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.
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I toast my distant pal the Moon
Her face brightens up my mood
Casts my shadow to complete our group of three
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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
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When home and heart are far away
I find company this way,
A party night for Shadow, Moon, and Me
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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.
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Let’s plan to meet again next spring
I’ll fill thermos jugs to bring to our
reunion under April’s starry sky . . .
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.