THE BUND (1980)/SHANGHAI BUND (2007) theme song: Cantonese or Mandarin version?

Frances Yip famously sang the theme song to the classic 1980 TVB gangster drama THE BUND (starring Chow Yun Fat), and recorded a new version of the song with different Mandarin lyrics (the original was in Cantonese) for China's 2007 remake of the series, SHANGHAI BUND (starring Huang Xiaoming).

The singer and tune are the same for both songs, but do you like the original Cantonese lyrics or the new Mandarin lyrics better?

Original 1980 Cantonese lyrics

New 2007 Mandarin lyrics

Note: the choice is between the two versions of the theme songs, not the series themselves.

The people faithful to the original Canto lyrics would definitely choose the original version. I think the Mandarin version is good on its own, trying to be slightly different on its own. As you know the original is highly praised, so to have the same lyrics and remake the series, it's hard to top what is already great and superb. So I think they made a good decision making it different and taking the song and making it their own version.

Of course,I grew up with the Canto version, so I like it a little bit more but, both have something to offer.

The decision to rewrite the lyrics in Mandarin for the 2007 series was a wise one considering the common language of the bulk of the target audience and the fact that words that rhyme/flow together well in Cantonese might not do so in Mandarin if translated verbatim. I don't understand Mandarin well enough to judge if the Mandarin lyrics were as meaningful as the original Cantonese ones, but they sure do sound nice.

Considering the story sets in Shanghai, wouldn't it be considered MORE authentic to have a theme song and everyone mostly speak in Mandarin? I know, Shanghai has their own Shanghai-ese mandarin that would be slightly different from Taiwanese Mandarin and other parts of China. Even Hokkien sounds funny like a mix between Canto and Mandarin.

To me, both are equally nice.

The song has been tried in a few Asian languages, including Vietnamese.

I don't know if it's a faithful translation of either the Cantonese or Mandarin lyrics.

A Japanese version would sound cool too, but I don't think anyone has tried one.

There *was* an English attempt, but that was rather embarrassing (tried to translate the original Cantonese lyrics too literally).

There's even a Thai version.

Like the TVB series for which it was commissioned, the song has had quite an impact beyond its original Hong Kong audience and spread throughout eastern Asia.

Singapore presidential election version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF510...eature=related