Green Island Serenade

"Green Island Serenade" (Chinese: 綠島小夜曲; pinyin: Lǜdǎo Xiǎoyèqǔ; also known as "Serenade of Green Island") is a Mandarin Chinese classic song composed in 1954 by Zhou Lanping (周藍萍), first performed by Zi Wei (紫薇). Although many people believed that Teresa Teng had made this song famous, there is no evidence that Teresa Teng had sung this song. The lyrics of this song were probably written by either Pan Yingjie (潘英傑) or Gao Yudang.

Background and meaning

The song has been caught in a decades-long dispute over authorship and intent. This song has often been associated with a political meaning, for the real Green Island was used as a place of exile for political prisoners from the late 1940s during the single party rule of Taiwan's Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). A prisoner there named Gao Yudang claimed to have authored the lyrics before he died. Pan Yingjie, a professional musician, also claimed to have written the song for a movie soundtrack before he died. He claimed that the Green Island in the title means Taiwan itself, and that the original intent of the song was a description of unrequited romantic love.^[1]

Recordings

	"Green Island Serenade" - Zi Wei A short clip of an early recording of "Green Island Serenade" by Zi Wei (紫薇).
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song was written in 1954 and a recording of the song was made in the late 1950s by Zi Wei (紫薇). It was performed as a slow romantic ballad accompanied by orchestral strings, a style that was popular in that period. The song first became popular in the Philippines, then became popular in Taiwan itself in the early 1960s.^[2] The song is notable as one of the earliest songs from a Taiwan-based singer to achieve widespread popularity among other overseas Chinese communities.

The song has since been covered by many singers. A cover version of this song appears as a hidden track on Vienna Teng's second album, Warm Strangers (2004). The song was adapted into Cantonese as "The Light of Friendship" (友誼之光), sung by Maria Cordero, for the 1987 film Prison on Fire.

Lyrics

Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Romanization (Pīnyīn)	English Translation
這綠島像一隻船 在月夜裡搖呀搖 姑娘喲妳也在我的 心海裏飄呀飄 讓我的歌聲隨那微風 吹開了你的窗簾 讓我的衷情隨那流水 不斷地向妳傾訴 椰子樹的長影 掩不住我的情意 明媚的月光 更照亮了我的心 這綠島的夜已經 這樣沉靜 姑娘喲妳為什麼 還是默默無語	这绿岛像一只船 在月夜里摇呀摇 姑娘哟妳也在我的 心海里飘呀飘 让我的歌声随那微风 吹开了妳的窗帘 让我的衷情随那流水 不断地向妳倾诉 椰子树的长影 掩不住我的情意 明媚的月光 更照亮了我的心 这绿岛的夜已经 这样沉静 姑娘哟妳为什么 还是默默无语	zhè lǜ dǎo xiàng yì zhī chuán zài yuè yè lǐ yáo ya yáo gū niang ya, nǐ yě zài wǒ de xīn hǎi lǐ piāo ya piāo ràng wǒ de gē shēng suí nà wēi fēng chuī kāi liao nǐ de chuāng lián ràng wǒ de zhōng qíng suí nà liú shuǐ bú duàn de xiàng nǐ qīng sù yē zi shù de cháng yǐng yǎn bú zhù wǒ de qíng yì míng mèi de yuè guāng gèng zhào liàng le wǒ de xīn zhè lǜ dǎo de yè yǐ jīng zhè yàng chén jìng gū niáng yo, nǐ wèi shén me hái shì mò mò wú yǔ	This green island, is like a boat meandering through the moonlight. Darling, you are floating in the ocean of my heart. Let the melody of my song follow the breeze, blowing through your curtains. Let my love go with the flowing water, serenading you. The coconut tree's long shadow cannot hide my gentle love. The clear bright moonlight brightens my heart. This green island night appears so peaceful. Darling, why are you still silent?

References

1. "Green Island Serenade remains a romantic mystery". China Daily. 2009-07-21.
2. 張夢瑞 (2003). 金嗓金曲不了情 (in Chinese). Taipei: 聯經出版. pp. 111–117. ISBN 9789570826425. OCLC 55010768.

External links

• Buhi, Jason (2009). "Lǜdǎo Xiǎoyèqǔ, The Green Island Serenade: Parsing the Coconut Tree's Shadow". doi:10.2139/ssrn.1406400.