Drinking with the Moon
Song lyrics
I drink alone under the sky,
raise my paper wine cup high
And look for friends to share this night with me.
I toast my distant pal the Moon
Her face brightens up my mood
Casts my shadow to complete our group of three
My home-brewed dandelion wine lifts my Shadow for a time
How we’d like to raise a cup up to the Moon
Now my Shadow starts to dance, tipsy it appears
While Moon does Macarena to the music of the spheres
When home and heart are far away
I find company this way,
A party night for Shadow, Moon, and Me
I pour the final dregs of wine for my Shadow one last time
And spill droplets on the meadow for the Moon
But my fading Shadow looks a bit unsteady for the road
And waning Moon is nodding to some wistful country tune.
Let’s plan to meet again next spring
I’ll fill thermos jugs to bring to our
reunion under April’s starry sky . . .
When home and heart are far away
I dream beneath the Milky Way
Another lonely moonlit lullaby;
That’s another lonely moonlit lullaby.
Li Bai, Drinking Alone Under the Moon
Alone among the flowers with a jug of wine,
Without a single friend to drink with me,
I lift my glass, call the bright moon to come
Join in –- the moon, my shadow and I make three.
I know the moon is not a famous drinker,
My shadow’s toast no more than mimicry,
Yet for a little while the three of us
Carouse in springtime camaraderie.
I sing – the moon sways to and fro in rhythm;
I dance – my shadow floats in harmony.
Drinking, we share our joys with one another;
After, we’ll need to find them separately.
Let’s meet again, beyond the Silver River,
And there, my friends, resume our revelry!
Keith Holyoak, trans., Facing the Moon, Poems of Li Bai and Du Fu (Durham: Oyster River Press, 2007) 59.
My song: Drinking alone on a moonlit night: This is country music. In arranging my tune, I thought of early Ray Price honky-tonk numbers. Twin fiddle kick and a shuffle beat. You can two-step to this in a dance hall.