Love song on the barren land
Overview
Chinese Name: 走西口
English Name: Going To The West Gate, Zou Xi Kou
“Going To The West Gate” is a Shanxi local folk song. It is said that it has been circulating for one or two hundred years. This song can be sung not only by Shanxi people but also by many people in Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and even further Ningxia, Qinghai and Gansu.
Story of “Going To The West Gate”
The local folk song “Going To The West Gate” in Hequ, Shanxi Province tells the sadness of a newly married couple’s life and death and the hardships of Shanxi people going out to make a living in modern times. Behind it, there are profound social, historical, natural, and geographical reasons. Going west is a challenge to fate and development of a new environment. It is hard to walk west, but the industrious and intelligent people have gone out of a new world. It is they who have opened the most brilliant era in Shanxi. ZOU XI KOU has profoundly changed the development process of Shanxi and Mongolia.
Because of its rich cultural connotation and beautiful melody, “Going To The West Gate” has become an important theme for countless musicians to re-adapt and create. Many erhu versions, piano versions and accordion versions of “Going To The West Gate” are very beautiful. They glow with a new appearance but maintain the taste of the original song.
Lyrics of “Going To The West Gate”
Chinese Lyrics
哥哥你走西口，
小妹妹我实在难留，
手拉着哥哥的手，
送哥送到大门口。
哥哥你出村口，
小妹妹我有句话儿留，
走路走那大路的口，
人马多来解忧愁。
紧紧地拉着哥哥的袖，
汪汪的泪水肚里流，
只恨妹妹我不能跟你一起走，
只盼哥哥你早回家门口。
哥哥你走西口，
小妹妹我苦在心头，
这一走要去多少时候，
盼你也要白了头。
紧紧地拉住哥哥的袖，
汪汪的泪水肚里流，
虽有千言万语难叫你回头，
只盼哥哥你早回家门口。
English Translation
Brother, take the west exit
Little sister, it’s hard for me to stay
Speaking of brother, take the west exit
Hey little sister tears foreverSend it out at the gate
I’m not ashamed of my little sister
The intimate words with two sentences
Hey, brother, rememberWalk you take the road
Don’t take the path
There are many people on the road
Hey, talk to relieve sorrowBrother, take the west exit
Little sister, it’s hard for me to stay
Speaking of brother, you ah, go to the west exit
Little sister, I have tearsSend it out at the gate
I’m not ashamed of my little sister
The intimate words with two sentences
Hey, brother, rememberBrother, take the west exit
Never make friends
I made more friends
Hey worry about forgetting the slaveBrother, take the west exit
Little sister, it’s hard for me to stay
Speaking of brother, you ah, go to the west exit
Little sister, I have tearsSend it out at the gate
I’m not ashamed of my little sister
The intimate words with two sentences
Hey, brother, rememberWalk you take the road
Don’t take the path
There are many people on the road
Hey, talk to relieve sorrow