Among the songs to toast, there are mainly greeting songs, praising songs, funny songs and blessing songs, most of which are praising songs. They can praise the sun, moon, star, sky, clouds, mountains and rivers, trees and flowers, animals, historical figures and their guests. For example:

The sun in the morning shines on the red stones.
The stones are like the dignified statue of Buddha.
The sun in the afternoon shines on the grassland.
The grassland is like a beautiful garden.
The sun in the evening shines on the clear river.
The river is like the holy water.
Although I do not the lyrics of the song to toast.
I want to give my happiness to my guest.
There is also another kind of song to toast, the song to make fun of others. There is no definite lyric of this kind of song which is usually the improvisation of the singer. For example:

I am the lion in the mountain,
My jumping will frighten all the animals,
My roaring will frighten all the animals,
What about you little rabbit?

I am the roc in the mountain.
My flying will frighten all the birds.
My wings will shadow the sun
What about you little butterfly?

I am the superstar of the singers.
I am the Buddha in the wine world.
I can respond to all the songs.
What about you little singer?
There is also another kind of song to toast which is to express one’s gratitude. One of the famous songs of this kind is as follows:
We should express our gratitude to the horse.
If you never walk on foot,
You will never know the kindness of the horse.
When you walk on foot, you remember the kindness of the horse,
But where is the horse then?

We should express our gratitude to the cow.
If you never drink buttered tea,
You will never know the kindness of the cow.
When you drink buttered tea, you remember the kindness of the cow.
But where is the cow then?

We should express our gratitude to our parents.
If you are still young,
You do not know the kindness of your parents.
When you are old, you remember the kindness of your parents.
But where are your parents then?
　

At the end of the toast, people usually sing the blessing songs. For example:
There are three boxes in the happy family.
They are boxes of gold, silver and highland barley.
The upper box is the one with gold.
The gold brings luck to the family.

There are three boxes in the happy family.
They are boxes of gold, silver and highland barley.
The middle box is the one with silver.
The silver brings luck to the family.

There are three boxes in the happy family.
They are boxes of gold, silver and highland barley.
The lower box is the one with highland barley.
The highland barley brings luck to the family.

The singer of our county

The second type is the love song.

Layi in Tibetan means the love song, which are used to express love between man and woman. This kind of song can only be sung in the open air. And it cannot be sung between the relatives. There are also a lot of kinds of love song such as love song of meeting, of communicating, of asking, of wishing, of regretting, of missing and of parting.

There are usually different styles of love song, most of which have two paragraphs. For example:

My love songs are countless like the stars in the sky
If you can distinguish,
I will give a half to you.  

My love songs are countless like the flowers in the grassland
If you can count one by one,
I will give a half to you.
In the love songs of three paragraphs, the first two paragraphs are usually metaphor, while the last one expresses the true meaning. For example:

The hill is like a precious bottle,
Although there is no grass, it is fragrant.
The horse is like a strong lion,
Although it is not so sturdy, it is steady.  

My sweetheart is a beauty.
Although she is not rich, she loves me very much.
In the ordinary love songs, there are usually six, seven or eight syllables, most of which are of seven syllables. Due to the difference in syllables, the rhythm and pause are also different which should be symmetrical to each other. And the words should also be carefully chosen.
There are also many words inserted in the long for balance or euphony. These words usually appear repeatedly to call people’s attention.
By singing the love songs, the young men and girls in Tibet meet with each other, make friends and choose their sweetheart. There are love songs about every phase of courtship.
1.       Getting acquainted with each other. The young men and girls in Tibet get acquainted with each other by singing the love songs, from which they can understand the idea of each other. For example:

The hill like a golden bottle,
Can the roc perch on it?
The girl like a flower,
Would you like to make a friend with me?

2.       Meeting. When they are acquainted with each other, they will meet each other and talk with each other. For example:

When the birds are singing the praising song to the sky,
The auspicious clouds will meet them.  

When the soldiers are advancing to the west,
The flags will meet them.  

When my dear and I are meeting each other,
I will sing the love song to my sweetheart.

3.       Passionately in love. When the two persons fall deeply in love with each other, they usually praise each other and express their hope towards the bright life by singing the love songs. For example:

There are one hundred stars in the sky.
There are one thousand stars in the sky.
Among the stars,
You are the brightest one.  

There are one hundred flowers on the grassland.
There are one thousand flowers on the grassland.
Among the flowers,
You are the most beautiful one.  

There are one hundred girls on the prairie.
There are one thousand girls on the prairie.
Among the girls,
You are my sweetheart.

4.       Missing. A lot of love songs are about missing of the beloved one. For example:

On the broad prairie,
I am happy but a little sad.
Although I am happy with my parents,
I am really sad without my sweetheart.

5.       Being disappointed in love. This kind of love songs usually expresses the sorrow and unhappiness when one or both persons feel disappointed in love. For example:

When the sun rises in the east,
We do not know it will set in the west.
We do not have to be sad,
Because it will rise again in the next day.  

When we fall in love with each other,
I do not expect you a jilt.
I do not have to be sad.
Because I can find my true love in the future.
From the Tibetan love songs, we can see the ethics, customs and religions of the society.
The metaphors in the love songs are usually the ordinary things in their daily life such as the mountain, prairie, horse and yak. And the metaphors are always quite vivid.
Singing the love songs is the main way of Tibetans to express their love and their hope towards the bright life.

The third type is the long song which has mainly two kinds: one is to narrate such as the song of a love tragedy, the other is to toast by asking and answering. In this kind of song, there are usually more than two thousand verses.

The fourth type is zerou which is a kind of song with some movements. During the singing, the singer usually puts his right arm up while the left arm down. The movement is rather graceful and interesting. This kind of songs spreads widely and is popular among the people.

The fifth type is the song about people’s life such as the songs of herding and milking. The tunes are usually nice to hear and the lyrics are easy to understand, which reflect the taste of Tibetan people. According to a legend, in the ancient times, there were several natural disasters in several places. A young lade came to the river and sang a song to express her hope for the better life. When the god heard the song, he was deeply moved. Then the weather became better and people started to live a happy life.

The sixth type is a genre of popular literature partly in verse and partly in prose, used as material for storytelling and ballad singing.