High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a song called “I Have Everything” performed by Sangtse at the Amdo Losar (new year) concert “The Black Tent of Emperors – A Journey into Tibet Concert”.
“I Have Everything” can be viewed on Chinese video-hosting sites such as Youku and the entire concert can also be viewed on YouTube here. It was also at this concert that Tsewang Lhamo performed “An Offering to You”.
The short song is western and modern in musical style and has a lot in common musically with the recent songs by Yudrug for example. In terms of the lyrics, the song asserts Tibetan identity and roots in a subtle way, taking pride in Tibetan history and ancestry, calling to mind the lyrics and sentiments of 2007’s modern-day classic song “Mentally Return”. The lyricist, Khoten, has also previously been featured on High Peaks Pure Earth performing his own composition “Your Happiness and My Suffering”.
This is music video number 45 translated by High Peaks Pure Earth since the Wednesday music video series started towards the end of 2012. Please go back and watch our other videos using this link: http://highpeakspureearth.com/category/music-from-tibet/
Below are the subtitled music video and translated lyrics of “I Have Everything”.
“I Have Everything”
By Sangtse
Lyrics: Khoten
Melody: Tashi Tseten
I have the quintessence of the earth’s gold and silver
I have the wealth of pure water
I have the uninterrupted air of clean space
With a humble outlook, I have everything
I have a castle fortress of this world
I have a history created by cyclic existence
I have ancestors created by kinsmen
With a humble outlook, I have everything
I have intelligence to reveal true nature
I have the script to cleanse the darkness
I have the language to deliver the message
With a humble outlook, I have everything
I have a castle fortress of this world
I have a history created by cyclic existence
I have ancestors created by kinsmen
With a humble outlook, I have everything
I have a castle fortress of this world
I have a history created by cyclic existence
I have ancestors created by kinsmen
With a humble outlook, I have everything
I have everything
[Translation by High Peaks Pure Earth]
For those unable to view the videos on YouTube, there is also a High Peaks Pure Earth Vimeo channel here with our music videos: https://vimeo.com/hpeaks
Great song. Thanks for sharing. A suggestion: it will be great if audience can read Tibetan lyrics (and the English translation) on the screen simultaneously. This way young Tibetans can learn Tibetan through the help of English translation.
Thanks for your comment! We’ve received several similar requests asking for the Tibetan to not be covered up. We’ll look into the best way to do this, all suggestions welcome!