Cantonese Love Songs: An English translation of Jiu Ji-yung's Cantonese songs of the early 19th century

Song 97 Burn Pure Oil

166 Cantonese Love Songs Song 97 Burn Pure Oil How many hearts [i.e. wicks] will half a lamp-bowl of oillight?246 My lord, your heart changes so often. Tell me how I can go after it. I see your heart is so aflame there is not enough oil for it; See how much pure oil there is in that other lamp-bowl. The deeper the wick goes, the drier it becomes; and the oil gets less and less; If only some oil could be poured drop by drop on the almost dry heart [i.e. wick]! You do not fear my nagging. Do not be like a person that nobody regrets. You must brace up your heart and become a proper man.247 246 Throughout this song there is a play on the Chinese word 'heart' ( {,\ , sam). A different word pronounced in exactly the same way (;t: , sam) means 'wick'. 247 The play on the word 'heart/wick' is repeated. You must brace up your heart, bestir yourself, 'pull up your socks', make up your mind, is one sense of the phrase, ~iJ~)~'lIj , tik hei sam tau, while the phrase can also refer to trimming the wick of a lamp, adjusting it to the proper position to absorb the oil and so maintain the flame. A Cantonese expression is: ~nEB , sok yau, which literally means, 'to soak up oil'. Its transferred and 'real' meaning is, to tease, take liberties with, play around with a woman for one's own amusement and delectation. In this song, 'wick' and 'oil' obviously have an erotic symbolism. It is interesting to note that the Cantonese connotations for the word oil ( 1EB ,yau) are very similar to those of the English word lubricious (oily), which derives from the Latin lubricus meaning slippery; near synonyms of lubricious are lascivious, lewd, wanton. 166 Cantonese Love Songs Song 97 Burn Pure Oil How many hearts [i.e. wicks] will half a lamp-bowl of oillight?246 My lord, your heart changes so often. Tell me how I can go after it. I see your heart is so aflame there is not enough oil for it; See how much pure oil there is in that other lamp-bowl. The deeper the wick goes, the drier it becomes; and the oil gets less and less; If only some oil could be poured drop by drop on the almost dry heart [i.e. wick]! You do not fear my nagging. Do not be like a person that nobody regrets. You must brace up your heart and become a proper man.247 246 Throughout this song there is a play on the Chinese word 'heart' ( {,\ , sam). A different word pronounced in exactly the same way (;t: , sam) means 'wick'. 247 The play on the word 'heart/wick' is repeated. You must brace up your heart, bestir yourself, 'pull up your socks', make up your mind, is one sense of the phrase, ~iJ~)~\lIj , tik hei sam tau, while the phrase can also refer to trimming the wick of a lamp, adjusting it to the proper position to absorb the oil and so maintain the flame. A Cantonese expression is: ~nEB , sok yau, which literally means, 'to soak up oil'. Its transferred and 'real' meaning is, to tease, take liberties with, play around with a woman for one's own amusement and delectation. In this song, 'wick' and 'oil' obviously have an erotic symbolism. It is interesting to note that the Cantonese connotations for the word oil ( 1EB ,yau) are very similar to those of the English word lubricious (oily), which derives from the Latin lubricus meaning slippery; near synonyms of lubricious are lascivious, lewd, wanton. ...