頭戴竹笠喂，遮日頭啊喂。
手牽著犁兄喂，行到水田頭，奈噯唷犁兄喂。
日曝汗愈流，大家合力啊，來打拼噯唷喂。
奈噯唷里都犁兄唉，日曝汗愈流，大家來打拼，噯唷喂。
腳踏水車喂，在水門啊喂。
手牽著犁妹喂，透早天未光，奈噯唷犁妹喂。
水冰透心腸，大家合力啊，來打拼噯唷喂。
奈噯唷里都犁妹唉，水冰透心腸，大家來打拼，噯唷喂。
手扶牛耙喂，來鋤田啊喂。
我勸著犁兄喂，毋通叫艱苦，奈噯唷犁兄喂。
為著顧三餐，大家合力啊，來打拼噯唷喂。
奈噯唷里都犁兄唉，為著顧三餐，大家來打拼，噯唷喂。

Female: Wearing the bamboo hat, I walk to the field with my sweetheart hand in hand. Sweating under the sun, we work hard together.
Running the waterwheel, we start working before dawn.
Male: Standing in bone-chilling water, we work hard together.
We lead the plowing cow, working through the field.
Female: Let’s not complain, let’s work together, we work hard for our meals.

牛犁歌 Plowing Song

Taiwan used to be an agricultural society. Most people worked as farmers, growing rice which is one of the staples of the Taiwanese diet. Planting rice was an extremely labor-intensive activity. Farmers spent long hours standing in muddy water, plowing the land with the help of water buffalos and planting the seeds by hand. While laboring in the fields, they sometimes sang to amuse themselves.

This folk song reminds me of the hard-working slaves in the cotton fields in the south, and how they might sing to lift their spirits. From that, the idea arose of arranging this piece in the style of the blues. In spite of the difference in musical styles, the folk song and blues mesh surprisingly well.