[English translation] 半壶纱 - Half an Urn of Yarn

作詞/Lyrics：劉珂矣 (Liu KeYi)，百慕三石 (BaiMu SanShi)

作曲/Music：劉珂矣 百慕三石

編曲/Arrangement：百慕三石

墨已入水 渡一池青花

揽五分红霞 采竹回家

悠悠风来 埋一地桑麻

一身袈裟 把相思放下

Into the water ink had slipped, traversing a pond of blue-white porcelain;

Taking evening’s scarlet hue, I picked my bamboos and set for home;

A lazy breeze whiffed by, burying a floor of mulberry and hemp;

With a kasaya donned, my reminiscence had been laid to rest.

十里桃花 待嫁的年华

凤冠的珍珠 挽进头发

檀香拂过 玉镯弄轻纱

空留一盏 芽色的清茶

Peach blossom bloomed in three miles length, in years of youth, a marriageable age;

Pearls from the bridal headdress gently tucked into my hair;

Sweeping past was sandalwood scent, as jade bangles teased the soft yarn worn;

Alas, only a little cup of tea remained.

倘若我心中的山水 你眼中都看到

我便一步一莲花祈祷

怎知那浮生一片草 岁月催人老

风月花鸟 一笑尘缘了

If your eyes could perceive the landscape of my heart,

With every lotus step I’ll pray for your sake;

It’s regrettable, the plights of mortals, lives akin to a field of grass, aging made haste by the passing years;

Let it be then, superfluities like the wind, the moon, the flowers, the birds; with a careless smile, we draw closure to our mortal ties.

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Footnotes:

1. Li = 500m

10 Li (十里) = 5000 meters = ~3 miles

2. 芽色 – I’m not sure what exactly does this mean. 芽 means sprout, or a tender shoot, basically young plants. Since it’s used to describe tea, I’m guessing it’s somewhere between a light green color and the color of straw? Anyway, I omitted that phrase from the translation above.

Translator’s notes:

So yeah, it’s another one of those it’s-pretty-vague-so-just-enjoy-the-imagery type of lyrics. (Either that or I’m not able to comprehend or appreciate them fully.) I’ve rendered quite a lot of my own interpretations and word preferences to make the translated language ring better, so take them with a grain of salt. It may not be completely accurate, but it’s fun when I try to make them sound nice in English.

*I own nothing but the translations.