English中文
Song of Long Life: A Spring Feast
春日宴，
绿酒一杯歌一遍。
再拜陈三愿：一愿郎君千岁，
二愿妾身常健，
三愿如同梁上燕，
岁岁长相见。
A spring feast, one cup of green wine, one song sung through. I bow twice and set forth three wishes: the first, that my lord live a thousand years; the second, that I myself be always well; the third, that we be as the swallows upon the beam, meeting year after year.
Reading notes
再拜 is a respectful double bow. 绿酒 evokes the wine’s colour; 千岁, “a thousand years,” is a wish for long life. 燕 in 梁上燕 is read yàn; the paired swallows express the wish to remain together year after year.