Ulaanbaatar Night is a song with a strong Mongolian flavor. The original version of the song was composed by Hanggai, a folk music group from Beijing that specializes in blending Mongolian folk music with more modern styles. The word “hanggai” itself is Mongolian, and describes the idyllic grassland landscapes that cover much of that country. The original song extols the beauty of Mongolia including the city, Ulan Bator, but there have been many adaptations of the song to a somewhat different context. The version that I like is written by Tan Wei Wei, one of China’s most well-loved folk singer. It has virtually the same melody as the original, but Tan rewrote the lyrics as a song of remembrance of her father who died when she was young.  Below is a recording of this version of Ulaanbaatar Night, sung with great emotion by the Chinese singer, Yang Lan Yi. But first, here are the lyrics.

Ulaanbaatar Night

Wind blows over the grassland
May your steps be slow
In silence I will say that tonight
that I’m drunk with wine.

The night in Ulaanbaatar
is so still, is so still, even the
the wind can’t be heard,
can’t be heard.

Clouds are drifting to
the edge of the sky.
May your steps be slow.
I will run and not look back,
for the night in Ulaanbaatar is
so still, is so still, even the clouds,
they don’t know.

Ulaanbaatar night is so still, so still
even the wind can’t hear my voice.
Ulaanbaatar night is so still so
even the clouds – they don’t know,
they don’t know.