This may be beyond the ken of our literary website, but singer Liang Long (of the Chinese rock band Second Hand Rose) writes some of the wittiest, most cunning lyrics around. Here's a sample translation, good fun for all. Click for posting that includes both Chinese lyrics and English lyrics in translation:

"Let the Artists [be the first to strike it rich]"

...I’m a packet of STD meds
That the spouse opens when your back is turned
I’m a demigod who broke all of heaven’s rules
And got kicked back down to earth...

Band: Second Hand Rose

Song: Let the Artists [be the first to strike it rich]

I’m a packet of brand name cigarettes
Tucked into a poor man’s pocket
I’m a greedy rat adopted by a rich man
I'm a rat taken in by the aristocrats

I’m a packet of STD meds
That the spouse opens when your back is turned
I’m a demigod who broke all of heaven’s rules
And got kicked back down to earth

A crowd of pigs take to the sky
A mob of pirates drown on a beach
They’ve turned my son into cold hard cash
Flowers bloom, then wither on the riverbank

They’ve driven me to be a model worker
They’ve driven me to be a businessman
They’ve driven me to be a poet
They’ve driven me to be a worthless man

Let my farmers be the first to strike it rich
Let my pretty people be the next in line
Let my servants be the first to strike it rich
Let my artists be the next in line

A crowd of pigs take to the sky
A mob of pirates drown on a beach
They’ve turned my son into cold hard cash
Flowers bloom, then wither on the riverbank

A crowd of pigs take to the sky
A mob of pirates drown on a beach
They’ve turned my son into cold hard cash
Flowers bloom, then wither on the riverbank

A crowd of pigs take to the sky…
A crowd of pigs take to the sky…

乐队：二手玫瑰

歌：允许我国的艺术家先富起来

我是一盒名牌的香烟
我塞进了穷人的口袋
我是一只贪婪的耗子
我被富人收养起来

我是一盒治性病的药
我被爱人偷偷打开
我是一个犯了戒的神仙
我被老天踢了下来

一群猪啊飞上了天
一群海盗淹死在沙滩
我的儿子被做成了金钱
摇曳的花枯萎在河岸

我被活活地逼成了个工人
我被活活地逼成了个商人
我被活活地逼成了个诗人
我被活活地逼成了个废人

允许我国的农民先富起来
允许我国的美人先富起来
允许我家的佣人先富起来
允许我国的艺术家先富起来

一群猪啊飞上了天
一群海盗淹死在沙滩
我的儿子被做成了金钱
摇曳的花枯萎在河岸

一群猪啊飞上了天…
一群猪啊飞上了天…