too-hue dah-dour 桃花搭渡

 
Jnia`qoeq. laang eeng ang, laang`yaq- laang eeng ang,
dnuasin. e niuu'gnial. hitdo siul kang baang;
Cuic. jiaq binlaang. hitdo virn. vuah huln,
ciul. paang san'oou. dalntair ang`n...

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

Rir`qoeq. sirl Cun'Fun, sirl`aq- sirl Cun'Fun,
voo hol`aq. gaul tua, hitdo teedour zuun;
Zuundilng`aq. jiaq byrng`aq. hitdo zuundeul. kunt,
zuilguil. narl tua gauc`aq. lyl doq voo siinhuun;

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

Sna`qoeq`aq. sirl Ceng'Meeng, sirl`aq- sirl Ceng'Meeng,
hongliuu. e zavoul, hitdo gel jenkgeng;
A'beh walnreen hitdo Yniuu Diong'Boul,
too-hue. kol bil Mog Guic'Eng;

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

Syc`qoeq. sirl hartni, sirl`aq- sirl hartni,
voo hol`aq. gaul tua, hitdo siul galng'bni;
Jid rid. sna dynk`aq. hitdo voo vil. zyl,
yarl gnal duic quln`n. gogo dnii;

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

Qourl`qoeq. bee leeongzuun, sirl`aq- bee leeongzuun;
too-hue`aq. sne suil`aq. hitdo aic hongliuu;
Ciul. qiaa hourlsnuac. hitdo doec laang zaul,
aic dioq eendaau. voo vuelliu!

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic; 

bee zuun = to paddle a boat, interdialectal with Teochew, Quanzhou.
leeongzuun = dragon boat.
veulliu = tail, meaning also "ending".
too'hue = peach flower, meaning a flirting girl, often as in an affair.
zuundeul = bottom of boat, interdialectal with Teochew, Quanzhou.
doec = to follow, interdialectal with Teochew, Quanzhou

Peach Flower on Ferry Boat

In January, other ones greet their husbands,
a lonely girl though keeps her empty room. 
Chewing betel nuts, with her powdered face,
holding corals in her hands, she awaits a husband.

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

In February, it's the arrival of Spring,
on this dog-gone bad ferry boat,
you'd eat above deck, and sleep below deck.
And when the water ghosts come, you'd lose your soul.

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

In March, it's when we visit our lost ones,
a flirting girl pretending to be serious.
This old gentleman is like an old-story heroe,
and the peach flower flirts like the lady in the story.

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;


In April, it's summer, it's summer,
for your dog-gone bad luck, you get to wait at the port.
For the daily three meals, you can't even provide enough rice.
How you even dare to ask me out?

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

In May, we row the dragon boat, row the dragon boat.
There was a peach flower so pretty, how she loved to flirt.
Holding an umbrella in her hand, she ran away with some guy.
So when you fall for a handsome look, don't expect an end to the story.

aic`aq. loq dih aic,
he`aq. loq dih he,
aic`aq. loq dih aic;

Note: the months are in Lunar calendar. So roughly speaking, one should add two more months to get to the Gregorian calendar. For instance, the April mentioned in the song would correspond to June in Gregorian calendar, hence the beginning of summer.
 
Background of the story: this song is supposed to be the conversation between a young girl and the ferry boat's old captain. Each one of them will sing a paragraph in turn. The idea is, if the girl wins the singing competition, she gets the ride for free, but if the guy wins the competition, he gets to keep the girl as his wife. The full song would cover all the 12 months. One can see from the lyrics that the girl (singing even-number paragraphs) was not very polite at all to the boat captain, repeatedly using terms like "doggone-bad", and criticizing him for his low income.
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