I made a very quick visit
back to Ukraine last week and boy did it feel good to be there, I swear the best beer in the world is from Ukraine. Wrocław is a surprisingly
comfortable twelve hour train journey from Ukraine and on my return leg back to
Poland I decided to translate from Ukrainian and song which has a special place
in many Polish and Ukrainian people's hearts (alongside, of course, drinking a few sneaky Ukrainian beers on the train)
Like all good literature, its background is slightly murky. The content is about Ukraine but probably it was penned by Tomasz Padura, a Ukrainian/Polish poet. Despite being clearly about Ukraine and Ukrainian women, the song was adopted by Polish troops during the Polish/Soviet war and after having its lyrics tweaked slightly, is still extremely popular today as it is in Ukraine. Interestingly, this song is chanted on terraces in Poland and Ukraine so I wouldn't be surprised if this song also becomes sort of an unofficial anthem of the Euro competition next year.
The song in question?
Hej Sokoły (Polish Version)
And here's my interpretation of the lyrics, from the Ukrainian version....
Like all good literature, its background is slightly murky. The content is about Ukraine but probably it was penned by Tomasz Padura, a Ukrainian/Polish poet. Despite being clearly about Ukraine and Ukrainian women, the song was adopted by Polish troops during the Polish/Soviet war and after having its lyrics tweaked slightly, is still extremely popular today as it is in Ukraine. Interestingly, this song is chanted on terraces in Poland and Ukraine so I wouldn't be surprised if this song also becomes sort of an unofficial anthem of the Euro competition next year.
The song in question?
Hej Sokoły (Polish Version)
Гей,Соколи (Ukrainian Version)
And here's my interpretation of the lyrics, from the Ukrainian version....
Hey, somewhere, by the Black Sea,
A Cossack sits on his colt,
And a young girl cries,
For he rides from Ukraine.
Chorus,
Hey, Hey, Hey, Falcons!
Through mountains, forests, fields,
valleys,
Sound, sound, sound the bells,
My little country bird.
Pity, sorrow, because of her,
Because of Ukraine,
Pity, sorrow, my heart cries,
I'll never see again.
Chorus,
Crying, Crying, my lover,
My little bird,
For I'm in a foreign land,
My heart can not sleep.
Chorus,
Drink, Drink, Give to me,
If I die, bury me,
In faraway Ukraine,
Close to my girl.
Thank you so much for putting time into making this translation! It is difficult to find translations in English, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to have visited your blog and good to know this video is nice! I find it interesting Thanks
ReplyDeleteXuy znim!Kazak Maxim,Pszaktreb!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Yankee arab Tziganer,My name is Abdul Rassak! Ibn Latif,iben Yahmar!!Now:Rukh el beitak!!(Ya Mashara el kurdi)!!
ReplyDeleteI would very much like to purchase the Ukrainian version of this song. Who sings it??
ReplyDeleteIn Polish version it is about an ulan, a Polish cavalryman, not a cossack. The song was originally popular among Polish minority in the Ukraine, and was adopted for both Polish and Ukrainian soldiers fighting Soviet invasion. As a result, it was forbidden during the Communism.
ReplyDeleteall my friends and I as well as other people had sang this song all the time during communism in Poland. It was NOT forbidden, it was very popular.As it stays today.
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