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～ 칠 색 밭 ～

초생달 (New Moon) (2003)

1. 어둠이 안개처럼 내리고 노을이 사라지면

서산마루 하늘가에 눈썹같이 떠오르는 달

멀리 떠난 친구야 너도 지금 달을 보니

발아래 풀벌레 노랫소리에 초생달 지네

2. 초생달 서산에 넘어가고 달빛이 사라지면

산들 바람 살랑살랑 물결처럼 밀려오는 밤

보고 싶은 친구야 너는 지금 무얼 하니

뜨락에 나뭇잎 지는 소리에 밤 깊어 가네

Composer 주유미 / Lyricist 이슬기

Listen (Singer 조연정)

Attempted translation

1. When dusk fades giving way to hazy darkness,

the new moon hangs above the western ridges like an eyebrow.

My faraway friend, I wonder if you are also looking at the moon now,

as it gradually sets with grass insects singing at my feet.

2. The moon has fallen below the western horizon,

and night arrives carried by gently swaying waves of wind.

How I miss you, my friend, as I wonder what you are up to right now.

Here in the garden, the night darkens with the sound of falling leaves.

Pointless comments

This song was written in 2003. It won the grand prize of the 21st MBC creative children's song festival. The singer was 조연정 (Cho Yeon-Jeong), 5th grade girl at 계성초 (啓星初, name of primary school) in Seoul.

Video from the TV broadcast of the MBC festival.

I think the lyrics are a bit of cliché as there have already been countless works in eastern literature using the moon as a device for expressing longing for friends or relatives. But normally it would be a full moon rather than a new moon (or more precisely a waxing crescent). The lyrics also feature descriptions of sound which conjure up refreshing and nostalgic memories of a pleasantly cool countryside evening in late summer or early autumn times.

The first time I heard this melody it felt as if I had heard it before in a previous life. It has a certain touch of longing but overall it is such a serene tune that would always bring peace to my frustrated mind.

It is worth mentioning that Cho Yeon-Jeong, the original singer has 2 different recordings of this song. The first one (linked above) is from the official CD of the 21st MBC festival. The second one can be found at koreadongyo.net (I was unable to find out which CD it was from though).

In Korean, the word for "waxing crescent" can be written either as 초승달 or 초생달, and there is a subtle difference in pronunciation too. 승 (Chinese character 昇) means "to rise", and 생 (Chinese character 生) means "to be born". Obviously, it is astronomically incorrect to use 승 because the waxing crescent is not rising, but setting when you see it. However, Korean dictionaries nowadays seem to consider 초승달 more "authentic" or "standard" than 초생달 and I don't know why.

Accompaniment track (from the official CD of the 21st MBC children's song festival)