by Sikong-Tu (834 - 903?8?)
Translation by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945)
A gale goes ruffling down the stream
Language: English after the Chinese (中文)
A gale goes ruffling down the stream, The giants of the forest crack; My thoughts are bitter -- black as death -- For [she, my summer]1, comes not back. A hundred years like water glide, Riches and rank are ashen cold, Daily the dream of peace recedes: By whom shall Sorrow be consoled? The soldier, dauntless, draws his sword, And there are tears and endless pain; The winds arise, leaves flutter down, And through the old thatch drips the rain.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Bantock: "he, my lover"
Text Authorship:
- by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945), "Desondent", appears in A Lute of Jade, being selections from the classical poets of China, first published 1909 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Sikong-Tu (834 - 903?8?) [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 Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Despair", published 1943, copyright © 1935 [ voice and piano ], from Songs from the Chinese Poets: Set IV, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 78