Chang Jie: I Listened To The Rain In My Youth In Romantic Song-House Uncouth 蔣捷 少年聽雨歌樓上 紅燭昏羅帳 Poem by Frank Yue

Tune: Fair Lady Yu:
Title: Listening To The Rain
- Chang Jie (Southern Song Dynasty)

I listened to the rain in my youth
In romantic song-house uncouth -
There the silken curtains were lit
By dim light red candles transmit.

Middle-aged, I listened again
In a traveller's boat to the rain -
The sky was low, the river wide
As a lone wild goose in the west wind cried.

The sound of fallin' rain I now trace
In a monk's quiet lodging place -
Where all my hair is growing gray:
Grief, Joy, Partings, Unions display
Their non-sentimental dismay.
Fallin' on the steps, O let the rain partake,
Drop by drop slowly, till the Day does break.


(2020.11.22)


虞美人•聽雨 宋 蔣捷

少年聽雨歌樓上。紅燭昏羅帳。
壯年聽雨客舟中。江闊雲低、斷雁叫西風。
而今聽雨僧廬下。鬢已星星也。
悲歡離合總無情。一任階前、點滴到天明。 Dynasty