Help with three Slovak songs

[Cooper, David]

Since Martin has already provided a more literal translation, I'll just note that it looks like what your music director was given, at least in regard to the first song, was a singable translation, but an imperfect version even for that purpose. By singable translation I mean one that could be used to replace the original lyrics in a sung performance: each line is rendered by an English line that has the same number (not always perfectly exact) of syllables. 

The text still seems to be incomplete. One would need to add in "loves to eat" in the first line of the first song to get the right number of syllables (must have been dropped), and something is also presumably missing after "but she's a lazy worker" to substitute for "neobranclovala." 

The other two texts don't at first glance seem to work in the same way, but it might be a question of how the translation's syllables are distributed in relation to the sung notes. 

David



-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Martin Votruba
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 9:16 AM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS] Help with three Slovak songs

What they gave you was hardly a translation, Francoise. Kytlic~ka is rather an obsolete word for a skirt, I'm not sure about neobranclovala. The rest is below.


Rada pila, rada jedla -- She liked to drink, she liked to eat, Rada tancovala, -- she liked to dance, Ani si len tú kytličku neobranclovala, -- she did not even hem(?) her skirt,

Nedala si štyri groše -- you didn't give (pay) 4 groschen
Ako som ja dala, -- the way I did   
Žeby si ty tancovala, -- for you to dance, A ja žeby stála. -- and for me to stand/remain standing.


Na holi, na holi, -- On a bald mountain, on a bald mountain,
Na tej širočine -- a wide one/in the vastness,   
Ved' som sa vyspala -- I indeed slept
Ako na perine. -- like on a feather tick/featherbed.   

Už sme pohrabaly, -- We're done raking,
Čo budeme robit'? -- what are we going to do?
S vŕšku do doliny -- From the hill/down the hill to the valley
Budeme sa vodit'. -- we'll walk together/hand in hand.   


Gajdujte, gajdence,  -- Play, bagpipes,
Pôjdeme k frajerce! -- we'll go to our beloved(s)!
Ej, gajdujte vesele, -- Oh, play joyfully, Ej, že pôjdeme smele! -- oh, so that we go bravely.

Zagajduj gajdoše! -- Play, bagpiper!
Ešte mám dva groše: -- I have 2 more groschen:
Ej, jedon gajdošovi, -- oh, one for the bagpiper, A druhý krčmárovi. --  and the other one for the tavern keeper.

    
To bola kozička, -- That was a goat   
Čo predok vodila, -- that would always be in the front/lead the herd Ej, ale už nebude, -- but it won't any more, Ej nôžky si zlomila. -- oh, it broke its legs.


Martin

votruba "at" pitt "dot" edu

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------