original text
Li Shutong edition
Farewell (wide version)
Word: Li Shutong
Outside the pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is blue. The evening breeze blows the flute, and the sunset is beyond the mountain.
The horizon, the horizon, intimate friends are half scattered. A pot of turbid wine will make you happy, so don't go to Meng Han tonight.
Outside the pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is blue. When will you return this? Don't hesitate to come.
The horizon, the horizon, intimate friends are half scattered. Life is once in a blue moon, only parting.
Working background
Farewell is selected from John Pond Ordway's American song Dream of Hometown and Mother. 1936, EMI released the solo recording of Long Xun, a primary school student attached to Beijing Normal University. This version was later included in the album "Centennial Classics 1: Autumn Waters" published by China Records in 2004. Dreaming of home and mother is an "artist's song", which was popular in America in the late19th century. It is led by a white actor who painted his face, playing a black man, and the music is written in the style of black songs.
When Li Shutong was studying in Japan, the Japanese lyricist Tong Qiuxi wrote a lyric called "Sorrow of Travel" with the melody of dreaming of home and mother. Li Shutong's Farewell is adapted from Ningen's Sorrow of Travel, and the lyrics are translated.
19 15, one winter after returning to China, heavy snow fell and old Shanghai was desolate. He said goodbye to his friend Xu with tears, but even his friend's home didn't go forward. Li Shutong stood in the snow for a whole hour, looking at the distant backs of her former friends. Even the repeated cries of Miss Ye could not be heard. Later, just visible back to the house, closed the door, and Miss Yuzryha played the piano. He wrote A Farewell with tears in his eyes. Li Shutong made some changes to the original song and added new lyrics.
Song appreciation
Farewell does not involve enlightenment, but it has a long meaning, and the combination of music and literature is perfect. Lyrics are written in long and short sentences, with concise language, sincere feelings and far-reaching artistic conception. The song is a trilogy structure, and each paragraph consists of two phrases. The first and third paragraphs are exactly the same, and the music is gentle and undulating, depicting pavilions, ancient roads, sunsets, flute sounds and other night scenes, setting off a quiet and cold atmosphere. In the second paragraph, the first phrase is in sharp contrast with before, and the mood becomes excited, which seems to be a deep sigh. The second sentence reproduces the second sentence of the first paragraph with a slight change, which appropriately expresses the feeling of parting from friends. These similar and even repetitive phrases do not give people the impression of being tedious and rambling in the song, but strengthen the integrity and unity of the work and give it a special aesthetic feeling. "Outside the pavilion, by the ancient road, the grass is green. The evening breeze blows the flute, and the setting sun is over the mountain ... "The faint flute blows out sadness, and the beautiful lyrics write farewell, which makes people have mixed feelings. The echo from beginning to end, the poet's feeling: he who sees through the world of mortals.
Brief introduction of the author
Li Shutong is an enlightenment pioneer in the history of modern songs in China. Li Shutong, who accepted the European music culture, brought some ready-made European song tunes and wrote his own lyrics. These songs are widely circulated throughout the country. The tune has a strong foreign flavor, and the lyrics have a strong ancient poetic rhyme. This is the original song, and it also announces the arrival of a new era. Li Shutong accomplished the historical mission of the enlightener with such songs.