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The song is updated for education purpose.

綠島小夜曲｜史逸欣 ｜ Vienna Teng

“Green Island Serenade” is a Mandarin Chinese classic song composed in 1954 by 周藍萍 Zhou Lanping. Zhou, originally from Hunan in China, came to Taiwan in the late 1940s. The lyrics were written by 潘英傑 Pan Yingjie, a professional musician.

This song was first performed by 紫薇 Zi Wei who was a very popular singer at Taiwan at that time. Some people say this song is associated with politics, for the real Green Island (绿岛 Lù dǎo) was used as the jail for political prisoners from the late 1940s by Taiwan’s 國民黨 Guomindang (Chinese Nationalist Party). However, 40 years after the composer passed away, his daughter 周揚明 Zhou Yangming did a research and confirmed that her father composed this song with the lyrics help from his coworker Pan Yingjie, and gave it as a love song to her mother, 李慧倫 Li Huilun, while he was still pursuing her. However, Zhou Yang Ming also mentioned that her father once told her that “he felt there is a lot of greenery in Taiwan Island, so he wrote Green Island Serenade for Taiwan.” Probably Zhou Yangming’s father was embarrassed about mentioning the true motive behind writing the love song?

There is another theory about who is the lyrics writer. Some said poet 鄧禹平 Deng Yu Ping wrote the song’s lyrics, and because of writing this song, he was suspected as one of Green Island’s political prisoners.

As for the original singer, some said it should be 司馬音 Sima yin (1927 – 2001).

“Green Island Serenade” was not a down right hit song when it first published. Years later, the song gradually spread to the Chinese spoken communities in Southeast Asia and gradually gained its popularity. Several years later, it came back as a hit song to Taiwan. Nowadays, “Green Island Serenade” is regarded as a classic song of Taiwan.

绿岛小夜曲
Lv dao xiao ye qu
Green Island Serenade
or
Serenade of Green Island

紫薇

費玉清+陳昇-綠島小夜曲

这绿岛像一只船　在月夜里摇啊摇
zhe4 lv4 dao3 xiang4 yi4 zhi1 chuan2 zai4 yue4 ye4 li3 yao2 a5 yao2
This Green Island is like a boat, swaying and swaying in the moon night.

这(this)绿(green)岛(island)像(is like)一(one)只(measure word for boat)船(boat/ship)　在(in/at)月(moon)夜(night)里(within)摇(sway)啊(interjection of surprise / Ah! / Oh! )摇(sway)

姑娘喲你也在我的心海里飘呀飘
gū1 niang3 yo5 ni3 ye3 zai4 wo3 de5 xin1 hai3 li3 piao1 ya5 piao1
Ah, girl , you are also drifting and floating in the heart sea of mine.

姑娘(girl/young women)喲(syllable filler in a song)你(you)也(also)在(in)我的(my)心(heart)海(sea)里(within)飘(float)呀(interjection of surprise / Ah! / Oh! )飘(float)

让我的歌声随那微风　吹开了你的窗帘
rang4 wo3 de5 ge1 sheng1 sui2 na4 wei2 feng1 chui1 kai1 le5 ni3 de5 chuang1 lian2
Let my sound of song along with the breeze blow open your window curtain.

让(let)我的(my)歌(song)声(sound)随(accompany)那(that)微风(breeze)　吹(blow)开(open)了(past tense particle)你的(your)窗(window)帘(curtain)

让我的衷情随那流水　不断地向你倾诉
rang4 wo3 de5 zhong1 qing2 sui2 na4 liu2 shui3 bu2 duan4 de5 xiang4 ni3 qing1 su4
Let my inner feeling along with that flowing water unceasingly talk everything to you.

让(let)我的(my)衷(heart)情(feeling)随(follow)那(that)流(flowing)水(water)　不(not)断(discontinue)的(particle after adverb)向（toward)你(you)倾诉(to say everything (that is on one’s mind)

椰子树的长影　掩不住我的情意
ye2 zi3 shu4 de5 chang2 ying3 yan3 bu2 zhu4 wo3 de5 qing2 yi4
The long shadow of coconut trees can’t conceal my affection.

椰子(coconut)树(tree)的(connecting particle)长(long)影(shadow)　掩不住(not able to cover/conceal)我的(my)情意(affection)

明媚的月光　更照亮了我的心
ming2 mei4 de5 yue4 guang1 geng4 zhao4 liang4 le5 wo3 de5 xin1
Bright, beautiful moonlight even more illuminates my heart.

