정읍사 ( 井邑詞 )

정읍사 ( 井邑詞 ) Jeong Eub Tale ( 달님이여 ) Dear Moon by ( 이정표 ) Lee Jung-pyo

This song is believed to have originated in the Baek Jae Kingdom of southern Korea in the late 8th Century as a folk song. It is a prayer by a wife to the moon at night to keep safe her itinerant husband away on business from the hazards of travel in the darkness. The song is reputed to be the only song surviving from the Baek Jae period. The Korean wiki says it was recorded in the late 15th century during the Chosun Dynasty in the Illustrated Text of Traditional Music. ( 악학궤범 ) ( 樂學軌範 )

The original lyrics of the Baek Jae folk song aren't known. The lyrics later recorded during the Chosun dynasty are an old form of Hangul that need to be reinterpreted for modern listeners. Reportedly the song was performed at court in both the Goryeo and Chosun periods. This is Lee Jung-pyo's contemporary interpretation of the lyrics and her composition.* A purpose of the song was to relieve the concern for a loved one away from home and assert one's faithfulness as a means of comfort. Lee's recent performance is intended to provide similar relief in these difficult times.

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXGbH1oGR_k

Below is my attempt to interpret Lee's modernized lyrics:

1.How did you spend your long day
2.Hope it wasn't too difficut
3.Thoughts of you come to mind again today
4.As light of day gradually fades
5.Moon, please shine brightly
6.I worry at night's darkening on your path home?
7.Perhaps your body is weary
8.When you set down, in the dark of night, exhausted
9.My dear moon!
10.Rise up, higher, higher!
11.Far and wide, please shine brightly
12.On the dark night's path
13.So my dear doesn't fall over uneven ground
14.By a fine golden light
15.It's cold, Send some warmth that way
16.To the ends of the earth, from the far heavens
17.Dear moon.

interlude

4,6,7,9,10,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17