– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

We are now in the Ancient City of Hoi  An, Vietnam. Tonight is their famous  

Full Moon Festival this festival, also  known as the Hoi An Lantern Festival,  

is held every month on the night of the full  moon. It is celebrated with tons of people,  

boat rides, performances, delicious food,  and most noticeably, the beautiful lanterns.  

To give any indication of just how excited  we were to celebrate this holiday we spent  

seven hours on a motorbike and 16 hours on  an overnight train just to make it in time.

Full Moon Festival or Lantern Festival depending  on what you want to call it falls on the 14th of  

the lunar calendar so it's different than  our normal calendar. Today is actually the  

11th but it is the full moon tonight and  so we're celebrating with a lot of lanterns

the festival is really a night festival because  it's the full moon and there's lanterns everywhere  

so it starts around dusk which is right when  we got here and once the sun sets it gets  

super super busy and I think it goes until  around 10 p.m which is way past our bedtime  

since Buddha was born on and attained  Enlightenment on a full moon it is considered one  

of the most sacred times on the Buddhist calendar  it seems is the time of transformation kind  

of like a new year but it happens every single  month so you'll see lots of people meditating,  

offering shrines to their family shrines, and  worshiping ancestors and of course because we're  

in Hoi An which is a very touristy part of Vietnam  you don't see a lot of the traditional stuff  

instead what you see is lots  of street food, street art,  

those light up things that fly into  the sky, and making wishes in the river

and you'll notice we are on a street  without motorbikes which is a rare  

sight to be seen here in Vietnam  but it's because they closed down  

all these streets for pedestrians  only for the full Moon Festival

as we've been walking around we've seen  various street performances including Bai Choi

it's a full game that includes poetry acting  and music we didn't totally understand what  

was going on but the crowd really seemed  to be into it and enjoying themselves

oh my gosh look at this line oh my God so  there's a traditional Hanoi (*Hoi An) dish  

that you have to try and Hanoi (*Hoi  An) this place serves it and there  

is a massive line so we're gonna get it  from this place but hopefully it serves  

fast it's a really long line hello hi  how many uh yes uh can we get Cao Lau

yes okay sit inside okay

thank you thank you look for this  presentation I know it's beautiful

I don't know what this leaf is but it looks nice  is this a lotus flower honey beautiful cheers  

for the most famous drink in this entire area

it's delicious

it's so good at this I said Cao Lau right  and I knew there was cinnamon in this tea  

this dish is found only in Hoi An and because  it's a port city it is a mix oops it is a mix  

of cultures in a bowl the thick noodles are like  udon noodles from Japan the crackling is like rice  

crackers from China and these spices that are  blended in are Vietnamese in nature red pepper  

chili sauce actual chili not doing that again  sorry I'm gonna delay this one chopstick skills

cheers

like all Vietnamese dishes is there's always  like a lot of different meats it's not like  

a lot of meat it is but it's a lot of  different meat like this one looks like  

there's like three different meats like this  and I don't I don't know what a single one is

fantastic both agree that is our favorite  dish so far in Vietnam and for 110 dong  

you cannot beat that now we're heading back  to the river to try to secure a boat it's  

still very very busy but they are letting  motorbikes back on the road it looks like

thank you this happened so fast but it was 150  dong for two people to get on a private boat  

so romantic and there's still a lot of boats  out here there's an extra 50 for two lanterns

and we are off we are off it wastes no  time from ticket sale to boarding the boat

tradition goes that you put the lit  candle into the river as a wish for  

good health and good fortune  we need both of those things

did you make a wish yeah will you marry me yes

the reason that Hoi An has the full Moon  Festival opposed to many other beautiful  

cities here in Vietnam is because this used to  be a really popular Trading Post and since there  

were so many foreigners visiting here back in  the 16th and 17th century there was a lot of  

