WHILE MY PIPA GENTLY WEEPS

While looking up songs on youtube, I remembered my two favourite unhappy women ballads. The first one is entitled 'green mansion sadness' (青樓恨 'ching lou hen'), which also means something you probably don't need to know, as it would take miles of explaining context to make it innocent again. The second is called 'seeing off older brother' (送哥行 'song ge hsing'), by which is actually meant a socially familiar man of the same generation but a few years older, and consequently suitable for marriage. The singer cannot bring herself to speak to him, and is torn-up within, knowing that when he goes to the big city he will be exposed to the blandishments and charms of those painted urban hussies.


青樓恨 ～ 周璇


[Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga7VDTy0dFA .]

雨聲兒潺潺，風兒送著炊煙，
獨自懷抱琵琶彈著哀怨。
人頭兒攢攢，笑聲兒聽著心煩，
睜眼顧盼，只覺得一片黑暗。

尋不到，知音的人，
找不見，找不見，同情的良伴。
只歎懦弱的人兒，在曲中時還要，
還要，還要，還要裝笑臉。


送哥行 ～ 劉韻

[Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEpo74ZxA8 .]

摘一支楊柳條，走到那獨木橋，
心裡頭捨不得他，還要裝著笑，
小妹的心事千萬條，哥哥你可知道，
要想說時難出口，說了哪句好。

上木橋，下木橋，
走進那土地廟，
雙雙同把香來燒，
願我倆同到老。

過一橋，又一橋，
不得不把哥來叫，
城裡的女人好的少，
可別去打交道。

The stringed instrument used by the songstress lamenting her fate in the first aire is known in English as the Chinese Lute, in its native tongue as 琵琶 (pi pa), and in Japanese as the biwa.
It is possibly of non-Chinese origin, and often features as the accompanying dulcetry for songs of longing, sadness, exile.

Painted urban hussies.
Blandishments.
Oh my.


How sad.



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