Lyrics: Li Shutong
Music: J.P. Ordway (USA)
Li Shutong has a representative song, which is "" "Farewell Song", its influence is very wide. For a long time, "Farewell Song" has almost become synonymous with Li Shutong. After the movie "Early Spring in February" and "Old Stories in the South" used "Farewell Song" as the interlude or theme song, the song became even more well-known.
However, for "Farewell Song", there has been a less noticeable publicity mistake for a long time. Since people have publicized this song a lot and done little research, most people think that both the lyrics and music of this song were written by Li Shutong. In fact, the song "Farewell Song" was originally written by American popular songwriter J.P. Ordway, and the song's name is "Dreams of Home and Mother." Because this song is so beautiful, Japanese lyricist Inudo Kakii (1884-1905) used its melody to fill out "Traveler's Sorrow". "Traveler's Sorrow" was published in 1907 after the death of Qiu Xi, a dog boy. At this time, Li Shutong was studying in Japan and was keen on music. He must have been deeply impressed by "Traveler's Sorrow".
"Farewell Song" written by Li Shutong adopts the melody of "Dream of Home and Mother", but the lyrics are influenced by "Traveler's Sorrow". The lyrics of "Traveler's Sorrow" are written like this:
The west wind is blowing, the autumn is getting deeper, and the autumn face touches the hearts of the guests. Alone, melancholy and sighing drift away, and the cold light shines on the lonely shadow.
Reminiscent of my hometown, my old friends, and my parents. The country road is so far away, where can I find it? I feel like I have returned home with a new dream.
The lyrics of Li Shutong's "Farewell Song" are:
Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass reaches the sky. The evening breeze carries the faint sound of willow flutes, and the sun sets outside the mountains.
At the end of the sky, in the corner of the earth, there are only a few close friends. A ladle of turbid wine has exhausted all the remaining joy. Don’t sleep in the cold tonight.
It can be seen that the two songs "Travel Sorrow" and "Farewell Song" not only have the same melody, but also similar artistic conception of the lyrics. As for the use of "Farewell Song" as the interlude or theme song in the movies "Early Spring in February" and "Old Stories in the South of the City", this is very meaningful. "Early Spring in February" is based on Rou's film adaptation of Rou Shi's novel "February". "Early Spring in February" uses "Farewell Song" as the theme song, which has far-reaching influence.