Artist: Jay Chou (周杰倫 (Chou Chieh-Lun))
Song: 天涯過客 [Passer-by] (Tiān yá guò kè) •Album: Aiyo, Not Bad (2014)

天涯过客

风起雁南下 景萧萧 落黄沙
独坐沏壶茶 沏成一夜 灯下
妳在 几里外 的人家 想着他
一针一线 绣着花

晨霜攀黛瓦 抖落霜 冷了茶
抚琴欲对话 欲问琴声 初落下
弦外 思念透窗花
而妳却什么也不回答

琴弦断了 缘尽了 妳也走了
爱恨起落 故事经过 只留下我
几番离愁 世事参透 都入酒
问妳是否 心不在这 少了什么

琴弦断了 缘已尽了 妳也走了
妳是过客 温柔到这 沉默了
拱桥斜坡 水岸码头 谁记得
渡江扁舟 我伤依旧
临行回头 远方谁挥手

古刹山岚绕 雾散后 北风高
禅定我寂寥 我身后风 呼啸
笛声 半山腰 而妳在 哪座桥
远远对他 在微笑

亭外芦苇花 白茫茫
细雨轻轻打 秋风刮
将笔搁下 画不出 谁在潇洒
情愫 竟短暂犹如
骚人墨客笔下的烟花

琴弦断了 缘已尽了 妳也走了
爱恨起落 故事经过 只留下我
门前竹瘦 清风折柳 妳要走
风不停留 何苦绕来 摇晃灯火

琴弦断了 缘已尽了 妳也走了
妳是过客 温柔到这 沉默了
轻解绳索 红尘放手 面对着
随我摆渡 离岸东流
蓦然回首 妳在渡船口

琴弦断了 缘尽了 妳也走了
妳是过客 温柔到这 沉默了
拱桥斜坡 水岸码头 谁记得
随我摆渡 离岸东流
蓦然回首 妳在渡船口

Passer-by

The wind picks up and the wild geese go down south, the scenery is miserable, the yellow sand declines.
Sitting alone, steeping a pot of tea, steeping until it becomes night, under the lamps.
You in your home, a few li outside, are thinking of him.
One needle, one thread; embroidering blossoming flowers

The frost of the dawn climbs the darkish roof tiles, shaking out the frost, the tea has gone cold.
Caressing the zither, wishing for an exchange of words*, wishing to ask the sound of the zither of the first of the ones to fall down.
Outside of the strings, the longing penetrates through the paper flowers on the windowsills.
Nonetheless, you give no answer whatsoever.

The strings of the zither have broken, our karma** has ended, and you have also left.
Love and hate rise and fall, the old tales pass, leaving only me behind.
How many parting sorrows can the worldly affairs hold in their grasp? They all become one with wine.
Asking you whether your heart isn’t here, what are you missing?

The strings of the zither have broken, our karma has ended, and you have also left.
You’re a passer-by, your tenderness lasts up to here, became silent.
The slope of the arching bridge, the pier on the shore of the river; who still remembers?
The small boat that crosses the river, and I hurt as before.
On leaving, I turn my head. Who is waving their hand from afar?

The old buddhist temple, the mist on the mountaintop is recoiling. After the fog scatters, the north winds rises.
Zen has made me quite and desolate***. The wind behind me is whistling
The sound of the flute, halfway up the mountain’s waist. But you’re at some bridge, so far away from him, smiling.

The reed flowers outside the pavilion; a vast expanse of whiteness.
The rain very lightly hits the ground, the autumn wind blows.
The pen will be put down aside, cannot draw; who is free and unrestrained?
The sentiments are surprisingly, just for a short moment, resembles
the fireworks under poets’ and literary men’s pen.

The strings have broken, our karma has ended, and she has also left.
Love and hate rises and falls, the old tales pass, leaving only me behind.
The thin bamboos in front of the door, the cool breeze snaps off the willows; you are leaving.
The wind does not stop, why bother to keep recoiling so- swaying the lantern lights?

The strings of the zither has broken, our karma has already ended, you have also left.
You are a passer-by, your tenderness lasts up to here, became silent.
Gently loosening the ropes, letting go of the world’s red dust****, facing off.
Trail after me while I cross the river by boat, leaving the shore and flowing eastwards.
Suddenly turning around, you are at the ferryboat’s entrance.

The strings of the zither have broken, our karma has ended, you have also left.
You are a passer-by, your tenderness lasts up to here, became silent.
The slope of the arching bridge, the pier on the shore of the river; who still remembers?
Trail after me while I cross the river by boat, leaving the shore and flowing eastwards.
Suddenly turning around, you are at the ferryboat’s entrance.

Submitted by voldemortkun

Author’s comments:
*it literally says “dialogue”, I changed that with “an exchange of words” to make it sound nicer.

**缘 means “destined connection, karma, cause, reason, predestined affinity/relationship”. It comes from a Buddhist teaching.

***
1. “Zen has made me quiet and desolate.”–> Here, it doesn’t say “zen”, but it uses its Chinese equivalent “chan”. I put “zen” because this term is more largely known.
2. “quiet and desolate” or 寂寥 here can also mean “vast and empty; lonely; boredom and loneliness”.
—I think the meaning here is the stillnes that comes with meditation.

**** 红尘 literally means “red dust”. It refers to the dust that rises when chariots pass by earthen roads, or when people come and go. In that sense, it means “world of mortals, human society, worldy affairs”. This also comes from a Buddhist teaching.