Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 929 So this song really does have lyrics!

The atmosphere at Hatter's side was still electric, but when they took their final bows and left the stage, it was clear that the fans' expectations for the Rolling Stones were so high that nothing could hold them back.

After all, Europe is still largely an English-speaking region, and with the second half of the concert confirmed to be entirely in English, the expectations of music fans are understandably high.

Phimos is quite the charmer; even after the curtain call, he continued to stir up the fans' emotions, aiming to create an electrifying atmosphere for the Rolling Stones' upcoming performance.

Evelyn, who was sitting on the side of the stage with Bian Lang, looked at the scene below the stage and suddenly asked out of the blue, "Wave, if you could write a German song to give back to your fans, they would go crazy tonight!"

"German songs? Let's talk about that later..." Bian Lang replied, but he was already making plans in his mind.

He certainly has at least one or two songs in his repertoire, if not many. For example, "Aloha Heja He" is one of the songs pieced together from "Good Morning Longhui," and it's not just in German; the chorus is even written in Swedish.

However, the lyrics of this song shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's a rogue song by Western colonialists, depicting their invasion of Africa, which brought arson, murder, looting, and sexually transmitted diseases, yet it was turned into a cheerful tune. Its popularity in China without being banned is probably due to the poor translation skills of many of the translators.

But if the melody of this song is really catchy, and the Swedish lyrics are "Aloha heja he– aloha heja he, aloha heja he...", then its brainwashing power is in no way inferior to those truly catchy hit songs.

Furthermore, the author, Achim Reichel, has an impressive resume. In the 1960s, he formed The Rattles and served as the band's lead singer. In 1966, he was invited to be a guest performer on The Beatles' European tour. He later served in the German Federal Armed Forces, and after leaving the military, he formed the band Wonderland.

"Then these music fans will have to wait a long time!"

The saying "the more debts you have, the less you worry; the more lice you have, the less they itch" no longer held any sway over Bian Lang. So, Bian Lang shrugged and said, "It's alright, just let them wait!"

Just when the music fans were getting impatient with being led around, Guo Sichu and Bian Lang, having received instructions, ran hand in hand onto the stage.

The fans were delighted, while Fimos was a mix of envy and jealousy: "So, let's give the stage back to the Rolling Stones... Wave, I'll ask you one last question, how does it feel to be in love?"

Guo Sichu wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, she wanted to take the lead and speak first, without thinking, she said in Mandarin, "From now on, the emperor will not hold court in the morning!"

Upon hearing this, even someone like Guo Sichu, who had seen all sorts of grand occasions, couldn't help but blush slightly.

The Chinese music fans in the audience first greeted him in various dialects before they started to cheer.

This made the foreigners in the audience very anxious: "Did Wave say something that only Chinese people can understand?"

"Damn it, they were laughing so happily! What did Wave say? I really want to know!"

Even Fimos looked on with curiosity: "Wave, what exactly did you say?"

"Go back to the stage and find Bob to explain it to you..."

"Why look for Bob..." The question had barely left his mouth when Fimos immediately understood.

His previous relationship didn't seem to be going well, so Bian Lang's words were like a cruel blow to his spirit...

After realizing what was happening, Phimos threw out a sarcastic remark that wasn't particularly hurtful, then went offstage to wait and see what the Rolling Stones were up to. After all, he was one of their own, someone who knew the inside story.

Even if Bian Lang didn't say it, he knew that the fact that two versions of "Wish You Were Here" were performed together was definitely a limited edition, if not a one-time occurrence.

If you don't enjoy this live performance properly, who knows when you'll be able to hear it live again!
Before he even returned to the quarantine area, he heard Bian Lang begin, "Wish You Were Here..." Without any further introduction, he turned around and started carrying his guitar.

The song that was raved about at the first show of the tour, the video of Bian Lang's guitar singing, is the song that all the fans in the audience were most looking forward to tonight.

Even fans who went to the concert twice didn't find it boring at all, and even bragged to those around them: "When it premiered in the UK, I wondered if my ears were hallucinating!"

Then there were the musicians from Rolling Stone Records from China, all of them staring intently at the stage, giving the impression that they were just about to get ready to perform.

