https://youtu.be/9_JG08saX0Y

translation

浮生若梦 为欢几何 风摇雨落 此心何处停泊 剑起刀割 却斩不断这因果 看天地之间皆漠漠

尘缘萧索 宿命奈何 日升月落 此生依旧难舍 铁马金戈 也踏不碎这心火 忆前尘旧梦 任岁月消磨

往事流转在你眼眸 一边遗忘 一边拼凑 如我虔诚合十双手 唯愿你能得到拯救

情缘若梦 长久几何 一枕寒宵 饮下苦涩独酌 杯酒当歌 却绕不开这心锁 愿清欢入梦 伴此心 停泊

往事流转在你眼眸 一边遗忘 一边拼凑 如我虔诚合十双手 唯愿你能得到拯救

往事流转在你眼眸 一边遗忘 一边拼凑 如我虔诚合十双手 唯愿你能得到拯救 唯愿你能得到拯救

A fleeting life is as a dream, ever-shifting and blurred, how much joy and pleasure could be earned?$^1$ The wind sways, the rain falls, where does this heart find anchor? The sword lifts, the blade gashes, yet it cannot sever these causes and consequences Look at the heavens and the earth—all is boundless and hazed

The bonds of this profane world are bleak and languishing, what could a predestined fate do? The sun rises, the moon sets, this life is as hard as ever to give up Even iron-plated horses and golden weaponry cannot stamp out this heart aflame$^2$ Recall the old dreams of a bygone world, let the tides of time wear them down

The affairs of the past flow and spiral within your eyes Simultaneously forgetting and piecing them together Like my devoutly pressing both palms together before myself$^3$ Wishing only that you might receive deliverance

A predestined love$^4$ is as a dream—how long will it endure? Laying my head to rest on a wintry night, alone, I drink of astringent bitterness Raising my cup and voice in song, yet I cannot evade this knotted latch in my heart I wish to enter dreams with a serene and easy joy, keeping this heart company as it finds anchor

The affairs of the past flow and spiral within your eyes Simultaneously forgetting and piecing them together Like my devoutly pressing both palms together before myself Wishing only that you might receive deliverance

The affairs of the past flow and spiral within your eyes Simultaneously forgetting and piecing them together Like my devoutly pressing both palms together before myself Wishing only that you might receive deliverance Wishing only that you might receive deliverance

footnotes

  1. “A fleeting life is as a dream, ever-shifting and blurred / How much joy and pleasure could be earned?”—浮生若梦 为欢几何, taken from the poem 《春夜宴从弟桃花园序》 / Feasting with my cousin-brothers on a spring night—prelude to the peach-blossom garden by the Tang poet 李白 Li Bai. This poem expresses the poet’s passionate love for life, no matter how short it is nor how little pleasure may be gained from it.
  2. “Heart aflame”—心火, which refers to one’s pent-up or suppressed agitations; in traditional Chinese medicine, it also refers to internal heat, which could lead to irritability and agitation, among other symptoms.
  3. “Pressing both palms together before myself”—合十双手, which is a Buddhist salute.
  4. “Predestined love”—情缘. 缘 specifically refers to fated relationships that leave a deep, long-lasting imprint on the people involved, so that even when they part, they will always be marked by the other. It’s said to be the result of long and hard cultivation in one’s previous lives.