Fish Sauce to Ketchup

Mục Lục

Sources

Song

Lyrics

Intro

Vietnamese LyricsEnglish LyricsTui là Vinja cờ xanh năm láI am a vinja1 green 5-leafed flagAnh chị em quây quần 333Brothers and sisters hang out with 3332Saigonese nhiều khi “dô”3 sung quáSaigonese sometimes “cheer” too muchXin bật loa trình bày đơn caTurn up the speakers for my soloTui là Vinja cờ xanh năm láI am a vinja green 5-leafed flagAnh chị em quây quần 333Brothers and sisters hang out with 333Xin bật loa trình bàyTurn up the speakers

Verse 1

Ayo, nói tôi ngheHey, tell meN-sao4 mà thời bây giờ FA là nhục nhã nà?Why is it shameful nowadays to be FA5?N-sao mà giải thích chuyện mình cho người ta nà?Why do we have to explain ourselves to other people?N-sao mà đang chạy xe đứng lại là xìa ra nà?Why do we always get pulled over when driving?N-sao mà đóng tiền, đóng phạt rồi đóng6 phim nà?Why do we pay money, pay fines, and act fake?Đụng vô chuyện thì mình im nà?And in confrontations stay quiet?N-sao mà giữa đám đông vẫn thấy mình cô đơn?Why, in the middle of the crowd, do we still feel lonely?Còn sao mà giúp người ta làm ơn chút xíu là kê đơnnnnn nà?Why when we help others with small favors is it a prescription7? (?)

Chorus

N-sao? n-sao?Why, Why?N-sao mà không biết mà ý kiến thì nhao nhao?Why do ignorant people voice their opinions loudly?N-sao mà 25 tuổi giấc mơ lại chết?Why do our dreams die when we turn 25?Bô lô ba la riết tất nhiên là hếtBlah blah blah, so demanding that you run out of energyNà Giờ- n-sao?What now?N-sao? N-sao? N-sao?Why? Why? Why?N-sao người ta đang vui, ném đá là8 n-sao?Why do we gang up on people who are happy?N-sao còn kêu tui đến phá là n-sao?Why do you keep inviting me to mess around?N-sao mày không đi học phá má là n-sao?Why aren’t you going to school and instead bothering your mom?

Verse 2

UhmUhmHết vần còn rapI’m out of rhymes but I’m still rappingCòn Pop với Lock, Drop Boom Boom Bap!Will pop and lock, drop the boom boom bap!Nà, đâu cần đập hết sáu bức Napoleon cũng mấy cái tượng PhápWhy smash busts of Napoleon? They’re just French statues9Đêm vỉa hè mua dùm em VinatabaOn the sidewalk at night, please buy me some Vinataba10Xe ba gác hát Hotel CaliforniaThree wheeled carts playing Hotel CaliforniaParis By Night, Hoài Linh, Thanh HàParis By Night, Hoài Linh, Thanh Hà11I’m from D3 bây giờ vui thì sao nà?I’m from District 312, Now I’m happy, so what?

Hook

Bây giờ vui thì sao nà? (Bây giờ vui thì sao nà?) (x3)Now I’m happy, so what? (Now I’m happy, so what?)Đời vui thì n-sao nà? (Đời vui thì n-sao nà?) (x3)Live is good, so what? (Life is good, so what?)Đời vui thì n-sao nà?Live is good, so what?

Verse 3

Rải đinh ngoài đường, mời em vô vá xeSpreading nails on the street, then inviting me in to patch my carĐậu xe trước cửa đừng quên ổ khoá nghePark the car in front of the house, don’t forget to lock your doorsMà sao, em đi đâu đi loanh quanh?But why, are you wandering around?Xe 50 còn hư phanh! nhanh nhanh50 bike (Honda Cub 50) with broken brakes! Faster fasterKhi tan ca, lo đi nhanh, không phanh, uhWhen the shift is over, focus on going fast, not breaking, uhTông vô luôn vào anh, hai chụcGet into an accident, owe him 20 (thousand VND, ~$1 USD)Ngã tư quận Ba, ly cà phê sữa đáAt an intersection in District 3, cup of Vietnamese iced coffeeNgay Hàn Thuyên xuất hiện danh caSoon the famous singer Han Thuyen13 appears“Anh gì ơi! Mua em đôi ba cặp vé số!“Hey mister! Buy me three pairs of lottery tickets!Để rồi 10 cọc hai năm một lần trúng sổ số”Have 10 piles every two years and win the lotto once”Lại nà!Again!“Anh gì ơi! Mua em đôi ba cặp vé số!“Hey mister! Buy me three pairs of lottery tickets!Để rồi 10 cọc hai năm một lần trúng sổ số”Have 10 piles every two years and win the lotto once”UhhUhh

