1. 솔바람 풀잎 새로 솔솔 불어오고
새들의 노래 소리 가지끝에 조롱조롱
꼬불꼬불 길섶 꽃에 동동 구름 그림자가
맴돌다 가고 물소리 재갈재갈 귀에 익어서
모롱이 돌 때마다 빈 길 뒤돌아 보면
그리운 친구 얼굴이 여울져 흘러요
2. 산바람 풀꽃 위로 살랑 쉬어가고
시냇물의 노래 소리 굽이굽이 조잘조잘
꼬불꼬불 길섶 잎에 송글송글 이슬 구슬
또르르르 구르고 산새 소리 초롱초롱 눈에 익어서
길 허리 돌 때마다 외길 뒤돌아 보면
환한 웃음 친구 모습이 별빛처럼 스쳐요
Composer 이철근 / Lyricist 신진혜
Video (from KBS 열려라 동요세상 Episode 40, 19th August 2000, Singer's name 조선원)
1. From the pine jungle a gentle breeze sweeps through the grass leafs.
At the tip of tree branches rings a twittering song of birds.
Among the flowers blossoming by the side of the zigzag trail, shadows
of tendering floating clouds
are carried away by the swirling stream, and the babbling of water is
so familiar to my ears.
At every turn around the mountain, as I look back at the empty path,
the memories of my sweet friend gush through my mind like a torrent.
2. From the mountains swaying winds come and go upon the wild flowers.
Along the meandering stream the water chants a chattering song.
On the grass leafs sprouting by the side of the zigzag trail, little
droplets of dew
are rolling around to the limpid chirp of birds, a sight
so familiar to my eyes.
At every turn of the trail, as I look back at the solitary path,
the cheerful smile of my friend's sweet face flits through my mind
like starlight.
This song won the grand prize of the 16th MBC children's song festival in 1998. The singer was 김안나. She was a 6th grader at 문선초 (慶尚南道 泗川市 文善初, name of primary school) at that time.
Video of this song from the 1998 MBC children's song festival
The lyrics features extensive use of onomatopoeic and imitative words. It is beautiful, but a little bit difficult to grasp due to its flexibility with grammar. The melody is not typical of children's songs, but it gives a long and meandering impression, just like the mountain trail depicted in the lyrics.
The first video linked above is from an episode of an old KBS weekly children's song singing program called 열려라 동요세상. That episode was broadcasted in the summer vacation of the year 2000. That program has since been substituted by a similar program called 누가누가 잘하나. Unfortunately in today's program it is typical for the participants to sing only the first part of a song, which I think is really bad. In order to fully appreciate the talent of the participant as well as the beauty of the song, I believe it is advisable to present the song in its completeness.