Spring and Autumn in Dreams

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

Dreams send me back to the flower-filled south

Music from the boat drifts across the jade-green river

People along the street hurry to see the sights of spring

As though time had never taken any of the past away

[Pre-Chorus]

When I wake, the lamplight is still beside me

Yet my heart gently looks toward another season

[Chorus]

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

Half a profusion of blossoms, half the white heads of reed flowers

If the road home will appear only at night

Then let the wish to take good care accompany me through daylight

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

May longing, too, find a gentle place to rest

[Instrumental Interlude]

[Verse 2]

Autumn waters stretch another path far into my dreams

A little boat slips into the cold deep among the reed blossoms

Flute notes from upstairs pass through the bright moonlight

Playing a familiar city into such remoteness

[Pre-Chorus]

When I wake, the lamplight is still beside me

Yet my heart gently looks toward another season

[Chorus]

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

Half a profusion of blossoms, half the white heads of reed flowers

If the road home will appear only at night

Then let the wish to take good care accompany me through daylight

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

May longing, too, find a gentle place to rest

[Bridge]

Let memory hold more than the regret of loss

And remember the real warmth it once gave

When I learn to embrace the ordinary day before me

The hometown in my dreams is no longer filled only with wordless lament

[Final Chorus]

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

Half a profusion of blossoms, half the white heads of reed flowers

If the road home will appear only at night

Then let the wish to take good care accompany me through daylight

I divide my old dreams between spring and autumn

May longing, too, find a gentle place to rest

[Outro]

Spring and autumn each keep a letter safe for me

To send to old friends still within my heart