Hyo-shin Na

Song of the Beggars

                                         (1998)

Song of the Beggars is based loosely on the melody of Kahk-seo-ree-ta-ryung, a Korean folk song that has been sung for hundreds of years by traveling beggars, following the open-air markets from one village to the next. The melody is simple, the words light-hearted:

You might have thought that I died
since last you saw me
You’re surprised to see me back so soon
Here I come, poom-bah!Singing better than ever, poom-bah!
Now I’m without my poor parents,
couldn’t I have inherited anything from them
besides begging?

It is said that the song is sung well only when one can no longer endure life’s miseries and humiliations.





The piece was commissioned by and written for the Kronos Quartet

                        Song of the Beggars
               Published by Lantro Music - Belgium