牧童 lyrics with English translation

Woo, 老先生下学堂 (下学堂)

Woo, the old man heads to school (heads to school)

Oh, 小牧童守水塘, yeah

Oh, the young shepherd guards the pond, yeah

牛羊忙 秋草黄 笛声扬

Cattle and sheep are busy, autumn grass is yellow, the flute's melody soars

怎能躺田间浪费时光, 说来荒唐

How can one lie in the fields and waste time? It's truly absurd

Oh, 牧童在田一方 (一方)

Oh, the shepherd stands in the field (in the field)

牛角挂书勤学忙, yeah

With a book hung on his horn, he studies diligently, yeah

天地广 梦远乡 小牧童他正眺望

The world is vast, dreams are far away, the young shepherd gazes ahead

万里理想万里长, 赶牛羊追太阳 (追太阳)

Endless ideals stretching long, chasing cattle and sheep towards the sun (towards the sun)

九天上写信仰 (信仰), 田埂外天地另一方 (oh) 梦想

In the heavens, faith is written (faith), outside the field, another world (oh) dreams

"草铺横野六七里, 笛弄晚风三四声" (oh-hoo, yeah, yeah)

"Grass spreads across the wild for six or seven miles, the flute plays in the evening breeze, three or four notes" (oh-hoo, yeah, yeah)

"归来饱饭黄昏后, 不脱蓑衣卧月明"

Returning home well-fed after dusk, not shedding my raincoat under the moonlight.

不曾放弃过的梦, 我一直抬头看天空

Dreams I've never given up on, I keep my gaze lifted to the sky.

他人笑着来嘲讽, 我并不理会不回头

As others laugh and mock, I simply ignore them and don't look back.

如果人生再重来, 我还会当追梦牧童

If life could start again, I would still be the dreaming shepherd.

就坚持努力一直走, 不行再骑上我的牛

Just keep pushing forward, and if I can't, I'll ride on my cow.

Oh, 牧童在田一方 (一方)

Oh, the shepherd is in the field (the field).

牛角挂书勤学忙, yeah

Books hung on the cow's horns, studying diligently, busy, yeah.

天地广 梦远乡 小牧童他正眺望

The heavens wide, the dreams far away, the little shepherd gazes intently.

万里理想万里长, 赶牛羊追太阳 (追太阳)

Miles of ideals, miles long, herding cattle and sheep chasing the sun (chasing the sun).

九天上写信仰 (信仰), 田埂外天地另一方 (oh) 梦想

In the ninth heaven, writing my faith (faith), on the edge of the field, another realm (oh) of dreams.

"草铺横野六七里, 笛弄晚风三四声" (oh-hoo, yeah, yeah)

Grass stretches across the fields for six or seven miles, the flute plays along with the evening breeze, three or four notes. (oh-hoo, yeah, yeah)

"归来饱饭黄昏后, 不脱蓑衣卧月明" (oh-hoo)

Returning home with a full meal after dusk, I rest in my raincoat under the bright moon. (oh-hoo)

不曾放弃过的梦, 我一直抬头看天空

The dreams I never gave up on, I keep looking up at the sky.

他人笑着来嘲讽, 我并不理会不回头

Others laugh and mock me, but I pay no mind and don't look back.

如果人生再重来, 我还会当追梦牧童

If life could begin again, I'd still be the dream-chasing shepherd.

就坚持努力一直走, 不行再骑上我的牛

So I persist and keep walking on, if that doesn't work, I'll ride my ox once more.