Dreaming for summer in winter

In a hot summer,

I hope for winter.

In a cold winter,

I hope for summer.

The Mammas & The Papas - California Dreaming

All the leaves are brown 

(all the leaves are brown)

And the sky is gray

 (and the sky is gray)

I've been for a walk 

(I've been for a walk)

On a winter's day 

(on a winter's day)

I'd be safe and warm 

(I'd be safe and warm)

If I was in LA 

(if I was in LA)

California dreamin'

 (California dreamin')

On such a winter's day

Stopped into a church

I passed along the way

Well, I got down on my knees

 (got down on my knees)

And I pretend to pray

 (I pretend to pray)

You know the preacher like the cold

 (preacher like the cold)

He knows I'm gonna stay 

(knows I'm gonna stay)

California dreamin'

 (California dreamin')

On such a winter's day

All the leaves are brown

 (all the leaves are brown)

And the sky is gray

 (and the sky is gray)

I've been for a walk 

(I've been for a walk)

On a winter's day 

(on a winter's day)

If I didn't tell her 

(if I didn't tell her)

I could leave today 

(I could leave today)

California dreamin' 

(California dreamin')

On such a winter's day

 (California dreamin')

On such a winter's day 

(California dreamin')

On such a winter's day

Time Passage

2025 runs too short and its days too fast

Looking for 2026,

hopefully,

2026 runs longer and its days slower,

fruitfully.

It was late in December, 

the sky turned to snow

All round the day was going down slow

Night like a river beginning to flow

I felt the beat of my mind go

Drifting into time passages

Years go falling in the fading light

Time passages

Buy me a ticket 

on the last train home tonight

Well I'm not the kind to live in the past

The years run too short and the days too fast

The things you lean on are the thing

s that don't last

Well it's just now and then 

my line gets cast into these

Time passages

There's something back here that 

you left behind

Oh time passages

Buy me a ticket 

on the last train home tonight

Hear the echoes and 

feel yourself starting to turn

Don't know why you should feel

That there's something to learn

It's just a game that you play

Well the picture is changing

Now you're part of a crowd

They're laughing at something

And the music's loud

A girl comes towards you

You once used to know

You reach out your hand

But you're all alone, in these

Time passages

I know you're in there, 

you're just out of sight

Time passages

Buy me a ticket 

on the last train home tonight

Seeking a Hideaway

Sometimes, I need to seek a hideaway,

just like hiding in a room in a hotel,

where the light of day is curtained and 

thus it doesn't touch my faces, 

with a door sign keeping 

the world away

behind the shades of my silent day.

For what？

for calmness and quietness 

to clear the mind occassionally.

 Al Stewart - Broadway Hotel

You told the man 

in the Broadway Hotel

Nothing was stranger than 

being yourself

And he replied, 

with a tear in his eye

Love was a rollaway

Just a cajole away

Mist on a summer's day

Nothing was clear

Love was a smile away

Just a defile away

I sought it every way

No-one came near

You asked the man for 

a room with a view

Nothing was said as 

he stared at his shoe

Then he replied as 

he gave you the key

Love was a rollaway

Just an unfold away

That's all there is to say

No-one came near

Alone in your room you hide

As the night rolls by

In the street outside

And you feel over the words he said

Till they turn to rain 

all around your head

You're seeking a hideaway

Where the light of day

Doesn't touch your face

And a door-sign keeps 

the world away

Behind the shades

Of your silent day.

You made your home 

in the Broadway Hotel

Room service came 

at the push of a bell

And the man said as 

he put down the tray

Love was a stealaway

Just a reveal away

I tried to find a waycame

Nothing was clear

Then as he turned away

You asked the man to stay

He was there all the day

No one came near

Japan's Snmon Shosetsu (三文小說) vs HK's 30-cent novels (三毫子小說)

During my childhood and adolescence, 

I loved reading. 

I read comics, graphic novels, and 

'thirty-cent novels' (三毫子小說) among others. 

The primary purpose of my reading 

was entertainment. 

These readings were generally 

not accepted by teachers and parents, 

who regarded them as lowbrow literature. 

Parents did not allow their children 

to bring them home; 

teachers prohibited students 

from bringing them to school. 

Personally, while these readings 

may not have provided me with 

significant benefits, 

they also did not have 

much negative impact on me.

童年至少年時代，我很喜歡閱讀。

讀的是漫畫，連環圖

及「三毫子小說」等。

閱讀的目的以娛樂為主。

這些讀物一般不為老師及家長接受，

為認為是低俗讀物。

 家長不准子女帶回家中；

老師不准學生帶回學校。

就我個人而言，

這些讀物可能沒給過我很大進益，

但也沒有給我很多的壞影響。

——————

'Japan's 'sanmon shosetsu' (三文小說) and 

Hong Kong's 'thirty-cent novels' (三毫子小說) 

from the 1950-60s 

have similarities in some aspects. 

Both are popular literature aimed at 

a wide readership, 

inexpensive, and focused on entertainment. 

The content consists of easily digestible 

written works 

primarily for leisure.

