The most beautiful folk song I've ever heard.
I first heard this song as a kid, in the voice of one of my father's Korean students in a Postal Training Institute in Bangkok. It has stayed in my memory ever since. It is a song that can move you even when the most ordinary singer sings it. And in the voice of Jang Sa Ik, it's heavenly. I love the expressions on his face when he sings. This man is so shy when he is even a few feet away from the mike, but when he starts singing, he just transforms into this inspired being with music flowing through every vein. The song goes something like this (not my translation):
I think Jang Sa Ik does not sing these exact lyrics, he improvises a lot, but this is a translation of the lyrics which usually go with the melody.
I first heard this song as a kid, in the voice of one of my father's Korean students in a Postal Training Institute in Bangkok. It has stayed in my memory ever since. It is a song that can move you even when the most ordinary singer sings it. And in the voice of Jang Sa Ik, it's heavenly. I love the expressions on his face when he sings. This man is so shy when he is even a few feet away from the mike, but when he starts singing, he just transforms into this inspired being with music flowing through every vein. The song goes something like this (not my translation):
Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...
I am crossing over Arirang Pass.
The one who abandoned me
Will not walk even ten li before their feet hurt.
Just as there are many stars in the clear sky,
There are also many dreams in our heart.
There, over there that mountain is Baekdu Mountain,
Where, even in the middle of winter days, flowers bloom.
I think Jang Sa Ik does not sing these exact lyrics, he improvises a lot, but this is a translation of the lyrics which usually go with the melody.
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