"The Wandering Songstress" (Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 天涯歌女; Pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Tiānyá gē nǚ) (also known as "The Wandering Girl Singer") was one of two theme songs from the 1937 Chinese film Street Angel

Street Angel (1937 film)

Street Angel is a Chinese film released in 1937. The film was directed by Yuan Muzhi and stars the popular singer Zhou Xuan.-Synopsis:The film deals with two sisters, Xiao Hong and Xiao Yun who have fled from the war in Northeast China to Shanghai, where they are living under the brutal thumb of...

; the other song was "Four Seasons Song" (Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 四季歌; Pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Sì jì gē). It was composed by He Lüting

He Lüting

He Luting was a Chinese composer of the early 20th century...

, with lyrics by Tian Han

Tian Han

Tian Han , born in Changsha, Hunan, was a Chinese drama activist, playwright, a leader of revolutionary music and films, as well as a translator and poet. Tian contributed a great deal to the development of Chinese modern drama as well as Chinese opera...

, and was sung by Zhou Xuan

Zhou Xuan

Zhou Xuan was a popular Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's seven great singing stars. She is probably the most well-known of the seven, as she had a concurrent movie career until 1953.-Biography:...

, in the role of Xiao Hong.

More recently, "The Wandering Songstress" was used in Ang Lee's

Ang Lee

Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...

 2007 film Lust, Caution, this time sung by Tang Wei

Tang Wei

Tang Wei is a Chinese actress. She rose to prominence for her appearance in Lust, Caution.-1979–2006: Early life and beginnings:...

, in the role of Wong Chia Chi.

Lyrics
Simplified Chinese	Traditional Chinese	Mandarin Pinyin	English
天涯呀海角觅呀觅知音。 小妹妹唱歌郎奏琴， 郎呀咱们俩是一条心。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀咱们俩是一条心。 家山呀北望泪呀泪沾襟。 小妹妹想郎直到今， 郎呀患难之交恩爱深。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀患难之交恩爱深。 人生呀谁不惜呀惜青春。 小妹妹似线郎似针， 郎呀穿在一起不离分。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀穿在一起不离分。	天涯呀海角覓呀覓知音。 小妹妹唱歌郎奏琴、 郎呀咱們倆是一條心。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀咱們倆是一條心。 家山呀北望淚呀淚沾襟。 小妹妹想郎直到今、 郎呀患難之交恩愛深。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀患難之交恩愛深。 人生呀誰不惜呀惜青春。 小妹妹似線郎似針、 郎呀穿在一起不離分。 哎呀　哎呀　郎呀穿在一起不離分。	Tiānyá yā hǎijiǎo mì yā mì zhīyīn. Xiǎo mèimei chànggē láng zòu qín, Láng yā zánmen liǎng shì yī tiáo xīn. Āiyā āiyā láng yā zánmen liǎ shì yī tiáo xīn. Jiāshān yā běiwàng lèi yā lèi zhān jīn. Xiǎo mèimei xiǎng láng zhídào jīn, Láng yā huànnàn zhī jiāo ēn’ài shēn. Āiyā āiyā láng yā huànnàn zhī jiāo ēn’ài shēn. Rénshēng yā shéi bù xī yā xī qīngchūn. Xiǎo mèimei sì xiàn láng sì zhēn, Láng yā chuān zài yīqǐ bù lífēn. Āiyā āiyā láng yā chuān zài yīqǐ bù lífēn	From the end of the earth to the farthest sea I search and search for my heart's companion. A young girl sings while he accompanies her, Your heart is my heart. Ah, ah, your heart is my heart. Looking north from my mountain nest my tears fall and wet my blouse. Missing him, I will not rest, Only love that lasts through hard times is true. Ah, ah, only love that lasts through hard times is true. In life, who does not cherish the springtime of youth? A young girl to her man is like thread to its needle, My beautiful man we're like a threaded needle, never to be separated. Ah, ah, my beautiful man we're like a threaded needle, never to be separated