That+the+Days+Are+So+Short

=Back to The Major General=

iii. That the Days Are So Short
Flying lights, flying lights, I pledge you a cup of wine. I do not know if the blue heavens are high, The yellow earth is rich, I only see cold moon, hot sun, Both come to plague us. Eat bears and you'll grow fat, Eat frogs and you'll grow thin. Where is the Spirit Lady? Where the Great Unity?

East of the sky stands the Jo tree, Under it a dragon with a torch in its mouth. I'll cut off the dragon's feet, And eat the dragon's flesh. Ther morning will not come back again, Night will not stay. So old men will not die, Nor young men weep. Why should we swallow yellow gold, Or eat white jade?

Who is Ren Gong-zi Riding a white donkey through the clouds? Liu Che lies in the Mao-ling tomb, Just a pile of bones. Ying Zheng lies in his catalpa coffin - What a waste of abalone.


 * //Compare to//**
 * 1. "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles**

You say "Yes", I say "No". You say "Stop" and I say "Go, go, go". Oh no.

You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello.

I say "High", you say "Low". You say "Why?" And I say "I don't know". Oh no.

You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello". (Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.) I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello". (Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.) Why, why, why, why, why, why, do you Say "Goodbye, goodbye, bye, bye". Oh no.

You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello". You say "Yes", I say "No". (I say "Yes", but I may mean "No"). You say "Stop", I say "Go, go, go". (I can stay still it's time to go). Oh, oh no.

You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello". I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello-wow, oh. Hello".

Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. (Hela.) Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.


 * 2. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles**

​ I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know why nobody told you How to unfold your love I don't know how someone controlled you They bought and sold you

I look at the world and I notice it's turning While my guitar gently weeps With every mistake we must surely be learning Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps I look at you all Still my guitar gently weeps


 * //Literary Techniques//**
 * i. Juxtaposition **
 * In the poem:**I see only cold moon, hot sun; Eat bears and you'll grow fat, Eat frogs and you'll grow thin; The morning will not come back again, Night will not stay.
 * In the song:** You say "Yes", I say "No", You say "Stop" and I say "Go, go, go"; You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".

Place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.


 * ii. Personification **
 * In the poem:** Flying lights, flying lights; I only see cold moon, hot sun, Both come to plague us.
 * In the song:** My guitar gently weeps.

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.


 * iii. Symbolism **
 * In the poem:** The morning will not come back again, Night will not stay. So old men will not die, Nor young men weep. Why should we swallow yellow gold, Or eat white jade?; Who is Ren Gong-zi Riding a white donkey through the clouds? Liu Che lies in the Mao-ling tomb, Just a pile of bones. Ying Zheng lies in his catalpa coffin - What a waste of abalone.
 * In the song:** The guitar gently weeping

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities; symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts.