Karel Kryl - Jeřabiny (Rowanberries)

Alright, so I've decided to kick this site off with a post about my absolute favourite singer-songwriter of all time. Karel Kryl's (1944-1994) speciality were protest songs - "he identified and attacked the stupidity and inhumanity of the Communist and later also post-communist regimes in his home country," reads the introduction of his Wikipedia entry, and continues:

"The lyrics of Karel Kryl's songs are highly poetic and sophisticated, with a frequent use of metaphors and historical allusions. The sparse sounds of an accompanying acoustic guitar served to underscore the natural flow of the lyrics themselves. In certain respects—especially the complexity of his lyrics and his accompaniment by a single acoustic guitar—Kryl was similar to a young Bob Dylan. However, unlike Dylan, the Czech singer had a smooth and pure voice, which gave a hauntingly sad quality to his mournful lyrics. He was bitterly critical of the new regime established after the collapse of communism in his country, including of Václav Havel, and those who were responsible for the destruction of Czechoslovakia in 1992."

Jeřabiny (Rowanberries) is one of Kryl's most famous songs, and also one of the earliest. It was first published on his debut album, Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka (Close the Gate, Little Brother), in 1969 - shortly after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The album's cover was originally supposed to be Josef Koudelka's photo of two dead bodies in a passageway, covered by the Czechoslovak flag from August 1968, but the publishers feared that it would get banned by the censors. Another Koudelka's photo was then chosen instead - again, from August 1968 - of a boy sitting on a street in Prague, with a bullseye drawn on his back.

Jeřabiny

Pod under, below

tmavočervenými dark red, crimson

jeřabinami rowanberries

Beneath the crimson rowanberries

zahynul died, perished

motýl butterfly

mezi between, among

karabinami, carbines (firearms)

A butterfly died among carbines,

zástupce representative, deputy

pro for

týl nape, rear; Rear Services

šlápl stepped

na on

běláska, garden/cabbage white, pieris

The chief of the Rear Services stepped on a garden white,

zahynul died, perished

motýl butterfly

jako like

naše our

láska, love

A butterfy perished like our love,

zahynul motýl jako naše láska.
A butterfy perished like our love.

Na on

břehu bank, shore

řeky (of) river

roste grows

tráva grass

ostřice, sedge, saw grass

Saw grass grows on the riverbank,

prý allegedly, according to (someone)

přišli (they) came

včas, in time

však however, though

vtrhli stormed in, invaded

jako like

vichřice, whirlwind, hurricane

They said that they came in time, though they stormed in like a hurricane,

nad above, over

tichou quiet, silent

zemí land, country, ground, soil

vrčí (they) growl, whirr, hum

netopýři bats

Bats whirr above the silent land,

a and

národ nation

němý mute, voiceless

tlučou (they) beat

oficíři, (slang) officers

And a voiceless nation is being beaten by officers,

a národ němý tlučou oficíři.
And a voiceless nation is being beaten by officers.

Na on

nebi sky

měsíc moon

jako like

koláč pie

s with

tvarohem, (with) quark, curd cheese

The moon in the sky is like a quark pie,

koupím (I'll) buy

si (for) myself

láhev bottle

rumu (of) rum

v krčmě in [the] pub, tavern

za rohem, behind the corner

I'll buy myself a bottle of rum in the pub behind the corner,

budeš (you) will

se líbat kiss

v noci at night

s with

cizím strange, foreign

pánem, man, gentleman

You're going to be kissing a strange man tonight,

já I

budu will, am going to

zpívat sing

zpitý drunk

s with

kapitánem, captain

I'm going to sing drunk with the captain,

já budu zpívat zpitý s kapitánem.
I'm going to sing drunk with the captain.