
Info
This song is also known as “Yangtze Boatmen’s Chantey.”
Lyrics - Transliteration
(Chinese folk song)
Ya hoo ya hoo hey,
Ya hoo ya hoo hey,
Yai yai yai hai yai yai,
Ya hoo ya hoo hey
English Translation - Yangtze River boatman chant
These syllables have no meaning.
Chinese - 詠船夫長江
See also
- Country: China
- Harmony: one chord (i)
- Melody: E,G,A,B
- Meter: 2
- Scale: tetratonic
- Tones: l,drm
- Source: Rounds for Everyone: Unison Choral Collection, Salli Terri, Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, Inc., 1961
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody


2 thoughts on “Yangtze Boatmen’s Chant”
Hi there, love this piece and my students have responded really well to it. Wondering if you have any info on the original source?
Hi! That’s great that your students like it! Under “See also” you can see my source. I don’t have more info than that. 🙂