The Sound of Encroaching Footsteps, by X.T.X. (Part 2)

"腳步聲在靠近", by 謝天笑 | Learning a Chinese song with AI

This is the second and final article about The Sound of Encroaching Footsteps, a chinese alternative rock song by XTX. To see an intro to this composer and another of his songs, refer to this blog’s previous series of posts. In this article the chorus of the song will be explained and translated word by word.

First of all, let us see the song’s title itself, since we did not analyze it in Part 1 of this series (wherein the verses before the chorus were explained.) It could alternatively be translated as “the sound of advancing footsteps.”

"腳步聲在靠近"

The phrase between quotes above is the song’s original title in Chinese. These are the component parts of the title,

• 腳步聲 (jiǎobù shēng), "footstep sound".

• 在 (zài), "at/in/on" - this word has appeared many times over on the preceding posts (in this case I’ve linked some of them directly in the section above, but you can always go to past articles by clicking the “Previous” arrow button at the end of articles in this blog.)

• 靠近 (kàojìn), "approaching".

So the whole phrase "Jiǎobù shēng zài kàojìn”, can be literally rendered as "Footstep sounds are approaching."

This week we can also see a different version of the song, below. In Part 1 I had included a live and more recent performance of this song, and the audio below, though there’s no video to go with it, is a sharper rendition of The Sound of Approaching Footsteps.

始終在我耳旁

(Shǐzhōng zài wǒ ěr páng)

This is the next verse from where we left off in Part 1 of the series, check out the last verse we saw earlier here. That last verse was the start of the bridge, but this article will contemplate the meat of the bridge, and then the full chorus, so that by the end of the post we’ll finish with both chorus and the song itself. Word by word, we have,

• 始終 (shǐzhōng), adverb meaning "always" or "constantly". This word was also on the previous article’s last verse, just linked above. The composer is using repetition to create emphasis, a common literary device in verse forms and elsewhere (technically, when repeating the start of verses, it is called anaphora.)

• 在 (zài), preposition, "in" or "at".

• 我 (wǒ), pronoun, "I" or "me".

• 耳旁 (ěr páng), noun meaning "ear side" or "ear vicinity". The character 耳 means ear and is very interesting in being a classic pictogram and a vestige of the Chinese script’s evolution. It is supposed to look like the human ear, but keep in mind that all shapes in Chinese writing are squared and not round, so that it’s an approximation of the form of the ear, given those aesthetic constraints. If you commit that to memory, it helps in remembering the character’s meaning just by looking at it, which is an unique feature of the Chinese language.

The full verse means "always in my ear" or, in more idiomatic English, "constantly by my side."

有人恐懼有人歡笑有人高唱有人在隱藏

(Yǒu rén kǒng jù, yǒu rén huān xiào, yǒu rén gāo chàng, yǒu rén zài yǐn cáng)

• 有人恐懼 (yǒu rén kǒng jù), "some people are afraid".

• 有人歡笑 (yǒu rén huān xiào), "some people are happy".

• 有人高唱 (yǒu rén gāo chàng), "some people are singing loudly".

• 有人在隱藏 (yǒu rén zài yǐn cáng), "some people are hiding".

This is the principal verse of the song’s bridge. Here again the artist uses repetition, to a higher degree, for asserting an idea. The verse describes how different persons react to a given circumstance. Some are fearful, others feel happiness, some may express themselves loudly, while others may choose to hide. People have different ways of dealing with the ups and downs of life, it's important to understand that everyone's case is different and it's okay to have a different reaction to a situation.

Two chengyu, that is, chinese idioms (chengyu are short, condensed expressions consisting of four characters, that are often a bit poetic, and briefly relate a complex thought, like an aphorism on steroids), express similar ideas:

• 人各有志 (rén gè yǒu zhì): everyone has their own aspirations/goals.

• 各有千秋 (gè yǒu qiān qiū): each has its own merits, or everybody has their strengths.

We have seen chengyu before on past issues, although I did not mention them by that name till now. There were also chinese proverbs on preceding articles, but note that though chengyu could be called proverbs (though aphorism is even better), not any chinese proverb or aphorism is a chengyu, since the latter have four characters and therefore are very brief and often a condensed form of normal language (they may not follow the usual grammar constructions.) A proverb or aphorism, in contrast, could have any given length.

隱藏內心的悲傷

(Yǐncáng nèixīn de bēishāng)

This is the last line of the bridge, and it ought to be an easy verse for us, since most of it has been seen already, in this very song. Its full meaning is "Concealing the sadness within the heart."