Verse 4

Sài Gòn đổi mới thật là nhanh nhanhSaigon has transformed really quicklyNgó trước ngó sau, coi chừng đứt phanhLook ahead, look behind; look out for cut brakesTừ xa có sửa xe coi chừng bể bánhThere’s a car being repaired far away, watch out for flat tiresKẹt xe thì quẹo hẻm cho nó nhanhTraffic jam, then turn into the alley to go fasterSáng thứ hai đẹp trời, đạp xe về ngã tư quận 3Beautiful Monday morning, biking through intersections in District 3“Bánh mì thịt kính mời”“Meat sandwich, welcome!”Mà sao dòm hoài hổng ra, toà nhà mới ở đâu mà ra? Um-m-mBut why do I keep looking and don’t recognize this place, where did this new building come from? Um-m-mTám bốn bảy bốn, đi khắp chốn cũng là về tới nhàEight, four, seven, four, going everywhere but I find my way homeBánh xe này chắp vá đó là ngày hôm quaThis patched up wheel is yesterday (old news?)Đứng lại! Ê cô gái, em có nghe tiếng la?Stop! Hey young lady, do you hear screaming?Ah!Ah!Tui là Vinja cờ xanh năm láI am a vinja green 5-leafed flagAnh chị em quây quần 333Brothers and sisters hang out with 333Saigonese nhiều khi “dô” sung quáSaigonese sometimes “cheer” too muchXin bật loa trình bày đơn caTurn up the speakers for my soloNàUh

Hook and parts of Verse 3 (repeats)

Interlude

A-lô?Hello?Oh! Anh hả?Oh, honey?Bảy giờ anh đón em hả?7 o’clock you’ll pick me up?Okay! DạOk, yes

Intro repeats (I guess it’s technically the outro now)

Notes

According to this fan site of the song, a “vinja” is a slang for Vietnamese and ninja and “describes Vietnamese women who wear colorful sunblock apparels riding on the street”
333 is a well-known Vietnamese beer
One of the ways Vietnamese people say “cheers” when drinking with friends. Here are some other drinking customs if you’re interested
I’m not sure what N-sao translates to. The English lyrics list it as “W-Why”
FA stands for “Forever Alone”. According to Wikipedia the average age of marriage for men and women is about 24.5. There’s also a growing trend of women in Vietnam staying single later in life to pursue their careers
This is a fun play on words with “đóng” meaning either “close” (like a door) or “act” (in a film). I’m interpreting her statement of “act in films” as meaning “act fake”
The word “kê đơn” means “prescription or to write a prescription”. The music video’s captions translates the line as “Why do we always have to take credit [when] helping others?”. Not sure how that fits but maybe there’s some slang that I can’t find the source to
According to this article that I used Google translate on, the term “ném đá” became a popular phrase in 2012 for something similar to “internet justice”. The phrase itself means “throw stones”. Like in English, this could devolve into nasty mob-mentality.
I’m 99% sure this is a reference to Sherlock Holmes short story, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. In it, a criminal breaks busts of Napoleon from the same mold. In the end, it turns out he was searching for a pearl that he had hidden. Not entirely sure what she’s trying to say with this line though. I’m pretty dense even when it comes to understanding metaphors in English
A popular brand of cigarettes in Vietnam
Paris By Night is a very popular direct-to-DVD variety show and includes comedy and dramatic sketches, live musical performances, and other entertaining work. Hoài Linh is a famous singer and actor. Thanh Hà is a famous female singer
According to this travel guide, District 3 is a really popular tourist attract and place to live. It has a mix of historic culture and hip boutiques and eateries.
Hàn Thuyên or Nguyễn Thuyên was a famous 13th-century Vietnamese poet. I’m not entirely sure why she references him when talking about lottery sellers. I think it’s because of how the sellers market their tickets in an almost sing-song way, as demonstrated in the next lines.

Other Notes

Oh my gosh this took so much time and effort. I have a hard time following rap in English so this was quite the challenge. Throw in slang and Vietnamese youth culture/references and I had to look up a lot more for this song than any other.

Overall, I’m happy I translated this song because I think the message is powerful, especially considering how strict the Vietnamese government is about media that even looks like it could be critical of the government. I think it helps that it seems like the artist is attacking people in general for being two-faced and for expecting too much of themselves/others that they work themselves tired and giving up on their dreams.