High Peaks Pure Earth presents English translations of selected songs by Tibetan music duo called “The Tibet Patient” (བོད་ཀྱི་ནད་པ།). The Tibet Patient are two friends Jigshed Kyab and Pema Dorje from Amdo who met at university. This post follows on from the interview we translated with them and posted online last month.
To date, The Tibet Patient have released two albums, the self-titled album “The Tibet Patient” came out in 2014 and the follow up album “Butcher on the Pilgrim’s Way” was released in 2017. The Tibet Patient have not made many music videos, as they explained in their interview, “To make a good music video, it requires you to have a lot of resources at your disposal. We do not have funds. Not making any music video is better than making shoddy ones that no one will enjoy.”
Below are translations of their songs and you can listen to their music on SoundCloud. Thank you to Palden Gyal and Riga Shakya for translating the song lyrics.
First Album, 2014: “The Tibet Patient” by The Tibet Patient
1. “Selene” By The Tibet Patient
Selene
Selene
The dark rain is about to fall,
Where are you? You who are terrified of loneliness and serenity.
Selene
Selene
When will you return?
Without you this castle is bereft of even a flicker of warmth.
(SPOKEN)
Selene
Life is like a frozen shirt,
I’m cold if I wear it,
I’m colder if don’t.
Selene
If you don’t come back,
I’ll leave my homeland.
Selene
What’s the meaning of those empty envelopes you sent me?
Selene
Summer on the grassland is so short,
Is it because you’re not here?
(END SPOKEN)
Selene
Selene
Summer is almost over
Where are you? You who love the white clouds and grassland.
Selene
Selene
When will you return?
Without you this world is without joy.
Selene
Selene
I’m growing old
Where are you? You who are careful and earnest.
(SPOKEN)
Selene
Selene
Winter’s arrived
When the snow melts, will I see you again?
(END SPOKEN)
2. “Nomad Blues” By The Tibet Patient
Listen to the song here: https://music.163.com/#/song?id=463060966
When you clasp my hand
Even agreeable friends turn into hated enemies.
Unashamed of exaggerating self-importance
You declare, “I am brave, rich, handsome and well-endowed.”
When you embrace my neck
Even the moon leaps over the western mountain
Conquered by lustful impulses it secretly glances at us
Yet I have not the least sorrow, mockery or even compassion
When I climb up on you
Even this great land seems to shudder
And sets to throw me down
Even to make friends, it’s all obstacles
(Whatever I do, it’s all obstacles)
3. “Beloved (Parent-Child)” By The Tibet Patient
There is no war
There is no disease
There is no harm
There is no oppression
One day you’ll know your father’s words were all lies
One day you’ll know your father’s words had no meaning
4. “Who We Used to Be” By The Tibet Patient
You used to be young
You used to bear me good feeling
You used to have not a single sorrow
I used to be a little foolish
You used to be a little good
I used to have no aspirations
Dear old friend,
Do you know?
The months and years go by
Dear old friend,
Do you see?
The two of us have changed just like the times
Dear old friend,
Are you sad?
The times of our youth have disappeared
5. “Lake Kokonor” By The Tibet Patient
I looked at you once
And my eyes were shut together with darkness
I listened to you once
And my ears with whirling sounds
I reached out for you once,
And my hand was injured by a poisoned blade,
I called out to you once,
And my mouth was afflicted by dryness
I might be lost and defeated,
But it has nothing to do with you
These people driven mad by a droning sound,
Have nothing to do with you either
The herd of horses by the lakeside,
Which pass did they disappear down?
The field of sand like an orphan
Is left without a word to say
Those red faced nomads
Where are they now?
Like water evaporating into the sky,
They are carried away from these distant places.
6. “All You Birds” By The Tibet Patient
Even though the sky is vast, the path you fly on is a narrow one,
Even though the clouds are soft, the rain is harsh
Even though the world itself is huge,
You can’t find the place you call home
Landless, you set out
Wordless, you listen
Return home, all you birds return home
Flying aimlessly and at last you return home
Return home, all you birds return home
Flying with empty minds and at last your return home
7. “Loneliness is a Silent Current” By The Tibet Patient
(Originally sung in Chinese – listen to the song here: https://music.163.com/#/song?id=463061779 )
A sudden power outage
This city at 2 AM
Take off my makeup
I’m lost, I’m lost, I’m losing control
Hey girl, are you by yourself tonight?
Hey, come with me and let’s go far from home
Get rid of those trivial principles and the tedium
Hey girl, don’t leave me hanging
I’m a wound that’s just healed
Second Album, 2017: “Butcher on the Pilgrim’s Way” by The Tibet Patient
1. “Empty Room” By The Tibet Patient
Under the sunlight
The jumping and running
Child of yesterday
Imputed a cluster of planets to sands
And painted tomorrow with coloured stone dust
Although he asked all his questions to others
The deaf and dumb world has no speech
He nurtures snakes underneath the flowers
And plots to take his revenge
The waning moon
Waxes slowly again
The youth of today
In a sunless, smoggy city
Welcomes separations in smiles
To well-dressed women
He prostrates sycophantically
He fuels the fire and mops the floor
of a keyless empty room
2. “The Scream of the Mute” By The Tibet Patient
It snowed four inches
Wind gusts from the south
Crows spew out empty noises
When people finally woke up
Time has already become rusty
Yah, yah, yah… (x4)
It snowed four inches
Wind gusts from the south
Crows spew out empty noises
When people finally woke up
Time has already become rusty
I killed a wild animal in your lap
I might also die in your lap like a wild animal
I have nothing save for an unwashable pride
I have nothing but a muted tongue and lips (x2)
The night path is chilly
The moonlight is misty
I am a cavalier without a weapon
A musician without a guitar
The guests are drunk with alcohol
The fire in the hearth is burning like before
A girl cries in secrecy
Like a stone on a forsaken river bank
The world is deadly silent and still
I killed a wild animal in your lap
I might also die in your lap like a wild animal
I have nothing save for an unwashable pride
I have nothing but a muted tongue and lips (x2)
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