Heart Towards the East
Prelude 序
Wind stirs;beyond the rails bamboo sways
shaking off moonlight from bygone days
Wild geese fly past tracing clouds above—
a line of unopened hometown love
Verse 1
Wind sweeps the old courtyard walls
thirty years’frost on bricks cold and tall
Moonlight falls on the wanderer’s return
dialects heavy in the bag he turns
One thought awakes the hills and streams
ten thousand miles of smoke fill his dreams
The endless road unfolds ahead
frost on his robe yet warm his heart is fed
Verse 2
Familiar voices fill his ear
Grandma’s tea-picking song lingers near
Hometown scenes unfold in sight
stone bridge curved like a silver moon bright
Years cannot wash the purity away
clear as spring streams at break of day
Though stranded far at earth’s far end
his soul clings to roots that deeper descend
Chorus
A loyal heart sincere and true
lamps glow bright with the North Star’s hue
A patriot’s soul deep and strong
needs not carved words to last long
Nostalgia lingers sweet and mild
like malt sugar lingering on the child
On this long journey step by step
I turn my heart toward the East kept
Chorus
One surge of blood runs warm and bold
awakens hills like spring thunder rolled
I live this life with purpose clear
footprints stitched into a starry sphere
Mountains and rivers fill my dream
rice waves roll high walls gleam
My country stays within my chest
my heartbeat echoes like a bronze bell’s rest
Bridge
A thousand sails have passed and gone
oar sounds settle as ink in stone
My original heart remains pure and bright
reflecting the youth’s clear light
This life I give to hills and land
not as an oath but breath’s demand
Though seas turn fields and time takes flight
affection lives in bronze’s ancient light
Outro
Bell chimes fade into the distant haze
mountains and rivers hold their quiet grace