The gourd has still its bitter leaves, And deep the crossing at the ford. I wait my lord. The ford is brimming to its banks; The pheasant cries upon her mate. My lord is late. The boatman still keeps beckoning, And others reach their journey's end. I wait my friend.
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Confirmed with Lyrics from the Chinese by Helen Waddell, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, page 1.
Authorship:
- by Helen Jane Waddell (1889 - 1965), no title, appears in Lyrics from the Chinese, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , written 718 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 Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "The gourd has still its bitter leaves", op. 124 (Ten Songs in Two Sets of Five Each, Set I) no. 1 (1938) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-21
Line count: 9
Word count: 50