[Verse 1]

水手爱上了卖花的姑娘
(00:05) (Shuǐshǒu ài shàngle mài huā de gūniang)
The sailor fell in love with a flower seller

提着一篮牡丹花
(00:08) (tí zhe yī lán mǔdān huā)
carrying a basket of peonies

[He says:]
“我必须出海去战斗
(00:10) ("Wǒ bìxū chūhǎi qù zhàndòu)
“I must go to sea and fight

为你脚下铺设金银之河.”
(00:11) (wèi nǐ jiǎo xià pūshè jīn yín zhī hé.”)
to lay rivers of gold at your feet."

[Verse 2]

[She says:]
“我是千亩田庄，绿如玉.”
(00:16) (“Wǒ shì qiān mǔ tiánzhuāng, lǜ rú yù.”)
“I am the mistress of a thousand acres / green as jade.”

“你将成为我的王.”
(00:19) (“Nǐ jiāng chéngwéi wǒ de wáng.”)
“And you will be my king.”

[Verse 3]

[He says:]
“你的心是我唯一的宝藏.”
(00:21) (“Nǐ de xīn shì wǒ wéiyī de bǎozàng.”)
“Your heart is the only treasure I own.”

“我将赚取我们的财富 / 你将保留你的土地.”
(00:24) “Wǒ jiāng zhuànqǔ wǒmen de cáifù / Nǐ jiāng bǎoliú nǐ de tǔdì.”
“I will earn our fortune / And you will keep your land.”

[Verse 4]

半年无讯无归船
(00:27) (Bànnián wú xùn wú guī chuán)
Six months pass - no news, no ship returns

时光如巨石压心头
(00:30) (Shíguāng rú jùshí yā xīntóu)
Time presses on her heart like heavy stones

有一天，她卖掉了她所有的一切
(00:32) (Yǒu yītiān, tā mài diào le tā suǒyǒu de yīqiè)
And one day, she sells everything she owns

换来一艘船的梦
(00:36) (Huàn lái yī sōu chuán de mèng)
For the price of a ship

[Bridge]

“我拒绝死去，直到再见到他.”
(00:37) ("Wǒ jùjué sǐqù, zhídào zài jiàndào tā.")
“I refuse to die until I see his face once more.”

有了这些话 / 即使是狂风暴雨也会松开它们的爪子
(00:40) (Yǒule zhèxiē huà / jíshǐ shì kuáng fēng bàoyǔ yě huì sōng kāi tāmen de zhǎozi)
And with these words / even the wildest storms willingly loosen their grip

[Verse 5]

最终，她再次看见了那艘船
(00:43) (Zuìzhōng, tā zài cì kànjiànle nà sōu chuán)
At last, she sights the ship again

但龙旗已不再
(00:46) (Dàn lóng qí yǐ bù zài)
But the dragon banner is gone

取而代之的是——一面黑旗...
(00:47) (Qǔ ér dàizhī de shì -- yī miàn hēi qí...)
In its place - a black flag…

[Chorus]

黑旗飘扬
(00:49) (Hēi qí piāo yáng)
The black flag flies

如他美丽的眼睛般沉默又黑暗
(00:50) (Rú tā měi lì de yǎn jīng bān chén mò yòu hēi àn)
As silent and dark as his beautiful eyes

燃烧吧
(00:55) (Ránshāo ba)
To burn, burn

这不可能是真的
(00:56) (Zhè bù kěnéng shì zhēn de)
It can’t be true

[Verse 6]

水手长低下了头
(01:00) (Shuǐshǒu zhǎng dī xià le tóu)
The bosun bows his head

“船长已经死了，他也死了.”
(01:01) ("Chuánzhǎng yǐjīng sǐle, tā yě sǐle.")
“The captain is dead, and so is he.”

他们开炮吓她离开
(01:03) (Tāmen kāi pào xià tā lí kāi)
And they fire a cannon to frighten her away

为了保住她的生命
(01:04) (wèile bǎozhù tā de shēngmìng)
in order to save her life

[Verse 7]

她默默点燃火把 / 然后纵火烧了她的船
(01:07) (Tā mò mò diǎn rán huǒ bǎ / rán hòu zòng huǒ shāo le tā de chuán)
Wordlessly, she lights a torch / and sets her ship ablaze

火焰吞噬了她的船
(01:10) (Huǒyàn tūnshìle tā de chuán)
The flames devour her ship

如落日般的红与金
(01:12) (Rú luòrì bān de hóng yǔ jīn)
Crimson and gold, like the dying sun

水手把她从海里拉上来
(01:15) (Shuǐshǒu bǎ tā cóng hǎi lǐ lā shàng lái)
And the sailors pull her from the sea

[Chorus]

黑旗飘扬
(01:16) (Hēi qí piāo yáng)
The black flag flies

如他美丽的眼睛般沉默又黑暗
(01:19) (Rú tā měi lì de yǎn jīng bān chén mò yòu hēi àn)
As silent and dark as his beautiful eyes

燃烧吧
(01:23) (Ránshāo ba)
To burn, burn

这不可能是真的
(01:24) (Zhè bù kěnéng shì zhēn de)
It can’t be true

[Verse 8]

她吻他冰冷唇边
(01:28) (Tā wěn tā bīnglěng chún biān)
She kisses his lips, so cold and still

将他抱入怀中，躺在他旁边
(01:30) (Jiāng tā bào rù huái zhōng, tǎng zài tā pángbiān)
Cradles him in her arms and lies down beside him

她那平静的眼睛，充满绝望的希望
(01:33) (Tā nà píngjìng de yǎnjīng, chōngmǎn juéwàng de xīwàng)
As her calm eyes, filled with desperate hope

静静地看着黑旗舞动...
(01:38) (jìngjìng de kànzhe hēi qí wǔdòng...)
silently watch the black flag dance...

