葉麗儀

Frances Yip Lai-yee (born 1947) is a Hong Kong English pop and C… Read Full Bio ↴葉麗儀

Frances Yip Lai-yee (born 1947) is a Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop singer. She is best known for performing many of the theme songs for television series produced by TVB in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Born in 1947, Yip is of Hakka ancestry, and is the youngest of 5 siblings. She grew up in a rural area in Hong Kong, and studied in St. Clare's Girls' School, an English Catholic school.

Her first singing job was in 1969 when she won a talent contest called Sharp's Night Four Lights Competition on Hong Kong television where she met the composer, Joseph Koo. Koo used Yip to sing commercial jingles while she was working as a secretary in HSBC, one was the jingles was a song about savings account for HSBC. Her first record, Bu Liao Qing (Love Without End) was recorded in the same year. She recorded predominantly English covers of Mandarin songs and Mandarin songs then.

In 1972, Yip and Joseph Koo went to Japan's World Singing gathering in Nippon Budokan. In 1973, Yip was working for Cathay Pacific as an Ambassador of Hong Kong under Hong Kong Tourism Board for a year, and her album, Discovery, was based on her experiences travelling. Discovery was sung in nine different languages to represent the 9 major destinations for Cathay Pacific then, and the album inspired a London talent agent to find her. She signed onto EMI records and lived in London for two years.[3]It was a worldwide contract, meaning she can have one English album released in 6 different languages in different areas of the world. Since then, she had renewed her two-year contract until now.

Yip hit international fame with her signature tune, The Bund from the TVB drama of the same title.[4] After she recorded The Bund, she returned to Hong Kong.

In her 45-year career, Yip has released more than 80 albums, mostly of songs in American English, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, Mexican Spanish, Japanese, Tagalog, Hong Kong Cantonese, and Taiwanese Mandarin. She has performed on television, and in films, concerts and cabarets in more than 30 countries on five continents. Her linguistic skills, with unique interpretations of lyrics in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as several other Asian languages, have led to a fan base across a wide range of cultures and countries.

Yip has worked with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Macau Chinese Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Thammasat University Philharmonic Orchestra in Bangkok as well as large orchestras in Kuala Lumpur.

Yip achieved worldwide recognition when she was selected by the Hong Kong government to be a co-presenter at the British Farewell Ceremony to mark the transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong. The event on June 30, 1997, was watched by a television audience estimated at 120 million, in more than 80 countries worldwide.

In 2012, Yip recorded her first Christian album, Grace and Glory Psalm 84.

Yip is fluent in Chinese (Hong Kong Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin) and English. She often spends time in Sydney where her son and grandchildren live.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, but was considered free of cancer in 2002. To celebrate eight years of being cancer-free, in 2010, she held a charity concert in Kuala Lumpur to benefit cancer research and treatment.

Since 2013, she and her husband have lived in the rural suburbs of Sydney, Australia with their son and grandson. They have Australian citizenship, and also own rental properties in England. She occasionally returns to Hong Kong to perform and make TV appearances.

Never say goodbye
Frances Yip Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

ちょっと待ってください
Please excuse me while I cry
Seems さよなら means goodbye
But no one ever told me why

さくら was in the spring
When our hearts found songs to sing
But さくら has gone away

And so has our love so they say

ちょっと待ってください
Please excuse me while I cry
Without your love I would die
So never leave me ください

ちょっと待ってください
Please excuse me while I cry
Without your love I would die
Please never never say "goodbye"

ちょっと待ってください
Please excuse me while I cry
Without your love I would die
So never leave me ください

ちょっと待ってください
Please excuse me while I cry
Without your love I would die
Please never say "goodbye"

Never say "goodbye"
Never never say "goodbye"

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Frances Yip's song "Never say goodbye" express the pain and confusion of a relationship that has ended, without a clear reason why. The singer begs for their love not to leave them, using the Japanese word さよなら (sayonara) which means goodbye, but without any explanation as to why this goodbye is necessary. The imagery of さくら (sakura), or cherry blossoms, emphasizes the loss of a once-beautiful love that has now withered away like the fleeting petals of spring.

The repeated phrase "ちょっと待ってください" (chotto matte kudasai) translates to "please wait a moment" or "please hold on." This phrase adds a sense of urgency to the singer's pleas, as if they are trying to buy time to save the relationship. The use of both Japanese and English in the lyrics adds depth to the emotional turmoil being expressed, as if the singer is unable to fully express their feelings in one language alone.

Overall, the lyrics of "Never say goodbye" express the heartache of a relationship that has ended too suddenly and without explanation, leaving the singer confused and in emotional agony.

Line by Line Meaning

ちょっと待ってください
Please give me a moment

Please excuse me while I cry
I am asking for forgiveness as I express my emotions

Seems さよなら means goodbye
I have learned that the word 'goodbye' means farewell

But no one ever told me why
However, I still don't completely understand the reasons behind it

さくら was in the spring
When the cherry blossoms bloomed in the springtime

When our hearts found songs to sing
We were elated and in love

But さくら has gone away
But now the cherry blossoms have withered and died

And so has our love so they say
And people believe that our love has ended as well

Without your love I would die
I cannot live without your love

So never leave me ください
Therefore, please don't leave me

Please never never say "goodbye"
I beg you to never say goodbye

Never say "goodbye"
I don't want you to say goodbye

Never never say "goodbye"
Please don't ever say goodbye

Writer(s): Clifton Davis

Contributed by Christopher C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@abreceh3809

23w↑1

Chotto Matte Kudasai,
Please Excuse Me While I Cry.
Seems Sayonara Means Goodbye,
But No One Ever Told Me Why.

Sakura Was In The Spring
When Our Hearts Have Songs To Sing.
But Sakura Has Gone Away
And So Has Our Love So They Say.

Chotto Matte Kudasai,
Please Excuse Me While I Cry.
Without Your Love I Would Die,
Please Never Leave Me Kudasai.

Chotto Matte Kudasai,
Please Excuse Me While I Cry.
Without Your Love I Would Die,
Please Never Never Say 'Goodbye'.

Chotto Matte Kudasai,
Please Excuse Me While I Cry.
Without Your Love I Would Die,
So Never Leave Me Kudasai.

Chotto Matte Kudasai,
Please Excuse Me While I Cry.
Without Your Love I Would Die,
Please Never Say 'Goodbye'.

Never Say 'Goodbye', Never Never Say 'Goodbye'.