by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by Helen Jane Waddell (1889 - 1965)

My lord is gone away to serve the King
Language: English  after the Chinese (中文) 
My lord is gone away to serve the King.
The pigeons homing at the set of sun
Are side by side upon the courtyard wall,
And far away I hear the herdsmen call
The goats upon the hill when day is done.
But I, I know not when he will come home.
         I live the days alone.

My lord is gone away to serve the King.
I hear a pigeon stirring in the nest,
And in the field a pheasant crying late.
–She has not far to go to find her mate.
There is a hunger will not let me rest.
The days have grown to months and months to years,
         And I have no more tears.

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Confirmed with Lyrics from the Chinese by Helen Waddell, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, page 23.


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This text was added to the website: 2022-01-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 117