The vernal tide swells to meet the boundless sea
A silver orb ascends in silent majesty
Ten thousand miles of moonlight spill like silver
Bathing the world in a glow that makes hearts quiver
Where river and the stars begin to twine
No speck of dust disturbs the velvet blue
The world is wrapped in one translucent hue
Through flowery woods
the moonbeams softly tread
Like falling snow upon a silver bed
The river winds where white sands melt away
In this pale light the night outshines the day
Oh who first stood upon this river shore
To see the moon that shines forevermore
The generations drift like autumn leaves
But silent constant the moon never grieves
We are but guests in times eternal stream
While Yangtze flows through an unending dream
A lonely wanderer on a silken boat
A lady sighs where drifting shadows float
She rolls the screen
but moonlight lingers still
It haunts the curtain and the window sill
We share this glow a thousand miles apart
Yet cannot reach the longing of the heart
Wild geese fly north but cannot leave the light
The silver fish leap in the waves of night
Last night I dreamed of fallen petals fair
But spring is fleeting in the misty air
The river bears the season far away
Beneath the setting moon we cannot stay
Oh who first saw the moons first silver light
That paints the river with eternal bright
The years like dust in winds swift dance take flight
The generations drift like autumn leaves
But moon remains though mortal tears take flight
We are but foam upon times endless flow
While Yangtze sings an unforgotten echo
The mist descends
the stars begin to hide
Grief falls like shadows on the rising tide
How many find their way home by this light
The moon goes down into the infinite night