Seeing that Bian Lang was still fiddling with his guitar, Ding Tong seized a moment to ask the Exodus musicians, "Compared to the online videos, do you think the live performance was better?"

"That has to be live. Even if Olaf were a god, he couldn't recreate that sound quality live. Old Ding, let me tell you, the natural reverberation in that indoor venue is truly amazing. Lang Ge's guitar playing sounded like he was playing with a slide, it was such a treat!"

If you said this to a layperson, they probably wouldn't be able to imagine what it would look like. But if you said it to someone like Ding Tong, who is a professional, she could easily imagine the effect in her mind!
"That's a pity. I should have come along earlier and heard the whole story!"

Ding Tong's sentiment wasn't new; it was basically felt by everyone at Rolling Stone Records after the video of the first show was sent back.

The main reason is because of this vocalless version of "Wish You Were Here"! Of course, there's another reason why they're even more excited than the fans: they know that there's a complete version of the song with lyrics.

Seeing that Bian Lang had already slung his instrument over his shoulder and walked to the front of the stage, Guo Sichu also sat down on a high stool. She didn't even have a microphone in her hand, nor was there a microphone stand in front of her. The singers and artists from the mainland were all criticizing her:

"Bian Lang is such a waste of talent. Guo Sichu is a top-notch singer, and he actually lets her be a mere decorative vase on stage?"

"Damn! This guy's probably going to get roasted by Guo Sichu's die-hard fans, right?"

"How could that be? When have Guo Sichu's fans ever seen her as a pretty face on stage? They'd probably be overjoyed..."

Xia Yuxi thought this was the most likely scenario. After all, those who came here to support Guo Sichu couldn't possibly be the brainless fans of ordinary traffic stars who were so bored as to compete with Bian Lang for status!

They couldn't be happier if Guo Sichu could stand on the stage all night and let that damned Bian Lang be exhausted!
Just then, the main lights on stage dimmed, leaving only a spotlight shining on Strauss and Dili. Just like in the first performance, the two, each with an acoustic guitar, began to tell their story.

The first time I heard those musicians live, I felt that this stuff was so high-class: "The intro felt like two old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years, and finally sat down together and talked about the past."

It's not surprising to feel this way. There are quite a few live versions of this song. Some people think Shui Ye's version is awesome, but Lonely Ye's supporters will say:

"The solo is comfortable but not numb. Many people say that Lonely's guitar technique is simple, slow, and always uses the pentatonic scale. But when many great guitarists play Pink Floyd's songs, compared to Lonely, they seem to talk a lot of nonsense. I don't know why. Every note of Lonely's guitar is used perfectly. Not talking nonsense is the hardest thing to learn."

Some die-hard fans feel that they can accept other people performing other Pink Floyd songs, but this one and "comfortably numb" are the only ones that they can't stand to listen to, except for Waterman and Lonely.

So if you're listening to this song on Earth, you'll often only listen to the verses in the live version by Water, while in the live version by Lonely, you'll skip straight to the chorus and solo. But actually, it's best when the two of them are performing together.

Just like the acoustic guitar intro at the beginning of the song, which sounds like a conversation, if these two old men could sit down and have a good chat, and wipe the slate clean of the past, then the meaning of this song would be even more extraordinary!

When Bian Lang played the vocals on the guitar, he made a small change this time. As soon as the continuous sound came out, Ding Tong looked at the Exodus guitarist and asked, "Is this the effect you're talking about?"

Exodus' guitarist also stared wide-eyed at the stage, and a few seconds later shouted, "See that? Bianlang's brought his slide!"

"Damn, Bian Lang has really taken this song to the extreme. I feel like his guitar is crying!"

To be honest, there are quite a few passages with a crying guitar tone in the guitar parts written by Pink Floyd's Lonely Guy. Whether it's "Comfortably Numb" or this song, the effect is very obvious. It's just that Bian Lang's use of slides amplifies this effect countless times.

Even if someone is at a loss for words, it's easy to tell what's going on just by listening to them.

To make an imperfect analogy, the first version of Bian Lang's performance was like the original version of ancient Chinese poetry. It had enough sophistication and charm, but it was difficult to understand.