• 隱藏 (yǐn cáng), as a verb: to hide, to conceal; and as a noun: hidden, concealed. These words we have only just studied on the previous verse. As a verb it was in the phrase Yǒu rén zài yǐn cáng, "some people are hiding", refer to the section just above to see it in context. Importantly, in that case it was preceded by particle zài, our trusty friend, where it was indicating not the location of the action of hiding, but the ongoing state. So instead of “hide” it means the continuing action “hiding” because of the particle. See also on the previous article another example of this grammatical construction.

• 內心 (nèi xīn), noun, innermost feelings, innermost thoughts. Literally, xīn is heart, nèi means “inner”, and since earlier on the song the word nèi xīn appeared with a more literal translation, check it out on Part 1 by clicking here if you need a refresher.

• 的 (de), particle used to indicate possession or description.

• 悲傷 (bēi shāng), noun, sadness, sorrow. This is the only new word in this phrase.

The verse suggests that the speaker is hiding their inner sadness. The use of the word "隱藏" puts forth the idea of intentionally keeping these feelings hidden from others. This theme of concealing emotions is often found in Chinese literature and culture. Here are a few related chengyu:

• 掩耳盜鈴 (yǎn ěr dào líng) - Literally "cover the ears while stealing the bell", this chengyu means to deceive oneself or others by pretending not to hear or know something. Notice again the word ěr, meaning ear, seen in an earlier section of this post.

• 深藏若虛 (shēn cáng ruò xū) - Literally "hidden deeply as if nonexistent", this chengyu means to hide one's abilities, knowledge, or emotions deeply and not reveal them easily.

• 笑裡藏刀 (xiào lǐ cáng dāo) - Literally "a knife hidden in the laughter", this means that someone may seem friendly and harmless, but actually has hidden intentions or is being deceptive.

Now, we can get started on the song’s chorus. Actually, it will be rather quick, I assure you we’re almost done for this song!

聽！那腳步在靠近

(Tīng! Nà jiǎobù zài kàojìn)

• 聽 (tīng), verb, meaning "listen".

• 那 (nà), pronoun, "that".

• 腳步 (jiǎobù), noun, meaning "footstep".

• 在 (zài), preposition, again it modifies the verb to indicate a continuing action, in this case, approaching.

• 靠近 (kàojìn), verb, "approaching".

The verse means simply "Listen! Those footsteps are approaching."

等待的那一天那一天終於來臨

(Děng dài de nà yī tiān, nà yī tiān zhōng yú lái lín)

• 等待 (děngdài), to wait.

• 的 (de) - (particle to indicate possession or description.)

• 那 (nà), that; 一 (yī), one.

• 終於 (zhōngyú), finally.

• 來臨 (láilín), to arrive.

Translared: "The day I've been waiting for, that one day, has finally arrived. This verse puts emphasis on waiting for a long time for something important to happen, and the relief and joy that comes with its arrival.

And so, this is the entirety of the song’s words and meanings! Since earlier on in this article we explored the difference between a Chengyu and a proverb, here is one last specimen of each for added learning.

A chengyu that emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and expressing one's emotions: "有所不為" (yǒu suǒ bù wéi), which translates to "there are things one must not do." In this context, it can be interpreted as a reminder that suppressing or hiding one's emotions can be detrimental to one's mental and emotional well-being. Another related proverb is "共患難，共享樂" (gòng huàn nàn, gòng xiǎng lè), which translates to "share joys and sorrows together." This proverb underlines the importance of supporting one another during both happy and difficult times.

Now, the song still repeats bridge and chorus, as songs often do, the same as seen before. These are the lyrics for this repeated part, see if you can identify each verse!

漫天傳來這不可思議的聲響

始終在這世界上

始終在我耳旁

有人恐懼有人歡笑有人高唱有人在隱藏

隱藏內心的悲傷

聽！那腳步在靠近

等待的那一天終於來臨

聽！那腳步在靠近

等待的那一天終於來臨

那腳步在靠近

那腳步在靠近

那腳步在靠近

There is only a slight point of interest here, in that one verse above is a shorter version of what we studied before. Do you spot it? Here it is, in detail:

等待的那一天那一天終於來臨

The above is what we studied. Now it has become the following, omitting the part that before appeared twice, “that one day.”

等待的那一天終於來臨

Well, thank you for making this far! Next week a new song will be undertaken, so stay tuned.