[Bridge]

啊——悲伤，悲伤 / 黑如舞动的旗
(01:44) (Ā -- bēishāng, bēishāng / Hēi rú wǔdòng de qí)
Ahhh - sorrow, sorrow / Black as the dancing flag

[Chorus]

黑旗飘扬
(01:49) (Hēi qí piāo yáng)
The black flag flies

如他美丽的眼睛般沉默又黑暗
(01:51) (Rú tā měi lì de yǎn jīng bān chén mò yòu hēi àn)
As silent and dark as his beautiful eyes

黑旗飘扬
(02:01) (Hēi qí piāo yáng)
The black flag flies

如他美丽的眼睛般沉默又黑暗
(02:03) (Rú tā měi lì de yǎn jīng bān chén mò yòu hēi àn)
As silent and dark as his beautiful eyes

[Music break]

[Verse 6] [(repeated)]

她吻他冰冷唇边
(02:44) (Tā wěn tā bīnglěng chún biān)
She kisses his lips, so cold and still

将他抱入怀中，躺在他旁边
(02:48) (Jiāng tā bào rù huái zhōng, tǎng zài tā pángbiān)
Cradles him in her arms and lies down beside him

她那平静的眼睛，充满绝望的希望
(02:50) (Tā nà píngjìng de yǎnjīng, chōngmǎn juéwàng de xīwàng)
As her calm eyes, filled with desperate hope

静静地看着黑旗舞动...
(02:55) (jìngjìng de kànzhe hēi qí wǔdòng...)
silently watch the black flag dance…

[Outro]

黑旗飘扬
(03:02) (Hēi qí piāo yáng)
And the black flag flies

如他美丽的眼睛般沉默又黑暗
(03:04) (Rú tā měi lì de yǎn jīng bān chén mò yòu hēi àn...)
As silent and dark as his beautiful eyes...


Notes: The song is about a woman searching for her missing lover. She finds the ship at last - but is horrified to see a black flag flying from the ship’s mast.

In the past, a ship would generally fly a black flag for one of two reasons:

* A warning to enemy ships that they are about to be attacked, but the crew will be given “quarter” (their lives spared) if they surrender without a fight.

* An ominous sign to warn others to stay away from the ship - because crew members have died of the Black Death (the bubonic plague).

The remaining crew fire at her ship to keep her away. But she grabs a torch and burns her ship. She’ll die if she boards the quarantined ship, but will also die if left in the ocean, so the bosun pulls her aboard.

She kisses her dead lover with the hope that she’ll also perish and they’ll be reunited in the afterlife. As she lies on the deck, she stares at the black flag, which continues to wave indifferently in the wind.

[The back story]

Due to a dangerous storm, no ships are allowed to leave a harbor. By chance, a sailor visits the town market and falls in love with a woman carrying a basket of peonies. He thinks she’s a flower seller, but she’s actually a landowner. She brings peonies to people she knows, as they’re an expensive luxury.

But it’s too late, they’re already in love. She offers to willingly give him half her land, but he feels it’s his duty to provide for both of them. He returns to the sea to make his fortune. She has an eerie feeling but can’t explain why, so she reluctantly agrees.

She sees a dragon banner on the mast and takes it as a sign of good luck. But months pass with no news of his safe return. She leaves the peonies in her fields to rot. Finally she sells her land and everything she possesses to buy a ship...

[Additional notes]
[Courtesy warning: Some info may be distressing to sensitive viewers]

* A “bosun” (“boatswain”) is in charge of the deck crew.

* An outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 14th century was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history. Approximately 50% of China’s population perished.

* During the outbreak, corpses were buried in mass graves. But there are historical accounts that infected bodies were sometimes burned in extreme situations as a desperate attempt to control the spread of the infection.

* Unknown to our character, human-to-human transmission of the bubonic plague is less common than that of pneumonic plague.

* Symbolism of peonies: Love, honor, nobility

注：这首歌讲的是一个水手爱上了一个手拿牡丹篮的女人的故事。他以为她在市场上卖花，但实际上她是个地主。水手回到海上，因为他想养活他们两个，这样她就可以保住她的土地。几个月过去了，没有她的情人安全归来的消息。她卖掉了她拥有的一切（包括她的土地）来买一艘船。她确实找到了他失踪的船，但令她惊恐的是——他们挂着一面黑旗。 * 在这个故事中，一面黑旗警告其他人远离，因为船上爆发了黑死病（鼠疫）。