Peak of Solitary Charm, Guilin (Contemporary) Anonymous 江紹倫譯
A majestic pillar stands guard for the Southern sky
I ascend the cliff to view the beautiful sceneries from all sides
Winds and clouds rise beneath my very feet
Stars and constellations embrace my chest so neat
Hills shoot up from the land a thousand measures tall
Round the town the Li River meanders providing water for all
On this mountain top I croon free and happy
The sound waves send chimney smokes up daning from ten thousand families
Mezzo-soprano aria from Rossini’s opera “Il Barbiere di Silviglia”
罗西尼歌剧”西维亚的理发師”女中音咏叹调
Comments: This is Rosina’s character (a ward of Dr. Bartolo) song in this comic opera. She becomes the Countess (Contessa) in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” after marrying Count Almaviva , “Lindoro” in “The Barber of Seville”. Again, Maria Ewing wins my vote for the best portrayal of Rosina in this Rossini’s opera, a typical piece of bel canto singing.
With your colourful sleeeve you pour me wine again and again
Those were the days when we sang and drank not caring to think
You danced like willows keeping the moon in the tower
You sang in tune wih the breezes stirred up by the peach blossom fan
Ever since we parted I’ve been recalling our togetherness
Time and again I dreamed of being with you
Tonight I gaze at you in candle light it seems
Being together with you is only possible in my dreams
Tune: Silk-Washing Stream, Broken Form Li Qing Zhao (1084-1156) 江紹倫譯Following extended illness grey hair on my temples easily seen
In my sick bed I see the waning moon through the window screen
Why boil water burning twigs with cardouron seeds
For taking medicine no need
On pillows poetry books are best placed for convenient reading
Outside my door the scenery is best when raining
I enjoy my neighbour’s wines and caring
Osmanthus flowers
If You Could Read My Mind, by Gordon Lightfoot, is one of the most covered songs in popular music history, having been recorded by stars like Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Duane Steele, Petula Clark, Kenny Rogers, Gene Clark, Don McLean, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Cash, and – in disco versions – by Viola Wills and Stars On 54.
This is one of Lightfoot’s most personal songs, mourned the break up of his first marriage. You can feel his anguish, lost and confusion. He did not know why their feelings for each other were gone, and could never get it back again. He wanted to move on, but like a ghost in a wishing well, his sorrow imprisoned him for life.
If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong,
With chains upon my feet.
You know that ghost is me.
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see.
If I could read your mind, love,
What a tale your thoughts could tell.
Just like a paperback novel,
The kind the drugstores sell.
Then you reached the part where the heartaches come,
The hero would be me.
But heroes often fail,
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take!
I’d walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script.
Enter number two:
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me.
But for now, love, let’s be real;
I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feeling’s gone
And I just can’t get it back.
If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong.
With chains upon my feet.
But stories always end,
And if you read between the lines,
You’d know that I’m just tryin’ to understand
The feelin’s that we lack.
I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back!
Dragon Boat glade men of Wu compete to gain speed
On swings fair maidens move gayly to and fro
Women picking vegetables delightfully forget to leave the mead
Treading on green fields folks freely come and go
With clouds gone the distant hills appear in pale hue
With flutes mute silence returns to the garden pool
Bathed in crystal moonlight the middle court is still
Catkins dance in great numbers leaving not a shadow in view
Tune: Songs of Immortals Zhang Xian (990-1078) 江紹倫譯
Cup in hand I listen to parts of the Water Song
Waking from mid-day intemporance sorrows keep me tipsy on
Whence will spring return now it is sent away
Watching the mirrow at dusk
I’m alarmed how time had passed
To recall bygone events is but in vain
On the poolside sands a pair of love birds perch happily
Freed from clouds the moon induces flowers to play with dancing shadows
Indoor lights are veiled by multiple layers of screens
No steady wind
The night feels serene
Tomorrow fallen red petals in paths will be seen
Fisherman’s Song Zhu Dun Ru (1081-1159) 江紹倫譯
Tune: Happy events are near
I leave the world behind with a shake of head
Choosing no particular day or moth to be sober or inebriate
I make a living fishing in straw hat and cloak
Wearing frost or braving snow is but habitual
At night when winds lull my fishing line is quiet
The crescent moon appears high and low a duet
Where sky and water coverge in a thousand li
A lone swan appears and vanishes as it pleases
An old fisherman moors by the west cliff for the night
At dawn he boils the stream water on a bamboo fire
By sunrise the mist gone he is out of sight
Creaking the oars he enters a world of green admire
Down midstream he turns to view the horizon far away
On cliff tops free clouds chase one another so gay
