日暮倚修竹 — Leaning Against Tall Bamboo at Dusk

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

In an empty valley stands a home

There lives a peerless beauty, all alone

She says she was born a daughter of a respectable family

Fallen on hard times, she can only lean on grass and trees

Where the hem of my skirt has worn through

There is no longer time for fine embroidery

[Pre-Chorus]

Back then Guanzhong was in turmoil, and my brothers died in the slaughter

Even their remains could not be laid in a grave

[Chorus]

The ways of the world shun the poor and favor the rich

Everything rises and falls with the flickering candlelight

The husband she married is fickle and vulgar

The new bride is as beautiful as jade

They see only the new love smiling happily

Who can hear the old love weeping

[Verse 2]

Even silk-tree blossoms know the hour

Even mandarin ducks refuse to sleep alone

Yet he turns away and forgets the one he once loved

The place beside the pillow changes hands so quickly

You made enough vows to fill a basket

In the blink of an eye, they count for nothing

[Pre-Chorus]

Spring water is clear within the mountains

Once out of the mountains, it mingles with the muddy ways

[Chorus]

The ways of the world shun the poor and favor the rich

Everything rises and falls with the flickering candlelight

The husband she married is fickle and vulgar

The new bride is as beautiful as jade

They see only the new love smiling happily

Who can hear the old love weeping

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

The maid went into the city and sold the pearls

In exchange for three dou of rice and a bundle of cloth

I draw the vines close to make repairs

Mending the thatched cottage where the rain leaks in

The calluses worn into my hands

Are plainer still than the jade bracelets I once wore

[Bridge]

I pick a flower but do not tuck it into my hair

The flowers too slowly wither, as though they understand

I gather a handful of cypress branches

My arms are full of its pure bitterness

The cypress does not shed its leaves

Yet people fare worse than leaves

The days in the mountains are cold

But the person reflected in the spring is clear

[Verse 4]

The weather turns cold and my green sleeves are thin

One breath of wind pierces the skin

Darkness comes earlier and earlier

I lean against the tall, slender bamboo

The bamboo understands my pride

The poise to spring back even after bending

[Final Chorus]

The ways of the world shun the poor and favor the rich

Everything rises and falls with the flickering candlelight

The husband she married is fickle and vulgar

The new bride is as beautiful as jade

They see only the new love smiling happily

Who can hear the old love weeping

[Outro]

Mist rises in the empty valley again

The fair woman and tall bamboo, stand as loneliness in ink wash