爱拼才会赢 (Ai Piah Cia Eh Yia)

If you were born around the 70-80s, I believe you've heard this song hundreds or even thousand times.Heard it at some relative's wedding party, family's gathering, local karaoke competition, or overheard it when your father sang it while taking a shower.
AiPiaCiaEYa doubtlessly is the most popular Hokiannese song in the world. When I was in China, several of my Chinese friends who don't speak Hokiennese know this song and remember the lyrics quite well (it is like a Javanese person who remembers the lyrics of some Sundanese song when he himself doesn't speak Sundanese).
I think it was so amazingly popular in Indonesia for reasons, I believe one of those is the powerful lyrics. Below is my attempt to translate them. But you must pardon the mistakes (if there is any), since I don't understand Hokianesse either. I translated them from the Chinese characters which I believe have the almost same meaning as the Hokianesse characters (the characters have different meanings but are spelled differently).
By understanding the meaning of the lyrics, I hope that by now you could understand better the reason this song has been sung millions times by Hokianesse speakers all over the world. The reason why some people sing it with a face expression that somehow make him looks like he just went back from the biggest battle of his life, and he survived.

Yeah, hopefully the next time you heard the song, you might be able to put more emotion in hearing it.



爱拼才会赢
Ai pia cia e ya
Note: lyrics is read as you read Indonesian.


一时失志 不免怨叹
Chi shisi ci e mian huan dan
At a time when we lose, our ego would naturally blame.


一时落 魄不免胆寒
Chi si lo bie e mian dan han
At a time when we falldown, our soul would naturally be terrified

那通失去希望 每日醉茫茫
Na tang sit gi hii bang, mui lit zui bang bang
The memory of going through days of losing hopes and getting drunk

无魂有体亲像稻草人
Mbo hun wu dei qing qiu tiu jao lang
My body is without a soul just like a scarecrow

人生可比是海上的波浪
Yin shing ko pi si hai siong e po long
But life really is just like the tide of the sea

有时起有时落
Wu si gii wu si luo
They rise and fall by turn

好运歹命
Ho un pai un
Goodluck, Badluck

总吗要照起工来行
Cong ma ciao gi kang lai kia
Really, you just have to wake up and get to work, do it.

三分天注定 七分靠打拼
Sa hun ti cut tia, jit hun ko ba pia
Thirty percent is Heaven's will, Seventy percent is hard work

爱拼才会赢
Ai pia cia e ya
To win, you have to give your all.