Cheongchunga
Unknown (Gyeonggi Oral Tradition)
Region
Seoul–Gyeonggi
Genre
Usage
Gyeonggi Folk Song
Lyrical Song
Cheongchunga, "The Song of Youth," is a Gyeonggi folk song lamenting how quickly youth slips away. Each verse lasts just four cycles of the gutgeori rhythm: the first two cry out high, the last two settle low and steady, drawing a contrast between youth and old age. This record is archive material collected to organize and preserve the representative lyrics and the transmission context of Cheongchunga.
Commentary & Notes
Cheongchun hongan (靑春紅顔): "The rosy face of youth," the healthy, glowing face of a young person.
Pebbles in the rapids: Stones worn white by rushing water, an image for the singer, whose hair has gone white from life's hardships.
The song is a short strophic form with no refrain, so singers vary the melody slightly from verse to verse to keep it from growing monotonous.
Cultural Background
Cheongchunga became hugely popular in the modern era, sung widely by entertainers and ordinary people alike, and older narrative ballads such as Jinju Nanggun were even set to its tune. Today it remains, with Noraetgarak and Changbu Taryeong, one of the basic songs students learn first in Gyeonggi folk singing.
Lyrics
청춘 홍안을
네 자랑 말어라
덧없는 세월에
백발이 되누나
여울의 바둑돌
부딪껴 희구요
이내 몸 시달려
백발이 되누나
Your youthful, rosy face —
do not boast of it
In the fleeting years
it turns to white hair
The pebbles in the rapids
are worn white by the current,
and I, worn down by life,
have turned white-haired too
