Beyond - Boundless Sea and Sky 海闊天空

This week's TTT is going to be very different from the ones I normally do. I'm going to write about one single song, but in three different versions. It's a very popular Cantonese song called Boundless Sea and Sky 海闊天空 by a Hong Kong rock band called Beyond in 1993. The song is written by the band's lead singer and guitarist Wong Ka Kui, and is about chasing your dreams and keeping them alive. It is still very popular today in the Chinese speaking world, and is the first canto song to reach 100 million views on Youtube.

今天出外散步，拍了幾張閒照，其中一張讓我想起Beyond 樂隊的海闊天空。Hive 上有一個Three Tune Tuesday 的活動，是跟大家分享三首至愛的歌曲。海闊天空是我很喜愛的歌，在華語世界也蠻受歡迎，我知就算不懂廣東話，很多人也愛唱。這麼棒的歌，應該要向老外推介，同時亦想跟大家分享不同的版本。

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English version

I found this brilliant english version, and I think it gives you a great insight and perspective on this song. I don't know who this dude is, but he did a fantastic job of translating the lyrics from Chinese to English and keeping true to its sentiments.

_{I'm sorry that I live my life for freedom and love
Even if one day I should fall
Any other man would give up on a dream
I will always dream for you and me}

首先要分享是這個英文版本。這位老外說海闊天空是他最喜歡的廣東歌。他很用心把中文歌詞翻譯成英文，而且還保留了原本的意思和情懷。實在很值得支持👍

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Morocco busking

Whilst searching for the best versions to share here, I came across this version from a busker in Morocco singing in Cantonese. I thought she did a great job, and her pronunciation was pretty much spot on. I'm very impressed by how far the song has reached around the world.

遠至摩洛哥街頭也能聽到海闊天空的歌聲。這位街頭表演者咬字清晰，廣東話發音掌握得非常好，而且歌聲甜美。

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Japanese version

In the 90s, Canto pop culture in Hong Kong was more entertainment than music, and that made it a bit difficult for indie rock bands. Although Beyond was quite well known by this time, they wanted to do more creativity and less commercialisation. Japan was the obvious choice. It was in Asia, and the music industry was much more sophisticated and mature.

It wasn't a smooth ride for the band though. There was the language barrier of course, and the Japanese market was never going to be an easy nut to crack. This was when Wong Ka Kui wrote Boundless Sea and Sky, about their journey in Japan and musical career in general, and how determined they were to build and keep their dream alive. They also did a Japanese version of the song called 遥かなる夢に～Far away and it was going to be part of the band's 10th year celebration at the end of 1993.

Two months after Boundless Sea and Sky was finished, Beyond were recording a TV show in Japan. Then a terrible thing happened. Wong Ka Kui fell 2 meters down the stage. He went into coma and died 6 days later. He was only 31 years old.

It was a very sad moment for Beyond fans and the music industry in Hong Kong. Wong was the soul of the band, a talented artist and songwriter, taken away too early. It was almost as if he had predicted it when he wrote the lyrics in Boundless Sea and Sky

I'm sorry that I live my life for freedom and love
Even if one day I should fall
Any other man would give up on a dream
I will always dream for you and me

This is the Japanese version Far Away, performed by the Shotoku Chorus Club

當年80/90年代香港音樂市場都以偶像派和商業性主打，作為一對創作音樂的搖滾樂隊，或多或少都會有點困難。雖然Beyond當時也打出了名堂，但因為與唱片公司對於音樂製作和理念上有所出入，四子在90年代初決定期到日本發展。日本的路也不是好走。除了換上新環境和語言上的障礙，其他一切也需要重新適應。他們也熬過了一段頗艱苦的日子，但為了要實踐音樂上的理念，大家也沒放棄，咬著牙根繼續努力。家駒就是在這個時候，創作了海闊天空這首歌，而且還出了日文版。

歌曲完成兩個月後，Beyond 有一天在日本電視台錄影節目時，發生了意外。家駒失足從兩米舞台墜下，頭部重傷，昏迷6天後，在93年6月與世長辭。活了短短31年，一個這樣有才華，滿懷理想的歌手就離開我們。海闊天空成了他的絕響，而副歌歌詞中其中一句也彷彿變成他的命運

_{原諒我這一生不羈放縱 愛自由
也會怕有一天會跌倒
背棄了理想 誰人都可以
哪會怕有一天只你共我}

以下這個版本是日本一個兒童合唱團的唱的日文版。

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Although it's been over three decades since Wong died, and Beyond disbanded in 2005, their songs are still just as popular as before. There are not many people in Hong Kong who do not know Boundless Sea and Sky, and it still evokes a lot of emotions in many, myself included. To many, Boundless Sea and Sky is more than just a song. It's a belief, a dream, memory, determination, courage, loneliness, defiance.

As a bonus, I leave you with the original version, performed by none other than Beyond.

雖然家驅離開我們已超過了30年，而樂隊在1995年也解散了，但Beyond 的歌曲還是很受歡迎。在香港，海闊天空這首歌可以說是無人不曉。其實海闊天空已經是超越了一首歌這麼簡單。它代表了信念，希望，夢想，記憶，毅力，無奈，勇敢，緊毅。