明(bright)媚(pretty)的(connecting particle)月(moon)光(light)　更(furthermore/even more)照(shine)亮(bright)了(past tense particle)我的(my)心(heart)

这绿岛的夜　已经这样沈静
zhe4 lv4 dao3 de5 ye4 yi3 jing1 zhe4 yang4 shen2 jing4
This Green Island’s night has already been so calm and quiet.

这(this)绿(green)岛(island)的(connecting particle)夜(night)　已经(already)这样(this way)沈(calming)静(quietly)

姑娘哟你为什么还是默默无语
gu1 niang2 yo5 ni3 wei4 shen2 me5 hai2 shi4 mo4 mo5 wu2 yu3
Ah, girl, why are you still so silent without words?

姑娘(girl)哟(syllable filler in a song)你(you)为什么(why)还是(still)默默(quiet)无(no)语(words)

Repeat Once

**If you are a lady, you can use this version too**

这绿岛像一只船　在月夜里摇啊摇
zhe lv dao xiang yi zhi chuan zai yue ye li yao a yao
This Green Island is like a boat, swaying and swaying in the moon night.

情郎呀你也在我的心海里飘呀飘
qing lang ya ni ye zai wo de xin hai li piao ya piao
Ah, boyfriend, you are also drifting and floating in the heart sea of mine.

让我的歌声随那微风　吹开了你的窗帘
rang wo de ge sheng sui na wei feng chui kai liao ni de chuang lian
Let my sound of song along with the breeze blow open your window curtain.

让我的衷情随那流水　不断的向你倾诉
rang wo de zhong qing sui na liu shui bu duan de xiang ni qing su
Let my inner feeling along with that flowing water unceasingly talk everything to you.

椰子树的长影　掩不住我的情意
ye zi shu de chang ying yan bu zhu wo de qing yi
The long shadow of coconut trees can’t conceal my affection.

明媚的月光　更照亮了我的心
ming mei de yue guang geng zhao liang liao wo de xin
Bright, beautiful moonlight even more illuminates my heart.

这绿岛的夜　已经这样沈静
zhe lv dao de ye yi jing zhe yang shen jing
This Green Island’s night has already been so calm and quiet.

情郎哟你为什么还是默默无语
qing lang yo ni wei shi me huan shi mo mo wu yu
Ah, boyfriend, why are you still so silent without words?

Repeat Once

Translated by Shu

Information about Green Island:

Green Island ( 綠島 Lv Dao) is a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, about 33 km (21 mi) off the eastern coast of Taiwan. In the 19th century it was known as Samasana Island and the Japanese called it Kasho-to (火燒島 Fire Burning Island). The island is a township of Taitong County.

The island is most known as the place of past and current prisons and penal colonies. Green Island first served as an isolated exile spot for political prisoners during the martial law period of Taiwanese history under 國民黨 Guomindang’s rule. After their release, many of those prisoners were jailed there between the late 1940s and the late 1980s established the Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 Minzhujinbudang or 民進黨 Minjindang. The prison was later closed, its interior is now opened to the public.

Nowadays, Green Island is a popular scuba-diving destination for both locals and expats residing in Taiwan.

Quotes of green:

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come”
Chinese Proverbs quotes

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”
Martin Luther quotes

“If your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
Bill Watterson quotes

“If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry”
African Proverb quotes

“This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.”
Douglas Adams quotes

“Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes

“I have been wounded but not yet slain. I shall lie here and bleed awile. Then I shall rise and fight again. The title of champion may from time to time fall to others more than ourselves. But the heart, the spirit, and the soul of champions remains in Green Bay.”
Vince Lombardi quotes

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. . . The truly wise person is colorblind.”
Albert Schweitzer quotes

“You could cover the whole earth with asphalt, but sooner or later green grass would break through”
Ilya Ehrenburg quotes

These wonderful quotes from: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/green/3.html

綠島 of Taiwan

綠島位於台東東方約33公里的太平洋上
又名火燒島 島身呈不等邊四角形
最早為達悟族、阿美族等原住民居地
清朝嘉慶年間 小琉球人為風漂至火燒島，
於阿眉山下的海濱著手開墾…

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