08. Homesickness Mother’s dear Daughter, Brother and sister came together, But brother went back home first. And it’s hard for sister to return home from then on. The horse carried Daughter here, And the horse went back home, Leaving Daughter behind alone. There used to be an agreement, That cloud escorted rain, But cloud and rain must return home together. Now the mountain is surrounded by clouds. But rain flows into the soil of other places. Water sees fish off, Water and fish go back home together. But now water shelters the stones, Leaving fish behind among the messy stones. Deedles see threads off, And they return home together. But now the needles have been put back in the box, Leaving the threads back alone on the clothes. The bow sees of the the arrow, And they come back home together. The bow was hung on the wall, But the arrow was placed in another place. Brother see sister off, And they should return home together. Brother is now back home, staying together with our parents. Leaving his sister back at husband’s home, suffering a lot. Mother’s beloved daughter, Nine strong buffalos want to cultivate field together, But the field is divided into nine pieces in nine different places. Nine fishes want to swim together, But the river is divided into nine ones in nine different places. Nine sisters want to live together, But there are nine different husbands in different places. Stones drowned under water can’s flow upwards, Nor can waterfall flow upwards, either. The married daughter can’t head back. Daughter’s father and brother, When you throw a stone away, You should hear the falling sound. When you graze horses in the back mountains, You should know the grassland is good. There is cruel mothers among birds, Wild goose is the best example. She brings her children up, And pushes them to fly across the wide sky. There are also cruel mothers among human beings, She has just brought daughter up, But she married daughter to someone in the remote places. Mother’s dear Daughter, Since you have become other’s wife, Other Yi people can also be considered as my husband’s family members. Other mountains and rivers can also be considered as a part of my husband’s family. The cold trees also belong to a part of my husband’s family. The Grassland shelters skylarks, And the cliff shelters bees. Rivers shelter fishes, And Mother’s home sheters daughter. It’s a long distance across mountains, And there’s no contact between father and daughter for a long time. It’s a long distance across valleys and dams, And there’s no contact between mother and daughter for a long time. Daughter has nobody to express her sadness to, But heart is not blocked by mountains and rivers. So she has to speak her minds across mountains and rivers. It’s hard to correspond with parents, And the arrived news are confusing. There are three kinds of news in the same day. And there are three weeps each day. Daughter torures a lot. Mother’s dear Daughter, The singings of cuckoos, Remind me of my deep affection for Mother. When wild geese fly by, It makes me miss my mother bitterly. Daughter has difficulty meeting parents in a remote place, So in the daytime I regard the sun as father, And at night, I regard the moon as mother. Fir trees remind me of my father, And the green vines remind me of my mother.
08. Homesickness Mother’s dear Daughter, Brother and sister came together, But brother went back home first. And it’s hard for sister to return home from then on. The horse carried Daughter here, And the horse went back home, Leaving Daughter behind alone. There used to be an agreement, That cloud escorted rain, But cloud and rain must return home together. Now the mountain is surrounded by clouds. But rain flows into the soil of other places. Water sees fish off, Water and fish go back home together. But now water shelters the stones, Leaving fish behind among the messy stones. Deedles see threads off, And they return home together. But now the needles have been put back in the box, Leaving the threads back alone on the clothes. The bow sees of the the arrow, And they come back home together. The bow was hung on the wall, But the arrow was placed in another place. Brother see sister off, And they should return home together. Brother is now back home, staying together with our parents. Leaving his sister back at husband’s home, suffering a lot. Mother’s beloved daughter, Nine strong buffalos want to cultivate field together, But the field is divided into nine pieces in nine different places. Nine fishes want to swim together, But the river is divided into nine ones in nine different places. Nine sisters want to live together, But there are nine different husbands in different places. Stones drowned under water can’s flow upwards, Nor can waterfall flow upwards, either. The married daughter can’t head back. Daughter’s father and brother, When you throw a stone away, You should hear the falling sound. When you graze horses in the back mountains, You should know the grassland is good. There is cruel mothers among birds, Wild goose is the best example. She brings her children up, And pushes them to fly across the wide sky. There are also cruel mothers among human beings, She has just brought daughter up, But she married daughter to someone in the remote places. Mother’s dear Daughter, Since you have become other’s wife, Other Yi people can also be considered as my husband’s family members. Other mountains and rivers can also be considered as a part of my husband’s family. The cold trees also belong to a part of my husband’s family. The Grassland shelters skylarks, And the cliff shelters bees. Rivers shelter fishes, And Mother’s home sheters daughter. It’s a long distance across mountains, And there’s no contact between father and daughter for a long time. It’s a long distance across valleys and dams, And there’s no contact between mother and daughter for a long time. Daughter has nobody to express her sadness to, But heart is not blocked by mountains and rivers. So she has to speak her minds across mountains and rivers. It’s hard to correspond with parents, And the arrived news are confusing. There are three kinds of news in the same day. And there are three weeps each day. Daughter torures a lot. Mother’s dear Daughter, The singings of cuckoos, Remind me of my deep affection for Mother. When wild geese fly by, It makes me miss my mother bitterly. Daughter has difficulty meeting parents in a remote place, So in the daytime I regard the sun as father, And at night, I regard the moon as mother. Fir trees remind me of my father, And the green vines remind me of my mother.
