If I Were for Real is a Mandarin studio album recorded by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng, released through Hong Kong Polydor Records on 2 April 1981. The record is officially titled Love Songs of Island, Vol. 7: If I Were for Real (Chinese: 島國之情歌第七集: 假如我是真的), serving as the seventh part for her "Love Songs of Island" album series.[1] The album was re-released in Taiwan through Kolin Records on 1 June 1981.
| If I Were for Real | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 April 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1980–1981 | |||
| Genre | Mandopop | |||
| Length | 36:51 | |||
| Language | Mandarin | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Teresa Teng chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from If I Were for Real | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover | ||||
 Kolin Records cover | ||||
| If I Were for Real | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 假如我是真的 | ||||||
| |||||||
Background and release
editThe "island" in the "Love Songs of Island" portion of the album title refers to Japan, as five of the album's tracks consist of covers of Japanese songs. The title track was used as the theme song for the 1981 drama film of the same name, with the character Farm Director Zheng in the film being a big Teresa Teng fan. The film was met with positive reception in Taiwan and won Best Feature Film at the 18th Golden Horse Awards.[2] The song was later covered by many singers including Faye Wong in Decadent Sound of Faye (1995).
In the Polydor edition, sides one and two of the Kolin edition were reversed. An addition track was included, "Qingfeng" (輕風; "Breeze"), written by Chuang Nu and composed by Chen Hsin-yi. "Qingfeng" was featured in the 1981 film Spring Fever. In addition, the title of "Jiaru" was changed to "Jiaru Meng'er Shi Zhende" (假如夢兒是真的; "If Dreams Were for Real").[citation needed]
Composition
editSeveral tracks were Mandarin-language covers of previous released Japanese-language songs by other artists; "Bieli" is a cover of a 1979 song titled "Wakaretemo Sukina Hito" (別れても好きな人) by Los Indios & Silvia's. "Meng" is a cover of a 1971 song titled "Kono Sora no Aosa wa" (この空の青さは) by Kei Ogura.
"Qing Hu" is a cover of Teng's own song "Taipei no Yoru" (台北の夜), which was originally included on her Japanese album Anata / Magokoro several months prior in September 1980. "Shancha Hua" is a cover of a 1978 song titled "Michi Dure" (みちづれ) by Mieko Makimura, while the final track "Wo Yu Qiufeng" is a cover of a 1976 song titled "Sukima Kaze" (すきま風) by Ryōtarō Sugi.[citation needed]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jiaru Wo Shi Zhende" (假如我是真的; "If I Were for Real") | Chuang Nu (莊奴) | Chen Hsin-yi (陳信義) | 3:05 |
| 2. | "Bieli" (别离; "Departure") | Lin Huang-kuen (林煌坤) | Ben Sasaki (佐々木勉) | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Yao Qu Yaoyuan de Difang" (要去遙遠的地方; "Going to Distant Places") | Lin Huang-kuen | Wang Luobin | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Ai Yu" (愛雨; "Love Rain") | Sun Yi (孫儀) | Tony Weng (湯尼) | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Caixia Huilai Ba" (彩霞回來吧; "Come Back, Sunset Clouds") | Chuang Nu | Andy (安蒂) | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Meng" (夢; "Dreams") | Chuang Nu | Kei Ogura | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 19:26 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Jiaru" (假如; "If") | Chuang Nu | Chen Hsin-yi | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Qing Hu" (情湖; "Lake of Feeling") | Chuang Nu | Junzou Shigaraki (信楽順三) | 3:58 |
| 9. | "Ni Wei He Bu Shuo" (你為何不說; "Why Wouldn't You Say") | Sun Yi | Tony Weng | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Shancha Hua" (山茶花; "Camellia Flower") | Chuang Nu | Minoru Endō (遠藤実) | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Wo Yu Qiufeng" (我與秋風; "Me and the Autumn Wind") | Lin Huang-kuen | Minoru Endō | 3:24 |
| Total length: | 17:25 | |||
Credits and personnel
edit- Teresa Teng – vocalist
- Chuang Nu – lyricist
- Sun Yi – lyricist
- Lin Huang-kuen – lyricist
- Chen Hsin-yi – composer
- Minoru Endo – composer
- Ben Sasaki – composer
- Wang Luobin – composer
- Chen Hsin-yi – composer
- Tony Wen – composer
- Kei Ogura – composer
- Junzou Shigaraki – composer
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[3] | Gold | 25,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "组图：美人如花一代歌后邓丽君(5) 伊人风采 新浪网" [Photos: Teresa Teng, the beautiful and beautiful singer of the generation (5)]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 17 May 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "致敬王童電影生涯 回顧展再現台灣近代史三部曲". Central News Agency (in Chinese). Yahoo! News Taiwan. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1982". IFPI Hong Kong.
- If I Were for Real at Discogs (Polydor version)