by Hsü An-Chên (flourished 8th century)
Translation by Herbert Allen Giles (1845 - 1935)
When the Bear athwart was lying
Language: English  after the Chinese (中文)
When the Bear athwart was lying And the night was just on dying, And the moon was all but gone, How my thoughts did ramble on! Then a sound of music breaks From a lute that some one wakes, And I know that it is she, The sweet maid next door to me. And as the strains steal o'er me Her moth-eyebrows rise before me, And I feel a gentle thrill That her fingers must be chill. But doors and locks between us So effectually screen us That I hasten from the street And in dreamland pray to meet.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Herbert Allen Giles (1845 - 1935), "My Neighbour" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Hsü An-Chên (flourished 8th century) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Dreamland", 1939, published 1941 [ voice and piano ], from Ten Songs from the Chinese, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 99