Classical Chinese-style Ballad · AI music creation

What Can Comfort a Faraway Traveler?

Ku Wuji · AI Music · 4 reads

Inspired by Liu Zongyuan’s “早梅” (Early Plum Blossoms). “早梅发高树，迥映楚天碧；朔吹飘夜香，繁霜滋晓白。欲为万里赠，杳杳山水隔；寒英坐销落，何用慰远客。” Early plum blossoms open high in the tree, shining against Chu’s distant blue sky; the north wind carries their nighttime fragrance, and heavy frost nourishes their dawn whiteness. I wish to send a branch ten thousand li away, but vast mountains and waters stand between us; as the cold blossoms fade and fall, what can comfort the distant traveler? The early plum is pure and noble: one longs to break off a branch for an old friend far away, yet mountains and rivers divide them. Watching the cold blossoms fall, what can a wanderer find to console themselves? Male and female vocal versions use the same lyrics.

A line from the song

早梅发高树，映楚天的碧色 — Early plum blossoms open on a tall tree, against the azure sky of Chu
I wish to break off a sprig and send it across mountains and rivers

Poem behind the song Liu Zongyuan ·《Early Plum Blossoms》

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Music in the words

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

A plum tree blooms early

Blooming on the very highest branches

The sky over Chu is azure

Blue as though freshly washed

And there it is, reflected in that blue

Perfectly clear, without a trace of murk

[Pre-Chorus]

The north wind blew all night, the flowers' fragrance wandered everywhere

The heavy frost instead nourishes the white, making it whiter still

[Chorus]

早梅发高树，映楚天的碧色 — Early plum blossoms open on a tall tree, against the azure sky of Chu

I wish to break off a sprig and send it across mountains and rivers

Separated by mountains and waters stretching far away

They wither before they can be sent into your hands

What can comfort a traveler far away

Soothe a faraway wanderer’s loneliness on a cold night

[Verse 2]

Such lovely blossoms

Yet it blooms on a hillside where no one passes

I thought of you far away

I want to break off a branch and entrust it with my feelings

Even with a thousand mountains between us

I will still trek toward you

[Pre-Chorus]

But mountains and waters stretch far beyond sight

News sinks into the great river's waves

[Chorus]

早梅发高树，映楚天的碧色 — Early plum blossoms open on a tall tree, against the azure sky of Chu

I wish to break off a sprig and send it across mountains and rivers

Separated by mountains and waters stretching far away

They wither before they can be sent into your hands

What can comfort a traveler far away

Soothe a faraway wanderer’s loneliness on a cold night

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

When the flowers reach their fullest bloom

They begin, petal by petal, to drift down

I count the blossoms on the branches

Fewer each day, alarmingly so

That sprig I wish to send

Wastes away day by day in hesitation

[Bridge]

Flowers cannot wait for people

Nor can people stop time's carriage

One snowfall, one frost

Then give the branches' pure whiteness back to the vast open sky

If only then you think to send one

On the branches there are already, no flowers left to send

So we must seize this moment

While the fragrance is still warm, before the wind is frozen through

[Verse 4]

Even if the flowers never reach you

Even falling along the way would be worthwhile

The fragrance will travel on for the flower

The remaining stretch of rough travel

If you catch its scent upon the wind

Count it as though I have already been beside you

[Final Chorus]

早梅发高树，映楚天的碧色 — Early plum blossoms open on a tall tree, against the azure sky of Chu

I wish to break off a sprig and send it across mountains and rivers

Separated by mountains and waters stretching far away

They wither before they can be sent into your hands

What can comfort a traveler far away

Soothe a faraway wanderer’s loneliness on a cold night

[Outro]

Early plum blossoms are still high in the tree

Still reflecting the clear sky over Chu

Classical poetic imagery and original lyrics · AI music creation

The lyrics below are translated. The recording remains the original performance; no new audio has been generated.