能不忆江南 — How Could I Not Long for Jiangnan

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

When I was young，I lived in Jiangnan

I knew every river and how many bends it took

On a spring morning, I rise extra early

Go to the riverbank and wait for the first ray of light

At that moment, the whole river's surface

Was set ablaze in gold and red by the morning glow

[Pre-Chorus]

All the flowers by the river have bloomed

Red as a row of burning flames

[Chorus]

江南好，风景旧曾谙 — Fair is Jiangnan, its scenery familiar from long ago

The riverside flowers at sunrise, redder than flames

春来江水绿如蓝 (When spring comes the river turns as green as indigo leaves)

How could I not remember Jiangnan

I have been away from it for many years

I close my eyes and it appears before me

[Verse 2]

When the spring waters rise

The river is so green, as though dyed with indigo leaves

Push across with a long punting pole

The mountains' reflections swirl in the water

That green is still vivid even now

So bright that even the years cannot wash it pale

[Pre-Chorus]

Later, I left the south

Packed into my traveling bag to look through time and again

[Chorus]

江南好，风景旧曾谙 — Fair is Jiangnan, its scenery familiar from long ago

The riverside flowers at sunrise, redder than flames

春来江水绿如蓝 (When spring comes the river turns as green as indigo leaves)

How could I not remember Jiangnan

I have been away from it for many years

I close my eyes and it appears before me

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

Now I live in a northern city

Outside the window there is only a gray, hazy sky

I have seen many landscapes too

Yet I always cannot help, making a comparison

Only after comparing again and again do I realize

The brightest is still that stretch within my memory

[Bridge]

Someone asks me what makes Jiangnan so lovely

Yet when the words reach my lips, I struggle to say

“红胜火” — “redder than fire” — is one phrase

“绿如蓝” — “green as indigo” — cannot tell it all either

But Jiangnan is more than red and green

It is all of youth spread across the water

You ask how one could ever forget Jiangnan

You who ask that question, you too are longing

[Verse 4]

If one day I really do return

Perhaps it, no longer wears the face it once did

But the Jiangnan in my memory

Forever paused upon the flowering shore

The red is still just as red

The green still stretches as far as the eye can see

[Final Chorus]

江南好，风景旧曾谙 — Fair is Jiangnan, its scenery familiar from long ago

The riverside flowers at sunrise, redder than flames

春来江水绿如蓝 (When spring comes the river turns as green as indigo leaves)

How could I not remember Jiangnan

I have been away from it for many years

I close my eyes and it appears before me

[Outro]

Ah, spring has come again

How could I not think of Jiangnan again