English version (AI-generated translation; the opening stanza is the author’s own English)

Haste, haste, Bade you haste,
The wheel of time is driving away
Morning passes, then day and night
O, tell me,
the music of soul,
Where could you be forever sang?

O the far, far road, the green, green hills —
tell me, when will I ever reach the “faraway”?
Meeting, meeting, parting, parting —
walking on the road, how many more times must I say “goodbye”?

The stories we once listened to together,
the songs we once sang together,
the classes we sat through, the times we walked through together —
yet in the end, we must each rush toward our own starlight.

Decades from now, if we should meet again,
will you still be the “he” and “she” of before?

The number saved in the address book —
I key it in, but that green button,
I still lack the courage to press.
Perhaps the one who should call first is the “imagined other”?

No — let us make a promise:
do not let friends live only in dreams and memory.
Our phones and our inboxes
will forever keep watch for each other’s greetings.
So long as we stay in touch,
decades from now,
you and I will still be as we were.

Haste, haste, Bade you haste,

The wheel of time is driving away

Morning passes, then day and night

O, tell me,

the music of soul,

Where could you be forever sang?

遥遥的路啊，青青的山

请告诉我何时我才能到达“远方”？

相见，相见，离别，离别，

行走在路上，还要说多少次“再见”？

曾经一起听过的故事，

一起唱过的歌，

一起上过的课，一起走过的时光

可终于，我们要奔向自己的星光

几十年后，我们若再次相见，

你是否还是曾经的“他”与“她”？

保存在通讯录的电话，

输进去，那绿色的按钮

却迟迟没有勇气按下

或许主动打电话的，应该是“想象的对方”？

不，我们立个约定吧，

不要让朋友只活在梦和回忆里

我们的手机和邮箱

永远守候着彼此的问候

只要保持联系，

数十年后，

你我都将是原来的模样