farewell my concubine theme

was gonna make this post a few weeks ago but i think i got too sad and didn't go through with it. well, here it is now.. the infamous farewell my concubine theme song, 当爱已成往事, or "bygone love". one of my favorites by leslie, also one of the absolute saddest. 

um.. i'm crying.... the song is about letting go of love, although the singer can't bear to part with their lover, but begs for them to let him go anyways, insisting that it's for the best. there's so much pathos in leslie's delivery as well. also, there are always meta-layers in interpreting leslie's theme songs, and in this case i think this song can be seen as leslie singing to himself; the lyrics also shift back and forth in perspective, making me think that the song is definitely self-addressed, but between fractured selves, such as leslie as idol singing to leslie as cheng dieyi (i'm not gonna note the parallels in their lives but..), and also leslie as idol singing to us, his fans, his lovers, the world at large. 

i think the chorus in particular is really poignant. the play on 同 and 痛, which have the same pronunciation.. i tried to translate the lyrics below:

往事不要再提　人生已多风雨
纵然记忆抹不去　爱与恨都还在心里
真的要断了过去　让明天好好继续
你就不要再苦苦追问我的消息

爱情它是个难题　让人目眩神迷
忘了痛或许可以　忘了你却太不容易
你不曾真的离去　你始终在我心里
我对你仍有爱意　我对自己无能为力

因为我仍有梦　依然将你放在我心中
总是容易被往事打动　总是为了你心痛
别流连岁月中　我无意的柔情万种
不要问我是否再相逢　不要管我是否言不由衷

为何你不懂　只要有爱就有痛
有一天你会知道　人生没有我并不会不同
人生已经太匆匆　我好害怕总是泪眼朦胧
忘了我就没有痛　将往事留在风中

Do not bring up the past anymore, life will bring more wind and rain
Even if memories cannot be erased, the heart is still filled with love and hate
Must break with the past, let tomorrow continue its course
You should no longer chase after how I'm doing

Love is a difficult question, leaving us dazzled and stunned
Perhaps it is possible to forget pain, but forgetting you is not that easy
You have not truly left, you have been in my heart all along
Towards you I still have love, towards myself I am powerless

Because I had a dream that you were in my heart all along
Always tempting to get lost in the past, always in heartache over you
Do not linger in the midst of time, my well-meaning acts of tenderness
Do not ask if we will meet again, do not ask if I will change my words

Why don't you understand? 
Where there's love, there's pain
One day you will know that life without me won't be any different
Life is already too brief, I'm afraid the future will be obscured with tears
Forget me and there will be no more pain
Leave the past in the wind


... leave the past in the wind, but the wind blows on.. leslie can never be left in the past, because he is always with us, around us, within us.. 

.... hope things are going okay out there. much love..