Modlitba pro Martu (A Prayer for Martha)

I'd like to dedicate the second part of this series to my number ONE favourite Czech singer, Marta Kubišová. And which other song to begin with than her signature song, A Prayer for Martha?

I'm going be returning to this extraordinary artist many times, because I'm simply in love with every single song she's sung. Her deep voice is captivating like none other's, and her soulful interpretation turns these profound lyrics into an almost transcendental experience.

This song - composed by Jindřich Brabec and written by Petr Rada - was originally written for the TV series Píseň pro Rudolfa III. (A Song for Rudolf III) in 1968 - then called simply "A Prayer". Unsurprisingly, it became immediately connected with the events of the Prague Spring and the following invasion. In 1989, it became the unofficial anthem of the Velvet Revolution. You can read more about this song here or here. Needless to say, in addition to some other protest songs Ms. Kubišová published in 1968-9, the song was banned by the Party and Ms. Kubišová could not perform publically any more.

Modlitba pro Martu

Ať let, may

mír peace

dál further, continue

zůstává remain

s with

touto this

krajinou. country

Let peace remain with this country.

Zloba, malice, ire

závist, envy

zášť, spite

strach fear

a and

svár, strife, feud

Malice, envy, spite, fear and strife,

ty those

ať let [them], may

pominou, go away, pass

ať let [them], may

už already, finally

pominou go away, pass

Let those pass, let them finally pass

teď now

když when

tvá your

ztracená lost

vláda rule, governance

věcí [of] things

tvých yours

Now that your lost governance of your affairs

zpět back

se (reflexive pronoun for "navrátí")

k tobě to you

navrátí, return

lide, people

navrátí return

is returning to you, people, is returning.

Z oblohy from the sky

mrak cloud

zvolna slowly

odplouvá flowing, floating away

The cloud is slowly flowing away from the sky

a and

každý each, every one

sklízí reaping, harvesting

setbu planting

svou. their (own)

And everyone is reaping what they've sown.

Modlitba prayer

má, my, mine

ta it [she]

ať let [it], may

promlouvá speak

My prayer, let it speak

k to

srdcím, hearts

která which

zloby [of] malice, ire

čas time

To the hearts which, by the time of ire,

nespálil did not burn

jak like

květy flowers, blooms

mráz, frost, freeze

jak like

mráz. frost, freeze

Were not burnt, like flowers by frost, like by frost.



Ať mír dál zůstává s touto krajinou.
Let peace remain with this country.


Zloba, závist, zášť, strach a svár,
Malice, envy, spite, fear and strife,

ty ať pominou, ať už pominou
Let those pass, let them finally pass

teď když tvá ztracená vláda věcí tvých
Now that your lost governance of your affairs

zpět se k tobě navrátí, lide, navrátí.
is returning to you, people, is returning.

Note:

As you probably know, Czech has a loose word order, so please let me clarify this part:

"Modlitba má, ta ať promlouvá k srdcím, která zloby čas nespálil jak květy mráz, jak mráz."

It is supposed to mean: "Let my prayer speak to the hearts which have not been, like flowers by frost, burnt by the time of ire."
Literal translation: "Let my prayer speak to the hearts which the time of ire has not burnt, like the frost flowers."

The subject of the sentence is "mráz", even though it appears at the very end of the sentence. "Květy" is in the accusative and is the object of the sentence. Funnily enough, the part "jak květy mráz" could be theoretically understood both ways - the flowers could be burning the frost, since the accusative and nominative are the same for masculine inanimate nouns.