Poems by Li-Po

Song Cycle by Phyllis Campbell (1891 - 1974)

1. The Summit Temple  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
Tonight I stay at the Summit Temple.
Here I could pluck the stars with my hand,
I dare not speak aloud in the silence,
For fear of disturbing the dwellers of heaven.

Text Authorship:

Based on:

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Note: in Campbell's score, there is a note as follows: 

The temple is in a district in Hupeh, so isolated from the outside world that this poem of Li-Po, written on
a painted board and left on the beams of the ceiling, remained unmolested for centuries until it was discovered
by a local magistrate, thus settling a dispute over its authorship which had arisen in the meantime.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. Nocturne  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
Blue water ... a clear moon ...
In the moonlight the white herons are flying.
Listen! Do you hear the girls who gather water chestnuts?
They are going home in the night, singing.

Text Authorship:

Based on:

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Research team for this page: Peter Donderwinkel , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

3. The Ching‑Ting Mountain  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
Flocks of birds have flown high and away;
A solitary drift of cloud, too, has gone, wandering on.
And I sit alone with the Ching-ting Peak, towering beyond.
We never grow tired of each other, the mountain and I.

Text Authorship:

  • by Shigeyoshi Obata (1888 - 1971), "The Chinting mountain", first published 1922

Based on:

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

4. A farewell song of white clouds  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
The white clouds float over the mountains of Chu—
As over the mountains of Chin.
Everywhere the white clouds will follow you on.

They will follow you on everywhere—
With you they will enter the Chu mountains,
And cross the waters of the Hsiang.

Yonder across the waters of the Hsiang,
There is a cloak of ivy to wear,
And you may lie in a bed of white clouds.

Go swiftly home, O my friend!

Text Authorship:

Based on:

  • a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762), title 1: "白雲歌送劉+六還山", title 2: "白云歌送刘十六归山"

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Confirmed with Shigeyoshi Obata, The Works of Li-Po, the Chinese poet ;: done into English verse by Shigeyoshi Obata, London : Dent, London : Dent, p.29


Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
Total word count: 177