Donna, Silk Trader of Lim

[Verse 1]
Where the river meets the eastern sea
And lanterns greet the night
A foreign woman came to trade
With silk as pale as light
Her cargo rode the morning tide
Through mist along the quay
From a quiet merchant vessel
Anchored far out in the sea

[Verse 2]
The harbor folk unloaded cloth
In careful painted halls
While whispers drifted through the court
Behind the palace walls
For strangers seldom walked those gates
Where princes speak and dine
Yet Lord Lim heard the trader once
And asked to hear her twice

[Chorus]
Oh Donna, silk trader of Lim
Soft as the falling rain
Speaking little, seeing all
While courtiers played their games
Thread by thread she wove her place
Where power walks unseen
Till Donna’s quiet counsel
Reached the throne of Lim

[Verse 3]
Her ship returned with every moon
Across the silver foam
Bearing spices, steel, and cloth
From roads no map had known
They called that hull the Baywhar Babe
A trader’s painted pride
With Donna’s three “honest” brothers
Sailing steady at the tide

[Verse 4]
The harbor men would laugh and say
With knowing, crooked grin
“Those boys may bend a merchant’s rule
But never lie to Lim.”
Through monsoon wind and pirate seas
Their banner still would wave
The brothers of the western trader
And the Baywhar Babe

[Chorus]
Oh Donna, silk trader of Lim
Soft as the falling rain
Speaking little, seeing all
While courtiers played their games
Thread by thread she wove her place
Where power walks unseen
Till Donna’s quiet counsel
Guided Lord Lim

[Bridge]
When border lords brought troubled news
And rivals fanned the flame
The council spoke in winding words
To shift the weight of blame
But Donna spoke with steady truth
Like steel beneath the silk
And Lim began to trust the mind
Behind the trader’s cloak

[Final Chorus]
Oh Donna, silk trader of Lim
From distant western seas
Who walked the halls of jade and fire
With quiet dignity
And though the court first called her guest
Before the seasons’ end
The foreign trader Donna
Had become Lord Lim’s true friend

[Outro]
And far beyond the harbor lights
Her ship still rode the foam—
The Baywhar Babe and the “honest” brothers
Who always brought her home.

Asian-influenced folk ballad, female vocal, pentatonic melody, bamboo flute, erhu strings, soft drums, acoustic guitar