Jaclyn Victor - Wajah English Translation

Jaclyn Victor - Wajah English Translation

Lyrics by: Habsah Hassan


Wajah / Face

Sheltered only by the grey sky

And the arid earth as the floor

Every step you take is filled with hardships and obstacles

As heavy as the eyes could see

Heavier is the shoulder carrying the burden

The tears dry off on its own

Even before it could reach the cheeks

So many falls

Your sight is getting blurry

But the determination to keep going never falters

You are a warrior in the battle of misery

Coursing through life’s ordeal with hope

The agony felt by the soul

Expressed on your face is no secret

As you wait for the misfortune to change into fortune

Please don’t give up

So many falls

Your sight is getting blurry

But the determination to keep going never falters

You are a warrior in the battle of misery

Coursing through life’s ordeal with hope

The agony felt by the soul

Expressed on your face is no secret

As you wait for the misfortune to change into fortune

Please don’t give up

Please don’t give up

You are a hero...

Original Malay lyrics

Berbumbungkan angkasa kelabu

Lantainya bumi retak seribu

Setiap langkah perjalananmu beronak berliku

Betapa berat mata memandang

Berat bahu menggalas bebanan

Belum sempat menitis ke pipi

Tangisan kering sendiri

Berkali tersungkur

Pandanganmu kabur

Namun azam meneruskan hidup tak pernah

luntur

Engkaulah perwira di medan derita

Merentasi ranjau kehidupan dengan harapan

Luahan rasa derita jiwa

Pada wajah tiada rahsia

Menunggu malang berganti tuah

Usah kau berputus asa

Berkali tersungkur

Pandanganmu kabur

Namun azam meneruskan hidup tak pernah

luntur

Engkaulah perwira di medan derita

Merentasi ranjau kehidupan dengan harapan

Luahan rasa derita jiwa

Pada wajah tiada rahsia

Menunggu malang berganti tuah

Usah kau berputus asa

Usah kau berputus asa

Kaulah wira…

Jaclyn Victor - Wajah music video with original Malay lyrics
-credits to the video owner


My 2 cents thoughts while translating...

At first, I thought of writing this ‘thoughts’ thing in a new post but then, it wasn’t exactly long and I was lazy too so I decided to just edit it here. Owh and I also added a youtube link of the song’s video with lyrics. But I’m not sure if it’s okay to share other people’s video link here so if it’s not, please tell me and I will delete it right away.

This song is famous for being the theme song for one of Malaysia’s charity TV program called “Bersamamu”. The show broadcasts the lives of those who are more unfortunate than others as a means to encourage people to help lighten their burden. I grew up watching this show and remembering the song as a very sad song with heart-wrenching lyrics. The song itself is very nice to listen to and I thought that its melody and lyrics fits each other so well which is probably why it was so effective in touching the heart of its listeners. At least that’s what I think as a non-music (non-musical?) expert. See I don’t even know the correct term for that lol.

This song is very straightforward in its meaning so I don’t really have much problem translating it but there are a couple of things I would like to explain. One of it is the lines “betapa berat mata memandang, berat bahu menggalas bebanan” translated into “As heavy as the eyes could see, heavier is the shoulder carrying the burden.” I see this as a reference to a Malay idiom ‘berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul’ which means as hard as it was for us watching people facing trouble or experiencing difficulties (in life), it is even harder for those people who are experiencing it themselves. That’s why I translated the lines above like that. I tend to first translate words literally and then, change it a little according to its overall meaning. 

For these lines though, “berat bahu menggalas bebanan” literally means “the shoulder is heavy carrying the burden” and so it doesn’t really translate the whole sentiments or meanings of that lines. From what I understand, at least. Another point that I want to explain is I changed the placement of the line 6 and 7 in the first verse or paragraph(?) of the song. This is mainly because I want to preserve the original pronouns used in each line but it makes more sense when it switches places. And so I did.

So anyway, I don't exactly need to explain all these but just in case, people who are learning the language (either Malay or English) happen to read this post, I think it's better to explain these to avoid any confusion. If there are any questions or even corrections, please feel free to leave a comment~