Japanese coming and they brought the lanterns  with them the lanterns used to be on everyone's  

homes all times of the year but in 1998 the  local authorities deemed the full moon as  

the perfect time to bring out all the lanterns  and have a big celebration and it's been going  

on ever since and there are a ton of people who  travel from all over to be here in three two one

as we've been walking around we've seen various

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ancient /ˈeɪnʃənt/ B1	adjective - belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence.
festival /ˈfɛstɪvəl/ A2	noun - a day or period of celebration, typically religious.
celebrated /ˈsɛlɪbreɪtɪd/ A2	verb - acknowledge (an occasion) with festivities.
excited /ɪkˈsaɪtɪd/ A2	adjective - very enthusiastic and eager.
spent /spɛnt/ A2	verb - use (time, money, or energy) in a particular way.
motorbike /ˈmoʊtərbaɪk/ A2	noun - a two-wheeled vehicle powered by a motor.
lunar /ˈluːnər/ B1	adjective - relating to the moon.
calendar /ˈkælɪndər/ A2	noun - a system of organizing days for social, religious, or administrative purposes.
lanterns /ˈlæntərnz/ A2	noun - a lamp typically consisting of an open framework supporting a candle or electric light.
dusk /dʌsk/ B1	noun - the period of twilight between day and night.
pedestrians /pɪˈdɛstriənz/ B1	noun - a person traveling on foot.
meditating /ˈmɛdɪteɪtɪŋ/ B1	verb - engage in contemplation or reflection.
ancestors /ˈænsɛstərz/ B1	noun - a person from whom one is descended.
touristy /ˈtʊərɪsti/ A2	adjective - frequented by tourists.
wishes /ˈwɪʃɪz/ A2	noun - the expression of a hope or desire.
secure /sɪˈkjʊr/ B1	verb - obtain (something) with effort or difficulty.
fortune /ˈfɔːrtʃuːn/ B1	noun - good luck or success.
foreigners /ˈfɔːrənərz/ A2	noun - a person from a country other than one's own.

Key Grammar Structures

• Tonight is their famous Full Moon Festival, this festival, also known as the Hoi An Lantern Festival, is held every month on the night of the full moon.

  ➔ Relative Clauses

  ➔ The phrase 'this festival, also known as the Hoi An Lantern Festival' is a relative clause that provides additional information about the festival.

• It is celebrated with tons of people, boat rides, performances, delicious food, and most noticeably, the beautiful lanterns.

  ➔ Comma Splices and Conjunctions

  ➔ The sentence uses commas to list items and 'and' as a conjunction to connect the final element, 'the beautiful lanterns'.

• To give any indication of just how excited we were to celebrate this holiday, we spent seven hours on a motorbike and 16 hours on an overnight train just to make it in time.

  ➔ Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The phrase 'to make it in time' is an infinitive of purpose, explaining the reason for the long journey.

• Since Buddha was born on and attained Enlightenment on a full moon, it is considered one of the most sacred times on the Buddhist calendar.

  ➔ Subordinating Conjunctions

  ➔ The word 'since' is a subordinating conjunction introducing a cause-and-effect relationship.

• It seems is the time of transformation, kind of like a new year but it happens every single month.

  ➔ Simile

  ➔ The phrase 'kind of like a new year' is a simile comparing the transformation to the start of a new year.

• Instead, what you see is lots of street food, street art, those light up things that fly into the sky, and making wishes in the river.

  ➔ Parallel Structure

  ➔ The sentence uses parallel structure with nouns and gerunds: 'street food, street art, those light up things, making wishes'.

• Tradition goes that you put the lit candle into the river as a wish for good health and good fortune.

  ➔ Subject-Verb Agreement

  ➔ The verb 'goes' agrees with the singular subject 'tradition'.

• The lanterns used to be on everyone's homes all times of the year, but in 1998 the local authorities deemed the full moon as the perfect time to bring out all the lanterns and have a big celebration.

  ➔ Past Perfect

  ➔ The phrase 'used to be' indicates a past habit, and 'had deemed' is in the past perfect, showing an action completed before another past action.