Of this day's glorious feast and revel The pleasure and delight are difficult to describe. Plucking the lute they sent forth lingering sounds, The new melodies in beauty reached the divine. Skilful singers intoned the high words, Those who knew the tune heard the trueness of their singing. We sat there each with the same desire And like thoughts by each unexpressed: "Man in the world lodging for a single life-time Passes suddenly like dust borne on the wind. Then let us hurry out with high steps And be the first to reach the highways and fords: Rather than stay at home wretched and poor For long years plunged in sordid grief."
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Confirmed with A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems translated by Arthur Waley, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1919, in Seventeen Old Poems, no. 4.
Authorship:
- by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [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 Alan Rawsthorne (1905 - 1971), "Waltz", c1934 [ voice and chamber orchestra ], from Esquisses, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 112