(日本的「三文小說」和香港1950-60年代的「三毫子小說」，

在某些方面有相似之處，都是通俗讀物，

面向廣大讀者群，價廉，著重娛樂，

內容都是容易消化的文字作品，以消閒為主。）

_______

King Gnu - 三文小説 歌詞（中文翻譯）

即使全世界的人都忘記了你，

今天我依然會在你身邊笑著說：

「你老了很多啊。」

別害怕，

你現在這樣就很好。

我會一邊數著你臉上的皺紋，

一邊說，

即使我們的人生像一本廉價小說，

我也不會把它賣掉。

我會一遍又一遍地重寫它。

每個人都注定要獨自漂泊，永遠漂泊。

我會寫到這本小說的結尾之後。

有時候，你必須獨自面對真相。

即使我知道這是個錯誤，

我還是想繼續寫下去。

啊，我想永遠忍受這些糟糕的劇本和廉價的戲劇。

啊，是你笨拙的表情和話語拯救了我。

即使那些日子的光芒已經褪去，

「你老了很多啊。」

明天我還是會在你身邊微笑，

所以別難過，你現在這樣就很好。

淚水在我身旁不停流淌，

倒數著時間，

我像寫小說一樣把人生分成一個個章節。

即使我知道這很傻，

我還是要繼續努力地把這個故事講完。

啊，現在我要用力推你一把，

推開你那天感到無助的背。

啊，因為你對我的傻氣和傻話笑了。

啊，我想永遠忍受這些糟糕的劇本和廉價的戲碼。

啊，因為你笨拙的表情和傻話可以拯救我。

現在我要用力推你一把，

推開你那天感到無助的背。

因為你對我的傻氣和傻話笑了。

即使這世上所有人都忘記了你，

他們也會說：「你老了很多。」

今天我還會和你一起笑，

所以不用害怕，

你現在的樣子就很好，

而我會數著你身邊新添的皺紋。

Aged Idols

When I was young,

I had several idols in various fields:

one was a novelist,

one was a pop-song singer,

and one was a painter.

Now they have all aged, 

yet they remain my idols.

I have also aged.

Mr. Shuck 'N' Jive - Art Garfungel

Tell us once again this morning, old friend

How did you win the war?

Everybody loves a hero,

it won't matter if we've heard 

your tale before

Tell us of the time when almost

everybody knew you were a star

And how intelligent you are

Prove that you're alive

Mr. shuck 'n jive

Tell us of the man who 

stole your fortune and nearly ruined your life.

Or better still - the one about the t.v. and

the couch and your best friends' wife

Tell us of grand projects never finished

With somebody else to blame

And all the reasons that 

your fame never did arrive

Mr. shuck 'n jive

If you can get yourself together

kindly write a criticism of this song

how it's exquisitely constructed, 

yet mechanical, 

and somehow slightly wrong

Put it in your book about the enemy

you never even met

You know, you just might make it yet-

But i don't think you'll survive

Mr. shuck 'n jive

You know, you just might make it yet-

Mr. shuck 'n jive

Home Again

Hope all can go back home again  

-------

Elton John - Home Again 

I’m counting on a memory to

get me outta here

I’m waiting for the fog around

this spooky little town to clear

All this time I’ve spent being

someone else’s friend

Just one more time, for old time’s sake,

I’d like to go back home again

The world had seven wonders once upon a time

It’s sure enough the favoured nations

aided their decline

And all around me,

I’ve seen times like it was back when

But like back then,

I’d say amen if I could get back home again

If I could go back home,

if I could go back home

If I’d never left, I’d never have known

We all dream of leaving,

but wind up in the end

Spending all our time trying

to get back home again

Could've been a jailbreak and

the spotlight hitting me

Or was I just some nightclub singer,

back in 1963

In the old part of Valencia on the coast of Spain

Never tiring once of hearing songs

about going home again

If I could go back home,

if I could go back home

If I’d never left,

I’d never have known

We all dream of leaving,

but wind up in the end

Spending all our time trying to

get back home again

The Present Right in front of My Mind

Childhood has no memories;

Only the present exists before me.

Youth has only dreams;

The present lies beyond the present.

In middle age, there are no dreams;

The present remains the same before me.

In old age, there are only memories;

The present is all the past.

童年時沒有回憶

眼前祇有眼前

青年時祇有憧憬

眼前外有眼前

中年時沒有憧憬

眼前還是眼前

老年時祇有回憶

眼前未及眼前

____

Sixto Rodriguez- Sandrevan Lullaby

The generals hate holidays

Others shoot up to chase the sun blues away

Another store front church is open

Sea of neon lights, a boxer his shadow fights

Soldier tired and sailor broken

Winter's asleep at my window

Cold wind waits at my door

She asks me up to her place

But I won't be down anymore

Judges with metermaid hearts

Order super market justice starts

Frozen children inner city

Walkers in the paper rain

Waiting for those knights that never came

The hi-jacked trying so hard to be pretty

Night rains tap at my window

Winds of my thoughts passing by

She laughed when I tried to tell her

Hello only ends in goodbye

America gains another pound

Only time will bring some people around

Idols and flags are slowly melting

Another shower of rice

To pair it for some will suffice

The mouthful asks for second helpings

Moonshine pours through my window

The night puts it's laughter away

Clouds that pierce the illusion

That tomorrow would be as yesterday