi dibalik awan kelabu.
Waktu kubuka korden jendela pagi ini, masih tetap tak terlihat warna jingga diufuk timur. Udarapun terasa semakin dingin karena musim winter hampir menjelang. Sambil sarapan pagi aku mendengarkan lagu-lagu klasik yang dinyanyikan oleh Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Andrea Bochelli, Russel Watson dan Sarah Brightman.
Disaat aku dengarkan lagunya Russel Watson, Nella Fantasia, pikiranku jadi bertanya-tanya apakah sebenarnya arti lagu favorit-ku ini? Nah cepat-cepat kucari terjemahannya dan ternyata arti lagu ini seindah lagu dan iramanya itu sendiri.
Nella Fantasia dalam bahasa Inggris:
In My Fantasy
In my fantasy I see a fair world,
Where everyone lives in peace and honesty.
I dream of a place to live that is always free,
Like a cloud that floats,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.
In my fantasy I see a bright world
Where each night there is less darkness.
I dream of spirits that are always free,
Like the cloud that floats.
In my fantasy exists a warm wind,
That breathes into the city, like a friend.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the cloud that floats,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul
Siapa yang tidak pernah memimpikan kehidupan didunia seperti isi lagu Nella Fantasia ini? Kenyataan hidup adalah sebaliknya, penuh dengan kesulitan, kepedihan, kekacauan, keserakahan dan kecurangan. Yang paling menyedihkan adalah begitu banyak manusia dizaman sekarang ini yang mengatakan Tuhan itu tak ada. Mereka bilang kalau ada Tuhan mengapa semua hal-hal yang jelek dan memedihkan terjadi didunia ini? Aku jadi ingat kata-kata petuah yang belum ini kubaca yang bisa menjawab semua pertanyaan ini:
I Asked for Strength – And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom – And God gave me Problems to solve. I asked for Prosperity – And God gave me a Brain and Brawn to work. I asked for Courage – And God gave me Obstacles to overcome. I asked to Love – And God gave me Troubled People to help. I asked for Favours – And God gave me Opportunities. “I received nothing I wanted, but I received everything I needed” So let us thank the Lord for our life. (Unknown writer)Jelas dikatakan bahwa disaat kita meminta kekuatan, Tuhan memberikan rintangan dan kesulitan supaya kita jadi kuat. Ketika kita meminta kepintaran, Tuhan-pun memberikan problema-problema yang harus kita pecahkan. Kalau kita memohon kemakmuran, Tuhan memberikan pikiran dan tenaga untuk bekerja. Jika kita meminta keberanian, Tuhan memberikan tantangan hidup. Disaat kita meminta kasih sayang, Tuhan memberikan orang orang yang membutuhkan bantuan kita. Jika kita minta supaya Dia membantu, kesempatan dan harapanlah yang kita dapatkan dariNya.
Ini link dari YouTube untuk mendengarkan lagu Nella Fantasia yang dinyanyikan oleh Russel Watson.
Note: Thank you so much for Pilar421 for sharing such a beautiful video clip. Excellent images.
Chinaberry Tree
02 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Street Trees Tags: Beautiful little tree, Chinaberry Tree, Melia azedarach, Mew, Song
One species of street trees in our neighbourhood is Chinaberry. It is a small deciduous tree with interesting foliage. During the winter time, the exposed branches are decorated with small round yellow berries. I really love the gracious shape with its rough and thick gnarled trunks. The luscious green canopy looks even prettier during the spring when the tree is flowering. The sweet smelling little flowers are star-shaped and lilac-white in colour. They are pretty and soft against the deep green leaves.
Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach) is also known as Persian Lilac, White Cedar or Bead tree. It is native to South Asia and East Asia. It has been found growing in Australia for a long long time, so it is also considered as Australian native. All parts of the tree are very toxic to human, but birds can safely eat the berries. It is regarded as invasive introduced species in some parts of United States.
This tree reminds me of a song with the same title by a group band ‘Mew’:
Chinaberry Tree by Mew
In parallel sea what would I be?
My first love said to me:
“Tears out for the world to see”
I would not be
I did not see the chinaberry tree
Tears out, it would feel so
Heavenly, heavenly, heavenly
Hard now to picture a me
Without a you
“Don’t interfere”
Part of her back was frozen
For the remainder of the war
“Don’t be concerned”
But I never learned how not to be
As my first love said to me:
“I don’t care. I’m not there”
So that I could not sleep
My whole being was falling apart
So that I soon cried out:
“Dear friends, hold me!”
Sukiyaki
11 Oct 2008 Leave a Comment
in Music and Songs Tags: Food, Music, Song, Sukiyaki
Back in my early teens, one of my favourite songs was Sukiyaki which was sung by The Blue Diamond. Until to day I still love the song and recently I found and enjoy the original Sukiyaki song which is a Japanese song.
If people talk about Sukiyaki, it can mean two things. It is either the food or the song.
The Song
In 1961, a Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto released a single that in the future became the world sensation. It is a love song called Ue O Muite Aruko which literally means “I Look Up When I Walk”. It is a sad song about a man who lost his love.
This is the song translation in English:
I look up when I walk, so the tears won’t fall
Remembering those happy spring days, but tonight I’m alone
I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days, but tonight I’m alone
Happiness lies above the cloud, happiness lies above the sky
I look up when I walk, so the tears won’t fall
My heart is filled with sorrow, for tonight I’, all alone
Remembering those happy autumn days, but tonight I’m all alone
Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon
I look up when I walk, so tears won’t fall
My heart is filled with sorrow, for tonight I’m all alone
In 1963, about two years after becoming a hit in Japan, Ue o muite aruko started to hit popularity in Europe and Us.
From Wikipedia, it is written that in 1963, the British record label Pye Records released a cover version of the song by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. They were concerned that English-speaking audiences might find the original title too difficult to remember/pronounce, so they gave it the new title of “Sukiyaki’”. This title was retained when Capitol Records in the United States, and His Master’s Voice in the UK, released Kyu Sakamoto’s original version a few months later.
Since then many singers from all over the world sang this song in many various languages.
One of Sukiyaki Cover by 4PM:
Sukiyaki the Food:
It is known that Sukiyaki actually is a name of a Japanese popular dish. It is some type of one pot meal. The main ingredient is thin sliced meat, mainly beef, and it is simmered in a skillet or a pan using sukiyaki sauce. Then various of vegetables can be added along with noodles and slices of tofu.
Cooking Sukiyaki:
