I.    Lyrics (translated from Chinese)

I passed through Jiangnan (namely, southern Jiangsu). The looks that wait in the season, bloom and fall just like lotus.
Eastern wind is not coming. Catkin in March is not flying.
Your heart is like a small lonely castle. Exactly like blue stone streets toward the evening.
Footstep’s sound is not loud. Spring curtain in March is not opened.
Your heart is like a tightly closed small window.
My tapping hoofbeats are a beautiful mistake.
I am not a returning man, but only a passing traveler.

Lyrics written by Cheng Chou-Yu (鄭愁予)

我打江南走過 那等在季節裡的容顏 如蓮花般開落
東風不來 三月的柳絮不飛
你的心如小小的寂寞的城 恰若青石的街道向晚
跫音不響，三月的春帷不揭
你底心是小小的窗扉緊掩
我達達的馬蹄是美麗的錯誤
我不是歸人 是個過客

Audio
Li Tai-Hsiang (李泰祥)

II.    About this Song

Exposition of the music:
The music was composed from Cheng Chou-Yu’s poem. By using the technique similar to recitative, Li Tai-Hsiang perfectly combined characters and music. The vicissitudinary singing voice also adds many colorful sentiments to the song, “Mistake.”

III.    Manuscript

Handwritten manuscript (page 1) of “The Mistake in C minor” (1984)	Handwritten orchestra manuscript of “The Mistake in C minor” for tenor trombone (1984)

      

To view the story of Li Tai-Hsiang, please go to Li Tai-Hsiang, the Native Musician of Taiwan.
Text and images are provided by The Native Musician of Taiwan－Tai-Hsiang Li Digital Archive, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan