Analyzing Jay Chou's Music

Agonizingly beautiful: words and music of Jay Chou’s “千里之外”
Longing. Longing for someone. Longing for the ones we love. That feeling we get when we lose or separate from our loved ones. It is a lingering and a wearing process, an emotion that causes heartache. It is a feeling that we know so well, but don’t know quite how to describe. We tell people that we miss our loved ones so much or even that life without our loved ones is pointless. But are these simplistic expressions enough for them to truly understand the experience we go through? Perhaps longing is such a complex experience that it cannot be solely illustrated in words. As complex as this experience is, Jay Chou, one of the most famous Taiwanese artists in Asia, brought together influential Chinese culture and words of metaphors in his song, “千里之外”, which translates as “Faraway”, to recreate an agonizingly beautiful experience that touches your heart.
The first time I heard 千里之外, it caught my attention instantly. The song starts off with soft tappings on various tones of bells in a steady rhythm. The gentle rings set one in a mood of tranquility, implying the best period in a relationship, the stable stage. Just when one is enjoying this state of calmness, a combination of instruments cuts off the bells while the melody intensifies, as if signaling something is about to go wrong. The combination includes two main Chinese instruments, “èr hú” and “gǔ zhēng,” and a light set of drums in the background. “Er hú” is a two-stringed instrument that is often known as the “Chinese violin,” and “Gǔ zhēng” is an eighteen to twenty three-strings instrument with movable bridges. This unexpected change of music style, as we will later learn from the lyrics, foreshadows the separation of two lovers. Even though the sounds of two instruments are distinct, they blend harmoniously. Together, they create a sound effect that is clashing yet beautiful, like the experience of longing. Although other sounds such as the piano and computer generated sounds also exist in this song, the incorporation of the two Chinese instruments continues to be the most powerful. In fact, during every repetition of the chorus, the two instruments emphasize the disruptive feelings of separation: the frustration, resentment, and doubt one undergoes. The intensity that these unique instruments generate symbolizes the complex and seemly endless emotions of longing.
Knowing that the lyrics would bring me closer to the song, I immediately went online to search for them after the first time I listened to it. I found out that the music was, as usual, a collaboration with Jay Chou’s music partner Vincent Fang. Fang writes lyrics for a majority of Chou’s compositions and has collaborated with him ever since Fang started his career. He is a very famous lyricist, best known for his style that resembles Chinese poetry. The lyrics of “千里之外” are also written in this style, where the number of characters matches from one verse to another and the last character of every two segments rhymes. Due to the convolution and depth of the Chinese language, this is an extremely challenging style to create. I am fascinated by his ability to stay consistent with this style throughout the entire song. It is as if he is inferring that the longing we have for someone will never change, no matter how hard it might be. This is what makes longing so beautiful, the determination for love overcoming misery.
Not only is Fang talented in his use of the stylistic features of Chinese language, but he also skillfully constructs intriguing images through figurative language. He utilizes images throughout the song to restore memories of deep longing. He begins the first verse by comparing objects to negative things. Rooftops are compared to cliffs, which are usually associated with falling and the bright and cheerful notes of wind chimes are compared to the deep and mournful sounds of the ocean. These similes demonstrate that when we are longing for someone, we view the world in a negative perspective. However, what is most powerful about longing is that it never gives up. With all negatives in mind, there is still the glimpse of faith to “wait for the swallow to return.” This connotes the hardship of the longing process because swallows were used by Chinese to send messages in the past, and it often takes months to get a response.
As the song progresses with images Fung depicts, the emotion of longing becomes heartbreaking. The depression that longing creates is so cruel that “you listen, but you can’t tell, it is not the sound of the wind, but the sounds of [his] deep sighs.” When I listen to these lines, I can hear the harsh and cold wind raging by my ears, as if hearing the protagonist’s painful and long sighs. Without his lover, his “world [is] colorless” and the “fear for [their] hopeless future rises.” The dreams they once shared have all “taken their flights,” disappearing into the vain sky. He had “sent [her] away, far away as the distance to the sky” for her to grow and prosper. However, as he hears “melodies afar…playing the notes of forever apart,” he can’t stop wondering if she “will be forever gone.” I can strongly feel the sense of despair at this point of the song, but the line that comes after is the line that truly breaks one’s heart. Even though he suffers from longing, he will never be tired “using [his] life [waiting] for [her].” Fang’s words add a deeper meaning to the melody. In addition to demonstrating the sadness of longing, he paints a moving image of the loyalty one is willing to commit, even when it brings sorrow.
We often use indescribable and painful to describe the feeling of longing for a loved one before listening to this song. Integrating words and music, Jay Chou goes beyond this common and simple usage to portray longing as a heart wrenching experience. “千里之外” is his way to remind people that when undergoing this depressing mindset, it is vital to appreciate yourself for the love you have for your loved one. On the surface, longing may seem terrifying; but in reality, longing exceeds the immensely complex feeling to represent an enchanting symbol, the dedication to love.