Green Willows on the Spring Embankment

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

Walking north from Gushan Temple

The water has just risen level, even with the banks

The feet of the clouds hang very low

The clouds trail low, laden with moisture

The lake seems just to have woken

Rubbing my eyes, I take a closer look at spring

[Pre-Chorus]

A few early-rising orioles

Competing for warm branches facing the sun

[Chorus]

孤山寺北贾亭西 — North of Gushan Temple, west of Jia Pavilion

水面初平云脚低 — The water has just risen level with the bank, and clouds hang low

几处早莺争暖树，谁家新燕啄春泥 — Here and there, early orioles vie for sun-warmed trees, whose newly arrived swallows peck at spring mud

乱花渐欲迷人眼，浅草才能没马蹄 (A profusion of flowers begins to dazzle the eyes, while the short grass barely covers the horses' hooves)

I love the lake's eastern shore best，never tiring however long I walk

绿杨阴里白沙堤 (White Sand Causeway in the shade of green willows)

[Verse 2]

I wonder whose newly arrived swallows these are

Carrying mud to build a nest, beneath someone’s eaves

Flowers of every kind bloom day after day

So beautiful the eyes can hardly take it all in

浅草才刚没马蹄 — The short grass has only just grown high enough to hide the horses' hooves

Even the horses' hoofbeats grow gentler

[Pre-Chorus]

Even the riders slow down

Afraid of trampling the spring all along the way

[Chorus]

孤山寺北贾亭西 — North of Gushan Temple, west of Jia Pavilion

水面初平云脚低 — The water has just risen level with the bank, and clouds hang low

几处早莺争暖树，谁家新燕啄春泥 — Here and there, early orioles vie for sun-warmed trees, whose newly arrived swallows peck at spring mud

乱花渐欲迷人眼，浅草才能没马蹄 (A profusion of flowers begins to dazzle the eyes, while the short grass barely covers the horses' hooves)

I love the lake's eastern shore best，never tiring however long I walk

绿杨阴里白沙堤 (White Sand Causeway in the shade of green willows)

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

Let's walk toward the eastern shore of the lake

The green east of the lake, deep as a mystery

Green poplars form rows of shade

Green shade waits, for travelers to rest

White Sand Causeway is so white

So white, so clean and clear

[Bridge]

I have been walking all day

My legs ache from walking, yet my spirits have not dimmed at all

Each time I turn another bend

A fresh expanse of wonder awaits

There is no end to the sights of spring

If I have not walked enough, I will carry on next year

I commit today to memory

Along with the speech of orioles and swallows

[Verse 4]

Turn back for one more look

The lake gathers the sunset glow, into its waves

The flowers keep opening one after another

The grass will grow again

Tomorrow I will come walk here again

Take another path, walk it once again

[Final Chorus]

孤山寺北贾亭西 — North of Gushan Temple, west of Jia Pavilion

水面初平云脚低 — The water has just risen level with the bank, and clouds hang low

几处早莺争暖树，谁家新燕啄春泥 — Here and there, early orioles vie for sun-warmed trees, whose newly arrived swallows peck at spring mud

乱花渐欲迷人眼，浅草才能没马蹄 (A profusion of flowers begins to dazzle the eyes, while the short grass barely covers the horses' hooves)

I love the lake's eastern shore best，never tiring however long I walk

绿杨阴里白沙堤 (White Sand Causeway in the shade of green willows)

[Outro]

Hoofbeats clop along

In the shade of green willows, the White Sand Causeway