A Long-Delayed Move

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

The spring wind blows rain around the remaining branches

Flowers fall on empty steps with no one to gather them

The small pond's chilly green stirs gently

The rain stops, the slanting sun heads west again

Beside the half-rolled curtain, spring draws toward its end

A pair of returning swallows swoops low past the eaves

[Pre-Chorus]

Unwilling to speak lightly of what lies in the heart

Yet sorrow insists on hanging upon my brow

[Chorus]

Before a game piece is placed, the setting sun moves west

The sorrow I will not speak rises to my brow again

A pair of swallows returns, circling past the bare, broken branches

The rain has fallen silent across the courtyard, yet my heart is still in the rain

If I write my troubles，into this game of Go

The black and white stones are silent, unable to unravel what weighs on my heart

[Verse 2]

Outside the window, fresh moss creeps over old stones

A whole burner of incense has burned out, still unnoticed

A pair of swallows carrying mud know where home lies

Returning together, leaning on each other

I gently set out the unfinished game

My fingertips pause among black and white

[Pre-Chorus]

The game's outcome remains undecided

Several times, about to fall, then drawn back

[Chorus]

Before a game piece is placed, the setting sun moves west

The sorrow I will not speak rises to my brow again

A pair of swallows returns, circling past the bare, broken branches

The rain has fallen silent across the courtyard, yet my heart is still in the rain

If I write my troubles，into this game of Go

The black and white stones are silent, unable to unravel what weighs on my heart

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

After the rain, soft sounds linger beneath the eaves

Fallen red petals cling to the water with no one to cherish them

Swallows' calls fade, the courtyard falls still

An inch of slanting sunlight warms my thin robe

[Bridge]

It isn't that I don't understand the principles of the game

Only my heart loses its way with the spring rain

Even if black and white can decide victory and defeat

Yet joy and sorrow are hard to rank

The spring breeze asks nothing of human affairs

It simply greens new branches year after year

I think gently of days gone by

The falling blossoms know my sigh

[Verse 4]

Before me is still that same game of Go

The years silently add cares to the heart

I seek no words of understanding from the spring breeze

I simply put my troubles away for now

[Final Chorus]

Before a game piece is placed, the setting sun moves west

The sorrow I will not speak rises to my brow again

A pair of swallows returns, circling past the bare, broken branches

The rain has fallen silent across the courtyard, yet my heart is still in the rain

If I write my troubles，into this game of Go

The black and white stones are silent, unable to unravel what weighs on my heart

[Outro]

Beyond the curtain spring deepens, and I sit silent

The game piece between my fingers has not moved