The Big Dipper does not change its place
Every other star turns
But those seven stay in the north
That is why a sailor trusts only them
All my life I rowed water roads in secret
Today, for the first time, I row north
I learned these routes in order to hide
Now I use them in order to show
I raise the sail — not a black one
A white sail that hides nothing
Let anyone see. Today
It is not the wind's fault. It is mine.
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Seven that do not change their place
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Today we do not turn back either
Forty years I knew this sea
And today, for the first time, it is strange to me
Now I know where my son was
The waves did not take him
People sank that ship
Ten years I lived blaming the sea
Forgive me, sea. It was not you.
Now I go to find the ones I should have blamed
This old body, I don't know how far it will get
But I will call my son's name once before I die
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Seven that do not change their place
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Today we do not turn back either
Inside my coat there are two copies
The salt-eaten original and the one I wrote out
One is evidence and one is a life
So that if either is lost, the other remains
Ten years ago a scholar walked this road
He took up his brush and went to the execution ground
I have what he never had
The names of those who killed him are here
When we reach land, what becomes of me
I have nothing left to lose
I only have to deliver this writing
Then it's enough — row
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Seven that do not change their place
Big Dipper, Big Dipper
Today we do not turn back either
The sea kept it for ten years
Can people not keep it for one day
And then I looked behind me
And that woman was standing at the bow
Looking toward the island