The song "Tong Hua"

Question

Hi, could I ask 2 questions about the song please?

According to what they sing, is the word underlined below "can't" or "can?"

And is it supposed to be "can't" or "can?"

Thank you so much.

By the way, which one is correct, "Its lyrics are below" or "Its lyrics is below?"

Its lyrics are below:

Don't know how long.

It's been a while since

You told me your favorite story

It's been on my mind

Driving me crazy

Am I the reason that you're crying now

I see the tears in your eyes.

They tell me you don't believe

That I can't be your prince charming

Maybe you can't understand.

But when you said you loved me

My life was changed

And I wish you could see

I'm willing to be the one

And the angel that you love

With open arms

I'll always be there

You must believe that you and me

Will end up living happily

In our own fairytale story

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

It sounds like he is singing "can't". Whether that fits the meaning depends on how you interpret the lyrics.

Its lyrics are below.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Mister Micawber.

But I just got confused between the Chinese lyric version and the English one.

In the English version, do the two parts "They tell me you don't believe" and "That I can't be your prince charming" make a complete sentence? If yes, should it be like "They tell me you don't believe that I can't be your prince charming"?

In the Chinese version, the lyrics convey the meaning that "the girl doesn't think the boy will be her prince charming."

Then does the English version mean the same thing?

Sorry for bothering you so much.

Mister Micawber · Answer

That is the point: the English version is ambiguous.  It can be taken either way.

Anonymous · Answer

Then, are you saying that "They tell me you don't believe that I can't be your prince charming" could mean two different ideas: "The girl doesn't think the boy will be her prince charming" and "The girl doesn't think the boy won't be her prince charming?"

Forgive me for my poor English.

And sorry for bothering you so much again.

JoshStafford · Answer

The song is by Wáng Guang Liáng, or Michael Wong.

Here is a translation of the original Chinese lyrics.

I forgot how long it has been
Since I heard you
Tell me your favourite story.
I thought for a long time;
I started to panic,
Did I do something wrong again?
You told me, crying,
That fairytales are all lies;
That I can’t possibly be your prince…
But you may not understand:
Since you told me you loved me
All the stars in my sky became bright.
I’m willing to become that angel in the fairytale:
The angel that you love;
Stretch out my arms,
Turning them into wings to shield you.
You must believe
We can be like that fairytale
With happiness and joy in the end…
Together we can write our own ending.

JoshStafford · Answer

Sometimes people get confused with the double negatives. For example, I once was part of a very funny (for me) conversation with a my director and one of the other managers. The other manager was upset because one of the departments had bought a non-standard (for us) machine and now expected us to maintain it.

After venting, the other manager finished with, "What are we going to do about this?"

Our director replied, "Well, we can't do nothing."

The other manager said, "What do you mean we can't do nothing? We must do something!"

The director said in his usual very dry tone, "I thought I just said that. Doing nothing is not an option."

The point is I think the guys mixed their negatives in their translation. He certainly sounds like he's saying "don't" and "can't" which would make it that he can be her prince...but Michael Wong's original is that she says he cannot be her prince: wo bù ken néng shì ni de wáng zi.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you so so so much, JoshStafford.

Thank you for your explanation.

I really appreciate that.

The song "Tong Hua"

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