? The prototype of the story is the love story of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon and his wife Silas. Nebuchadnezzar II was the second monarch of the new kingdom of Babylon. After the death of the old king, Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to the throne and married Silas, the princess of the Medes. Nebuchadnezzar loved the queen very much, but the queen couldn't stand the hot sun and sandstorm in Babylon and was homesick. This worried Nebuchadnezzar. Therefore, he built a garden according to the scenery of the queen's hometown. The legendary hanging garden was built for her. The garden is high above, with trees and flowers in full bloom. When the queen swims in the garden, she won't be seen by others. The garden was deeply loved by the queen, and her illness gradually improved. It is this love that Fang Zhouzi deeply remembers and conveys in songs.
This song mainly tells the love story through two timelines, one is historical and the other is present. Use the love in history to compare the love now. Moreover, it uses the expression technique interwoven with the present and history, which is also reflected in the MV of this song. This paper analyzes the time series of songs in turn. First of all, from the first two sentences, tell us when and where this story happened in history:
"It has been more than 3,700 years since the King of Babylon promulgated the code of hammurabi and carved it on black basalt."
Historically, the story happened in the kingdom of Babylon, after King Hammurabi of Babylon issued code of hammurabi, because the story happened in the new kingdom of Babylon. At this point, a pair of lovers in reality are thinking deeply about the picture of code of hammurabi in the museum window, because the next lyric has already explained this point:
"You stare at the inscription in front of the window, but I quietly appreciate your face that I love."
At this time, pulling the camera back to the present, there is a sense of lens in the film. You are looking out of the window, and I am looking at you deeply at this moment. In fact, these two lyrics are very vivid, and they are also an expression in lyric writing, which makes the listener feel more substituted and can truly feel the mood of the author when he creates. It is also a detailed expression of good lyrics. Just a picture, an action, reflects the hero's deep affection for his lover.
"Whose past is it that the priest temple fights for bows and arrows?"
This sentence goes back to the historical story. Priests, temples, battles, bows and arrows, although few words, can correspond to the demise of the Babylonian kingdom. Nabopolassar established a new Babylonian kingdom and became a monarch, with Nebuchadnezzar as his son. At this time, the protagonist in the historical love story introduced. A few symbolic words explained the hero's past experience. In fact, he and the queen are also political marriages, but they are lucky lovers. At least they love each other.
"I like the picture that you only belong to me in the crowd."
At this time, it returned to reality. No matter what other people's love is, I only like the way you like me.
"I passed by the goddess Sumeru and made a wish in the name of the goddess."
Sumer is the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia and the earliest civilization in the world. It was also the Sumerians who invented the earliest hieroglyphics-cuneiform. In fact, this sentence can be seen as a king's wish, and it can also be seen as the protagonist of the song making a wish with a famous goddess. The author thinks it is also a metaphor. In fact, their identities in love are the same, and they all care deeply about their lovers.
"Missing is like the Tigris River."
This sentence compares missing to a river, which is endless and endless. It is the memory of the king and the protagonist in reality. It is a connection that transcends time and space.
"When the ancient civilization only has difficult language legends, it becomes immortal poems."
"Ancient civilization" refers to the civilization of ancient Babylon; "Legend" refers to the love story of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon and his wife Silas.
"My love for you was written in Mesopotamia decades ago, and I found that the handwriting on the clay tablet is still clearly visible. My love for you was written in Mesopotamia many years ago, engraved with cuneiform characters, repeating the vows that have gone through thousands of years of wind and rain. "
The lyrics of the whole chorus part use the legendary love story in history to compare the present love. Because the theme of love is immortal. In his lyrics, Jay Chou used the love story of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon and his wife Silas to describe his love for his lover. In particular, the last sentence "Everything repeats itself" implies that love is reincarnation, only repeated in different periods, just like the theme of the movie Myth. Although the chorus does not explicitly mention the word time, the implied time span is very long.
"I feel very tired. I'm far from my hometown. I'm afraid I'll never come back to you again."
As far as Jay Chou himself is concerned, the melody of this part of the bridge after the chorus is not in the Demo, but added when recording in the studio. He should have felt it then. Because the queen in the historical story is far away from home, it is inevitable that she will miss home. So these two sentences can correspond to the queen's mood. What makes me feel meaningful is "hometown" and "you". These two actually refer to the same place. Where is it? Maybe it has something to do with whether Jay Chou is from Taiwan Province Province. These two sentences were added temporarily at last, and the reason should only be known to him.
This song is an introduction to history. Through the historical love story, it is a metaphor for the present love. Because love is a kind of feeling and abstract, how to explain it to be convincing? It may be clear to apply this metaphor. "I like you like the king of Babylon in BC", or "I love you like the king of Babylon in BC loves his queen." This timeline can be traced back to a long time ago, and it contains real historical facts and an older theme-love.
Analyzing the lyrics of Love Before BC made me admire Fang Zhouzi again. This is a lyric, but it can present a cinematic picture and let your thoughts wander between history and modernity with the song. It's really admirable.