低眉信手续续弹，说尽心中无限事。

　　Her head is bent, her fingers stray over the strings

　　Pouring out the infinite sorrows of her heart.

　　轻拢慢捻抹复挑，初为《霓裳》后《六幺》。

　　Lightly she pinches in the strings, slowly she strums and plucks them;

　　First The Rainbow Garments, then The Six Minor Notes.

　　大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。

　　The high notes wail like pelting rain,

　　The low notes whisper like soft confidences;

　　嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘。

　　Wailing and whispering interweave

　　Like pearls large and small cascading on a plate of jade,

　　间关莺语花底滑，幽咽泉流冰下难。

　　Like a warbling oriole gliding below the blossom,

　　Like a mountain brook purling down a bank,

　　冰泉冷涩弦凝绝，凝绝不通声暂歇。

　　Till the brook turns to ice, the strings seem about snap,

　　About to snap, and for one instant all is still

　　别有幽愁暗恨生，此时无声胜有声。

　　Only an undertone of quiet grief

　　Is more poignant in the silence than any sound;

　　银瓶乍破水浆迸，铁骑突出刀枪鸣。

　　Then a silver bottle is smashed, out gushes the water,

　　Armoured riders charge, their swords and lances clang!

　　曲终收拨当心画，四弦一声如裂帛。

　　When the tune ends, she draws her pick full across

　　And the four strings give a sound like the tearing of silk.

　　东船西舫悄无言，唯见江心秋月白。

　　Right and left of the boat all is silence —

　　We see only the autumn moon, silver in midstream.　　沉吟放拨插弦中，整顿衣裳起敛容。

　　Pensively she puts the pick between the strings,

　　Straightens her clothes, rises and composes herself.

　　自言本是京城女，家在虾蟆陵下住。

　　She is, she says, a girl from the capital

　　Whose family once lived at the foot of Toad Hill.

　　十三学得琵琶成，名属教坊第一部。

　　At thirteen she learned to play the lute

　　And ranked first among the musicians;

　　曲罢曾教善才服，妆成每被秋娘妒。

　　Her playing was admired by the old masters,

　　Her looks were the envy of other courtesans;

　　五陵年少争缠头，一曲红绡不知数。

　　Youths from wealthy districts vied in their gifts to engage her,

　　A single song brought her countless rolls of red silk;

　　钿头银篦击节碎，血色罗裙翻酒污。

　　Men smashed jeweled and silver trinkets to mark the beat;

　　Silk skirts as red as blood were stained by spilt wine.

　　今年欢笑复明年，秋月春风等闲度。

　　Pleasure and laughter from one year to the next.