Autumn wind rises; white clouds fly. Grass and trees wither; geese go south. Orchids all in bloom; chrysanthemums smell sweet. I think of my lovely lady; I never can forget. Floating pagoda boat crosses Fen river; Across the mid-stream white waves rise. Flute and drum keep time to the sound of the sower's song; Amidst revel and feasting sad thoughts come -- Youth's years how few, age how sure.
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View text with all available footnotesAuthorship:
- by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), "The autumn wind", first published 1946 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (156 BCE - 87 BCE) [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 Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "The autumn wind", op. 78 no. 2 (1971) [ voice and piano ], from Five Chinese Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The autumn wind", op. 58 no. 3 (1957) [ tenor and guitar ], from Songs from the Chinese, no. 3, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-02-11
Line count: 9
Word count: 68