ming yue ji shi you
ba jiu wen qing tian
bu zhi tian shang gong
jin xi shi he nian
wo yu cheng feng gui qu
wei kong ju lou yi yu
gao chu bu sheng han
qi wu nong qing ying
he si zai ren jian
zhuan zhu ge di yi hu zhao
wu mian
bu ying you hen
he shi chang xiang bie shi yuan
ren you bei huan li he
yue you yin qing yuan que
chi shi gu nan quan
dan yuan ren chang jiu
qian li kong chan juan
The lyrics come from an ancient poem by a famous Chinese poet, Su Shá¬. The poet is sad, anguished, and drinking, because he is separated from his lover. He contemplates the moon, asking when it is ever clear and round, symbolizing happiness and the reunion of lovers; he consoles himself with the thought that his lover is gazing at the same moon. Ancient Chinese (wényá¡n) is really a separate language, and not easy to translate. Here is the ending of the poem, in a very literal and then a free translation.
People have sadness&cheerful parting&meeting
The moon has dark cloudless circle lacking
This matter ancient difficult wholly
Only wish person long time
A thousand miles share beautiful abandonment
Life is about parting and coming together
The moon has times when it is not round
It has ever been difficult to manage this
Only wishing for eternity
No matter how far apart, it is happiness to see the same moon