Silence is Golden....

When I was a child, I remembered hearing this song very often (sung by the tremolos or sth like that). The last week or so, this song keeps coming back to me.... the chorus goes like this:

Silence is golden, but my eyes still see;
Silence is golden, golden; but my eyes still see

If you were to read the 2 key sentences, they seemed unrelated. What has silence got to do with sight? Actually it has, and it makes alot of sense, and very often all of us at one time or other go through such phases.

The context of the story of the song is the concern this chap has for a girl who is being taken for a ride by her boyfriend. This chap knew it, and obviously cared for her, but knew it was unwise to say anything. This is the context.

Actually it holds much truth in alot of situations. there is a time for everything. If words would not have the effect, would not be heard or would not be trusted, or will cause more hurt than good, than the adage 'Silence is golden' is indeed true. It takes time, consideration, experience, wisdom to exercise it.

He keeps silent, but it is evident he cares alot....
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my next thought naturally is to translate it. If one were to translate it directly without thinking, it would read thus:

沉 默 是 金，但 是 我 的 眼 睛 还 是 看 得 见.

This is strictly incorrect. Silence is golden, not gold. But there is no appropriate adjectival phrase for gold in chinese. In this context, it is really a comparison between Silence and Words. So to me, the better translation for the first statement would be:

沉 默 是 金 语 .
In translation you sometimes have to add/subtract to bring it closer to the meaning of the context.

The next statement is much harder. The intention of the writer is not to say he has the ability to see literally, but rather in his position, he can see alot of things both literally and metaphorically. He knows the situation better than the girl.

But in translation, you also cannot put in your own interpretation when the intention is meant to be subtle. There is a need to be faithful to the original text. Well, this is my best attempt so far below:


Silence is golden, but my eyes still see;

Silence is golden, golden; but my eyes still see

沉 默 是 金 语 . 但，我 目 视 一 切。

沉 默 是 金 语 , 是 金 语. 但，我 目 视 一 切。


There is a time, that silence is indeed golden....