Full text translation of Midnight Music (Freezing Clouds and Gloomy Weather)

Cold clouds shrouded the sky and the sky was dark. I took a small boat and left Jiangzhu in high spirits. Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, we entered the depths of Ruoye River. The furious waves gradually subsided, the mountain wind suddenly picked up, and merchants were heard greeting each other again. Pieces of sails were hung high, and boats passed briskly through Nanpu.

Looking at the wine flags fluttering in the wind on the shore, a mountain village is covered in smoke and clouds, and there are a few rows of frost-stained trees beside the village. Under the setting sun, the fisherman went back banging his wooden hammer. Broken lotus flowers are scattered here and there, and rows of bare willows are hidden beside the pool. There are a group of girls wearing gauze in twos and threes on the shore. They avoid pedestrians and talk to each other shyly with smiles.

When I walked here, I aroused my longing and regretted that I should have left the woman in my boudoir hastily, like a duckweed drifting in the water, unable to stay. Alas, I don’t know when the agreement with her will be fulfilled? The feeling of separation is desolate, and I only regret that the end of the year is late and the return date is blocked. With tears streaming down my face, I stared at the distant road to the capital, listening to the solitary voice echoing in the distant dusk sky.

"Midnight Music·Freezing Clouds and Gloomy Weather" is a new sound work created by Liu Yong, a poet in the Song Dynasty, using old songs. The whole poem is divided into three parts. The first two parts depict scenes. The first part narrates the experience of the boat trip, and the middle part describes the experiences on the boat. The layers are clear and unhurried, which shows his good presentation skills. The second film is about emotion, and the emotion is naturally derived from the scenes in the first two films. The three pieces are closely connected and seamless, forming a long and well-proportioned tune that opens and closes.