This version is like an annotation under this poem; as long as you can recognize all the characters, you can understand the meaning after reading it.

For a musician like Bian Lang, who frequently updates his music and brings surprises to his fans, being his fan must be an incredibly happy thing.

Just like those fans who are listening to the song a second time right now, shaking their heads and exclaiming, "My God, is this Bian Lang's creativity? I feel like the quality of this song has been elevated once again..."

For over six minutes after the song ended, Guo Sichu sat on a high stool watching Bian Lang "cry" with his guitar. Occasionally, she would show some girlish, endearing expressions, which would elicit gasps of "Holy crap!" from her fans in the audience.

Ironically, it became another major highlight on stage...

As for the music itself, according to Thor, who was standing backstage, "This is an arrangement that no human brain could come up with!"

As the song ended, Bian Lang put down his electric guitar and switched to an Ovation. Meanwhile, staff members brought over a microphone stand from the high stool in front of Guo Sichu.

After all the preparations were complete, Guo Sichu parted her red lips and said, "Wish You Were Here!"

This immediately caused an uproar among those unaware of the situation:
"No, no? What's going on? Could it be that there's a new version of this song, sung by this new beautiful lead singer?"

"Hmm? So Wave was just setting the stage for this moment!"

"God, I think this song is already perfect as it is; it doesn't need lyrics! I don't want any lyrics to ruin the image of this song in my heart!"

"Please! Wave, your lyrics have to be worthy of this song..."

Bian Lang was of course unaware of the various thoughts that the music fans were having at that moment, but after the radio sample that sounded somewhat similar to the intro of "Comfortably Numb" came from the speakers.

Those longtime music fans who sensed the same formula immediately understood.

In fact, the original Earth version of the song was arranged in this way to create a scene where Gilmour is listening to the radio, constantly changing channels until he gets to the beginning of WYWH, feeling a mix of emotions, and then he picks up his guitar and starts playing along with the radio broadcast.

But when the guitars of Dili and Strauss started playing, and the exact same intro began, Bian Lang clearly saw many fans below the stage furrow their brows slightly.

Even if it's a classic, would you be willing to pay to hear it live twice in one night?

But since it was a Rolling Stones concert, the fans patiently continued listening.

Then, after 41 seconds, Bian Lang sighed inadvertently. Some music fans were confused, but others sensed something different.

At the 46-second mark, a very obvious snorting sound was heard, as if the protagonist in this scene was venting some kind of emotion through this small action.

After another soft sigh at the 51-second mark, even the most clueless music fan would know that this was intentionally arranged.

Especially looking at the subtle changes in Guo Sichu's expression, it was as if he was saying, "You silly man, I always need to remind everyone of these details, right?"

In fact, these three sounds are the finishing touch in expressing emotions, but they are not very clear in the original version, can be heard more clearly in the re-recorded version, and are almost non-existent in the live version.

In the midst of this agonizing anticipation, music fans finally got to hear Bian Lang speak.

With just one line, all music fans had the same thought: "Holy crap! This song actually has lyrics?"

"So, So you think you can tell..."

So, do you think you can distinguish...?

Even those music fans who initially thought the song shouldn't have lyrics now think, "It's actually not bad!"

However, once the lyrics were revealed to everyone, no one would say that the lyrics would ruin the song's meaning anymore.
"Heaven from Hell"
Heaven and Hell

Blue skies from pain
Blue sky and pain

Can you tell a green field
Do you think you can?
From a cold steel rail?
A verdant meadow can be discerned from the cold railway tracks.
A smile from a veil?
Can you discern the hidden smile beneath the veil?
Do you think you can tell?
Do you think you can do it?
And did they get you to trade
Will they trade with you?
Your heroes for ghosts?
Trade ghosts for your hero?
Hot ashes for trees?
Exchange the forest for the still-warm ashes?

Hot air for a cool breeze?
Exchange the scorching heat for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Is self-change exchanged for indifference and comfort?
And did you exchange
Do you trade?

A walk on part in the war
Strolling leisurely through the war
For a lead role in a cage?
Just to gain dominance within a cage?

(End of this chapter)