‘The Song of An Older Artistic Woman’ (大龄文艺女青年之歌, Dàlíng wényì nǚqīngnián zhī gē) was created by Shao Yibei (邵夷贝, Shào Yíbèi), a Peking University alumni from the class of 2006. This song discusses what kind of men an older “artistic” woman should marry. 大龄 (dà líng) means “older than the average age for marriage”. In China, the average age for a man to have his first marriage is 25.3 years old, and the average age for a woman to have her first marriage is 23.4 years old. This song first became an internet hit in 2009 but drew a lot of attention again at the beginning of 2013 because the female host Zhu Dan sang an adapted version of this song on Hunan Satellite TV‘s New Year’s Eve Gala without Shao Yibei and her record company’s permission.
Composer: Shao Yibei
Lyrics: Shao Yibei
Singer: Shao Yibei
Lyrics (Original Chinese, Pinyin Romanization, and English Translation):
呵 呵 这是一首悲伤的歌 (Hē hē zhèshì yìshǒu bēishāng de gē)
Hehe, this is a sad song
呵 呵 这是一首悲伤的歌 (Hē hē zhèshì yìshǒu bēishāng de gē)
Hehe, this is a sad song
王小姐三十一岁了 (Wángxiǎojiě sānshíyī suì le)
Miss Wang is 31
朋友们见到了她 (Péngyǒumen jiàndàole tā)
When friends meet her
都要问一个问题： (Dōuyào wèn yígè wènti)
they all ask a question:
你什么时候打算嫁呢？ (Nǐ shénme shíhou dǎsuàn jià ne)
When do you plan to marry (a man)?
可是嫁人这一个问题 (Kěshì jiàrén zhè yígè wènti)
But the issue of marrying a man
又不是她一个人可以决定的 (Yòu búshì tā yígèrén kěyǐ juédìng de)
cannot be decided by her alone
她问她爸爸 (Tā wèn tā bàba)
She asked her dad
她问她妈妈 (Tā wèn tā māma)
She asked her mom
他们都说你赶紧的 (Tāmen dōushuō nǐ gǎnjǐn de)
They all say: You must hurry up
你看 你看 你看人家那那那那那那那那 (Nǐkàn nǐkàn nǐkàn rénjiā nèi nèi nèi nèi nèi nèi nèi nèi)
*Look, look, look at those people like that that that that that that that that [meaning the parents are listing the women they know who have gotten married]
你看 你看 你看看看那那那那 (Nǐkàn nǐkàn nǐ kàn kàn kàn nèi nèi nèi nèi)
Look, look, look at those people like that that that that
大龄文艺女青年 (Dàlíng wényì nǚqīngnián)
An older artistic woman
该嫁一个什么样的人呢 (Gāi jià yígè shénmeyàng de rén ne)
What kind of man should she marry?
是不是也该找个搞艺术的 (Shìbúshì yě gāi zhǎogè gǎoyìshù de)
Should she also find someone who does art?
这样就比较合适呢 (Zhèyàng jiù bǐjiǎo héshì ne)
Would that be more suitable?
可是搞艺术的男青年 (Kěshì gǎoyìshù de nánqīngnián)
But the men who do art
有一部分只爱他的艺术 (Yǒu yíbùfèn zhǐ’ài tāde yìshù)
Some of them only love their art
还有极少部分搞艺术的男青年 (Háiyǒu jíshǎo bùfèn gǎoyìshù de nánqīngnián)
And a very few men who do art
搞艺术是为了搞姑娘 (Gǎoyìshù shì wèile gǎogūniang)
They do art to do girls
搞姑娘又不只搞她一个 (Gǎogūniang yòu bùzhǐ gǎo tā yígè)
When they do girls, they don’t do just her alone
嫁给他干什么呢 (Jiàgěitā gànshénme ne)
So what’s the point of marrying him?
搞姑娘又不只搞她一个 (Gǎogūniang yòu bùzhǐ gǎo tā yígè)
When they do girls, they don’t do just her alone
奶奶奶奶奶奶的 (Něi něi něi něi něi něi de)
*[expletive, deviated from 奶奶的 (nǎi nǎi de) which means “fuck”] Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
呵 呵 这是一首悲伤的歌 (Hē hē zhèshì yìshǒu bēishāng de gē)
Hehe, this is a sad song
呵 呵 这是一首悲伤的歌 (Hē hē zhèshì yìshǒu bēishāng de gē)
Hehe, this is a sad song
朋友们介绍了好几个 (Péngyǒumen jièshào le hǎojǐgè)
Friends have introduced quite a few men (to her)
有车子房子和孩子的 (Yǒu chēzi fángzi hé háizi de)
who have cars, houses, and kids
他们说你该找个有钱的 (Tāmen shuō nǐ gāi zhǎogè yǒuqián de)
They said, “You should find a rich man
让他赞助你搞创作 (Ràng tā zànzhù nǐ gǎochuàngzuò)
and let him sponsor your artistic work”
可是大款都不喜欢她 (Kěshì dàkuǎn dōu bùxǐhuan tā)
But no rich man likes her
他们只想娶会做饭的 (Tāmen zhǐxiǎng qǔ huì zuòfàn de)
They just want to marry a woman who knows how to cook
不会做饭的女青年 (Búhuì zuòfàn de nǚqīngnián)
Young women who don’t know how to cook
只能去当第三者 (Zhǐnéng qù dāng dìsānzhě)
can only go be the third person [extramarital lover]
不会做饭的文艺女青年 (Búhuì zuōfàn de wényì nǚqīngnián)
The artistic young women who don’t know how to cook
只能被他们潜规则 (Zhǐnéng bèi tāmen qiǎnguīzé)
can only be casting-couched by them
奶奶奶奶奶奶的 (Něi něi něi něi něi něi de)
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
呼~ (Hū)
Hu~
这一首歌纯属雷同 (Zhè yìshǒugē chúnshǔ léitóng)
This song is purely a reflection of reality
如有虚构纯属巧合 (Rú yǒu xūgòu chúnshǔ qiǎohé)
If there is anything fabricated, it’s purely coincidence
请不要自觉对号入座 (Qǐng búyào zìjué duìhàorùzuò)
Please don’t consciously put yourself in this song
然后发动群众封杀我 (Ránhòu fādòng qúnzhòng fēngshā wǒ)
And then mobilize the masses to censor me
你看 你看 你看她只会做西红柿炒鸡蛋 (Nǐkàn nǐkàn nǐkàn tā zhǐhuì zuò xīhóngshì chǎo jīdàn)
Look, Look, look she only knows how to make fried eggs with tomatoes
你看 你看 还要就着方便面 (Nǐkàn nǐkàn háiyào jiùzhe fāngbiànmiàn)
Look, look, and she eats it with instant noodles
那是非常的好吃的 (Nàshì fēicháng de hǎochī de)
That’s very tasty
mia mia mia mia mia mia mia
*[Note: “mia mia mia” is similar with “yum yum” in English.]
那是非常的好吃的 (Nàshì fēicháng de hǎochī de)
That’s very tasty
mia mia mia mia mia mia mia
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