Susan & Emily Hsu singing 愛拼才會贏 (Ai-Biahnh Jah-eh Eah) to raise funds for Typhoon Morakot Victims

Susan and Emily Hsu, two Taiwanese-American sisters from the band Exit Clov, were featured on China Times for their fundraising efforts for Typhoon Morakot victims in Taiwan with their YouTube acoustic guitar/violin rendition of the Taiwanese folk song Ai-Biahnh Jah-eh Eah (Chinese: 愛拼才會贏) which means "you have to work really hard to succeed". Ai-Biahnh Jah-eh Eah is about persevering and overcoming the hardships that life sometimes throws at us -- which is very fitting especially for those who have lost everything because of Typhoon Morakot.

The YouTube description for their original video only anticipated 500 views through September 1st but because of news coverage, social media networks and internet forums, the video has gone viral and currently sits 88,286 hits (I'm sure it will have more by the time you are reading this) and there are plenty more days before September 1st. Here is the original YouTube video:



If you guys are moved by their song to help, by all means, check out their at site at: http://mousybabe.com/ and that is where you can find more details to help.


And because I really like the song, here are the Chinese, phoneticized Chinese & English translation lyrics of Ai-Biahnh Jah-eh Eah.

一時失志不免怨嘆
jit si sit ji mmm mehn wan tan
When you suffer a setback it is hard not to sigh,

一時落魄不免膽寒
jit si lou pek mmm mehn dam han
When you are down on your luck it is hard not to get discouraged.

那怕失去希望
la tong sit ki hi bbang
But When you lose hope,

每日醉茫茫
mui lit zui bbang bbang
And be in a drunken stupor all day,

無魂有体親像稻草人
bbo hun wu tay cin ciu dio cao lang
Then you are souless with a body, like a scarecrow.

人生可比是海上的波浪
lin sing ko bi si hai siong ey pou long
Life can be compared to waves on the sea,

有時起有時落
wu si kee - wu si lou
Sometimes it rises, and sometimes fall.

好運歹運
hoh oon pai oon
Good luck, bad luck -

總嗎要照起工來行
zong ma (jiao) ki gang lai gia
We still have to work.

三分天注定七分靠打拼
sa hun tin zu dia cit hun ko pa pia
For 30% is determined by heaven, while 70% is how much you strive for.

愛拼才會贏
ai pia a jia ey yia
Only those who work hard can succeed.

translation credits: telly from chinesemusicblog