Musical Mutations · 8:49pm Apr 19th, 2019
Being not a native English speaker has some perks. Getting to know some translated versions of (not just) English songs is just a minor advantage, but a fun one nonetheless. It’s also something I don’t research actively, most of the time at least, I just notice some tunes being similar when listening to my endless playlists on YouTube.
Teenage Tavi by SpainFischer
Now, my database of such songs has grown significantly over the years, what you’ll find below is just a mere fraction of it. However, I chose many of these songs because they represent tiny bits of history. As you may have heard, my home country was a part of the USSR from 1948 till 1989. During that time, the communist regime held its iron grip on the land, loosening and then tightening it again on a few occasions. To shorten it, any kind of contact with the “West” was almost forbidden, and listening to the broadcast of western radios was illegal. But some people still did listen and even tried to learn and translate the songs they had heard.
Given that time and the conditions, the sound wasn’t exactly great and neither was their knowledge of English, which can be heard in some of the songs. A nice piece of evidence is an Irish folk ballad Spancill Hill, translated as Spansow Hill. The overall theme of the song is more or less the same though.
Spancill Hill
Spansow Hill (with a bizarre cover image, sadly the best recording I could find)
Now we are getting into a more interesting territory, for sometimes the whole topic of the song may have been changed. Sometimes to not anger the regime, sometimes to mock it and sometimes... well, just because the singers wanted to focus on a different topic, I guess.
Let’s start with a French traditional, Tourdion - Quand je bois du vin clairet—it is basically just a drinking song.
Now, the Czech version, Batalion tells the story of a battalion of soldiers going into battle and dying. The refrain more or less summarizes their night spent drinking with a girl that is later saddened by their deaths.
And then there is English version, Play Minstrel Play, clearly of a more modern origin. I believe it to be at least inspired by the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Another old ballad that took an interesting twist in Czech hands is Farewell to Nova Scotia, a song of a soldier bidding farewell to his home, Nova Scotia.
Its Czech counterpart, Nové Skotsko is basically the same in terms of lyrics. Except that it’s sung by a man escaping to Nova Scotia from his homeland.
Another beautiful Irish ballad, Star of the County Down, has been openly mocked. Now, the original is about a man falling in love with a young girl.
Královna z Dundrum Bay seems to be about the same thing, until the mysterious ‘Queen of Dundrum Bay’ dies and the listeners learn that it was just a horse.
We are slowly edging closer to melodies that are downright overused.
Now, I’m positive many of you have heard of Greensleeves or at least know its melody as various English songs, including some Christmas carols, have used it as well. It is also one of the most studied songs that I know of. The original may refer to a prostitute lady, hence her dress being green by lying in grass.
Zelené rukávy follows that theme even in its name... or at least it seems to. It is in the form of a dialogue of a woman yearning for (platonic) love, and a man that’s mostly trying to have some fun, but later on finds how pure and innocent the girl is. Noteworthy is the translated line “My sleeves will stay white.”
And another Czech version, Dobrodružství s bohem Panem, is basically a young woman singing about how she was fooled and raped by a man telling her that he is Pan, the god of flocks.
Another tangled mess of a song are Twa Corbies and The Three Ravens both of which basically tell the story of ravens planning to eat a slain knight.
Dva havrani does a very good job following the former almost word for word.
Opuštění tells a similar story, but not from the viewpoint of the ravens, but actually the knight’s lover, who was left all alone. (Opting to use just a link there, as the cover image is really awful this time and someone may find it racist. It’s actually just a really bad joke, but still.)
Válka růží takes its melody and refrain from The Three Ravens, but actually describes The Wars of the Roses.
And lastly, here is a short assortment of songs translated more or less word for word or at least staying very close to the topic:
Fi-Li-Mi
Bismarck
House Carpenter (The Daemon Lover)/Tesař
And that’s all, I don’t want to bother you with more. I’m curious, do you know of any such translations in your own language? Also, let me know if you some Czech song caught your eye and you’d like to know what the full lyrics are about, translating them should be a matter of minutes for me.
Signing out
~Ever
