Lyrics by Li Shutong, c. 1915
送别
Sòngbié · Farewell
A century old and still sung at graduations and goodbyes. The language is literary — this is a step up from the folk songs — but the images are plain and worth the reach: a roadside pavilion, willows in the evening wind, friends scattering to the corners of the earth.
Lyrics, line by line
Characters, pinyin, and a translation of the sense — not a word-for-word gloss.
长亭外，古道边
cháng tíng wài, gǔ dào biān
Beyond the pavilion, along the old road,
芳草碧连天
fāng cǎo bì lián tiān
sweet green grass runs to the edge of the sky.
晚风拂柳笛声残
wǎn fēng fú liǔ dí shēng cán
Evening wind stirs the willows, a flute's last notes fade,
夕阳山外山
xī yáng shān wài shān
the setting sun beyond hill after hill.
天之涯，地之角
tiān zhī yá, dì zhī jiǎo
To the ends of the sky, the corners of the earth —
知交半零落
zhī jiāo bàn líng luò
half of my dear friends have drifted away.
一壶浊酒尽余欢
yì hú zhuó jiǔ jìn yú huān
One pot of rough wine drains the last of our joy;
今宵别梦寒
jīn xiāo bié mèng hán
tonight the parting dream turns cold.
Words worth keeping
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On copyright: Chinese lyrics by Li Shutong (李叔同, 1880–1942) — copyright long expired. The melody is “Dreaming of Home and Mother” by John P. Ordway (1851), also public domain.