Sparse Plum Blossoms in the Rear Courtyard

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

On this day, November thirtieth

Snow suddenly covered the gatehouse

What it first stirs

It is that stretch of brocade upon the curtain

Like a swarm of butterflies fluttering for a moment

Or like someone shaking out a bolt of white silk

[Pre-Chorus]

Look again at the snowflakes filling the sky

Like countless fairy maidens wandering through the clouds

[Chorus]

Snow flutters like butterflies over the curtain hooks

And like ten thousand jade maidens swirling their dancing sleeves together

Falling petals and drifting catkins blur the air without end

Ever remembering the days since our farewell at Ba Bridge

Within the bed curtains，rich incense keeps the water clock company

I only pity the sparse plum blossoms in the back courtyard

[Verse 2]

Our parting at Ba Bridge that year

The willow branches still bear the sorrow of parting

The reunion we promised back then

Even now, there is still no telling when

The more the falling snow resembles drifting willow down

The less I dare walk toward the far end of the bridge

[Pre-Chorus]

Late at night I return within the bed curtains

Fragrance keeps company with the water clock, counting the watches until daylight

[Chorus]

Snow flutters like butterflies over the curtain hooks

And like ten thousand jade maidens swirling their dancing sleeves together

Falling petals and drifting catkins blur the air without end

Ever remembering the days since our farewell at Ba Bridge

Within the bed curtains，rich incense keeps the water clock company

I only pity the sparse plum blossoms in the back courtyard

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

Let the snow cover the ground as it will

The moonlight is deep and the clouds are thick

On a night like this

Two universes，one warm and one cold

I wrap the quilt tighter around me

Suddenly I worry about what a treeful of blossoms must endure

[Bridge]

The cold cannot draw near the tassels

Yet for whom do the tassels feel guilty all night

I have warm fragrance and a brocade quilt

It has only its slender shadow, and the draft at the wall's corner

The very same snowfall

Yet a chasm divides the treatment they receive

Lift the bed curtains and step outside

Put on a robe and go see it, take a jug of wine along

[Verse 4]

The plum tree in the back courtyard has indeed grown sparse

So spare that only the delicate grace of branches and bones remains

I warm the wine amid the snow

A toast to it, and to this encounter amid the boundless white

When it is cold, I share its cold

Then it won't be keeping watch through the long night alone

[Final Chorus]

Snow flutters like butterflies over the curtain hooks

And like ten thousand jade maidens swirling their dancing sleeves together

Falling petals and drifting catkins blur the air without end

Ever remembering the days since our farewell at Ba Bridge

Within the bed curtains，rich incense keeps the water clock company

I only pity the sparse plum blossoms in the back courtyard

[Outro]

Snow is still falling beyond the curtain

The water clock keeps me company until dawn before falling silent