Photo: VCG

Recently, the classic Chinese song The Affinities of This Life has exploded on overseas social media, setting off a global craze for Chinese songs. Despite language differences, The Affinities of This Life resonates globally with its own emotional and melodic sound that crosses cultural and linguistic barriers. This phenomenon once again proves the emotion that music carries as a world language.

At the beginning, many influencers participated in the "do something or sing a Chinese song" challenge on short video platforms (such as TikTok and Instagram Reels) and most of them chose to sing this emotional Chinese song. Relying on the lyrics they imagined and the somewhat sad of the melody, they acted out the sadness in their respective stories, even though they did not know what they were singing. To help foreign netizens understand the true meaning of the song, Chinese netizens have translated the English lyrics for them. After understanding the profound connotation of the lyrics, foreign netizens said, "This song is more profound than I thought."

It's not just the lyrics, but also the story behind the song that has been added. A foreign netizen said that the author of this song was a punk when he was young. He and his friends accidentally killed someone because of a fight. The police arrived to arrest them, but he bore all the sins himself. His friend was rescued from prison, but was sentenced to jail. Twenty years later, he was released. And he is already middle-aged and no longer looks youthful. He still misses his friends and cherishes their friendship. Everything they experienced seemed like it happened yesterday, so he wrote this song about friendship.

"It's so incredible to see so many people all over the world appreciating a song that most of us don't understand. Love from Canada," netizen @yomega commented under the relevant video.

"The Chinese often carry strong and meaningful messages in their songs. These are everlasting words. Love from Ghana," said netizen @channelb2640.

From the beginning of incomprehension and jokes, to the present empathy and in-depth interpretation, The Affinities of This Life crosses the boundaries of nationalities and skin colors, connects people from different cultures with music. The Affinities of This Life not only shows the charm of a Chinese song, but also spreads the common emotional culture of mankind through music.