Artist: Teresa Teng (鄧麗君, テレサ・テン) •Also performed by: Faye Wong
Song: 假如我是真的 (jiǎ rú wǒ shì zhēn de)

假如我是真的

假如流水能回头　请你带我走
假如流水能接受　不再烦忧
有人羡慕你　自由自在的流
我愿变做你　到处任意游呀游
假如流水换成我　也要泪儿流
假如我是清流水　我也不回头
(×2)

If I were Real

If the running water could return, please take me along.
If the running water could accept me, I would then not be weary.
*Someone is envious of you, streaming carefree.
I wish to become you, roaming everywhere unrestrained.
If the running water were me, it would also shed tears.
If I were the clear running water, I would also not return.
x2
Repeat*

Submitted by hankeat

Submitter’s comments:
The theme song of a 1981 movie (If I Were Real) made in Taiwan. During the Cultural Revolution, knowing that those in power craved for more influence and prestige, a very poor young man pretended to be the son of a rich man and gained the respect and indulgence accorded a person of that status, only to be discovered and punished by the ruling class. In the end, he committed suicide for everything he loved so much and struggled so hard for vanished under the cruel officialdom and pathological mindset of the “have’s”. Before dying, he said to himself, “If I were real” , knowing full well that his quest was futile (this part is not shown in the movie). Based on a true story from the original writing by a mainlander 沙葉新, this movie won the Golden Horse Award, equivalent to the Best Picture Oscar in Hollywood, and Hong Kong Singer/Actor Alan Tam the Best Actor Award.