Yangsando

Unknown (Gyeonggi Oral Tradition)

Region

Seoul–Gyeonggi

Genre

Gyeonggi Folk Song

Usage

Recreational Song

Yangsando is a Gyeonggi folk song set to the brisk semachi rhythm, carrying the passing of time and the fleetingness of youth on a cheerful melody. Unusually, its refrain is not fixed: six different refrain texts are sung in turn. This record is archive material collected to organize and preserve the representative lyrics and the transmission context of Yangsando.

Commentary & Notes

Dongwon dori pyeonsichun (東園桃李片時春): A line borrowed from classical Chinese verse: even the peach and plum blossoms of the eastern garden enjoy only a brief spring. It stands for the fleetingness of youth and time.

Neungji (陵遲): The harshest punishment of old, death by dismemberment. The singer uses it as playful exaggeration: "I won't let go even if it kills me."

After each refrain, the main verse always opens with the vocable "eheiye," sung high and ringing.

Cultural Background

Yangsando contrasts long, sustained notes with sharply bending phrases, giving it a lively and spirited feel, and it has long been part of the repertoire of Gyeonggi standing songs. Its phrases run in units of five rhythmic cycles, a structure rarely found in other folk songs, which shows off the craft of the Gyeonggi singing style.