Return to the Paŭluk Bahrym (Паўлюк Багрым) Web page     Go to the Vera Rich Web page     Go to the Belarusian Writers Web page     Go to the Famous Belarusians Web page     Go to the A Belarus Miscellany Topic List

Note: This page is in Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding.

Зайграй, зайграй, хлопча малы... Паўлюк Багрым Зайграй, зайграй, хлопча малы, І ў скрыпачку, і ў цымбалы, А я заграю ў дуду, Бо ў Крашыне жыць не буду. Бо ў Крашыне пан сярдзіты, Бацька кіямі забіты, Маці тужыць, сястра плача, Гдзе ж ты пойдзеш, небарача? Дзе ж я пайду? Мілы Божа! Пайду ў свет, у бездарожжа, У ваўкалака абярнуся, З шчасьцем на вас абзірнуся. Будзь здарова, маці міла! Каб ты мяне не радзіла, Каб ты мяне не карміла, Шчасьліўшая ты бы была! Каб я каршуном радзіўся, Я бы без паноў абыўся: У паншчыну б не пагналі, У рэкруты б не забралі І ў маскалі не аддалі. Мне пастушком век ня быці, А ў маскалях трудна жыці, А я і расьці баюся, Гдзе ж я, бедны, абярнуся? Ой, кажане, кажане! Чаму ж не сеў ты на мяне? Каб я большы не падрос Ды ад бацькавых калёс1.

Play then, play. . . by Paŭluk Bahrym Play then, play then, lad so little, On thy cymbalom and fiddle,2 But the bagpipes I must play, for I in Krošyn cannot stay more. A lord in Krošyn rages harshly, And with clubs they slew my father, Mother grieving, sister keening; Whither, hapless one, art fleeing? Whither do I flee? God bless us! To the wide world, trackless deserts; Into werwolf I'll be turning, Looking back at you with yearning. Fare thee well, my dearest mother! If thou hadst not borne me ever, If thou hadst not fed me, tended, Happier thy life had wended! If a kite's lot I'd been given, Free from lords I would be living, To serf-labour they'd not bend me, Nor for a recruit intend me, Nor to Moscow's army send me. I shall live no more a shepherd, And a soldier's life is heavy, And I fear to grow, most surely, Where I shall live ever poorly. Flittermouse, O flittermouse,3 Why didst thou not settle thus O'er me, that my height remain As the wheel of father's wain?

[1828]

Notes

General Comments

The poem was first published in Count Leon Potocki's Powieść z Czasu mojego, czyli Litewskie przygody (My Times, or Lithuanian Adventures) together with a Polish translation and a somewhat fictionized account of Bahrym (London, 1854).

Additional background information about the poet Paŭluk Bahrym and this poem are included on the Paŭluk Bahrym (Паўлюк Багрым) Web page.




English language version

Source: Like Water, Like Fire: An Anthology of Byelorussian Poetry from 1828 to the Present Day (1971), p. 27 (notes, p. 40). Copyright © 1971; 2006 Vera Rich. Used by permission.

² lines 2-3. In his notes, Potocki points out that the cymbalum and fiddle are traditionally the instruments of rejoicing, but the bagpipe the instrument of mourning.

³ lines 22-25. This refers to the folk-belief that if a bat should alight on the head of a child or young person not done with growing, that they will remain stunted from that day forward.

Belarusian language version

¹ Крыніца: Літаратура Беларусі: Першая палова XIX стагодцзя: Хрэстаматыя (Мінск; 2000); Паўлюк Багрым (1812 - 1891). c. 231-233.

Elsewhere on the Web

Vera Rich's English translation and a different version of the Belarusian language version are also available on the Biełaruskaja Palička (Беларуская Палічка) Web site.

Return to the Paŭluk Bahrym (Паўлюк Багрым) Web page     Go to the Vera Rich Web page     Go to the Belarusian Writers Web page     Go to the Famous Belarusians Web page     Go to the A Belarus Miscellany Topic List

Original content and overall form ©1996-2006 by Peter Kasaty : All Rights Reserved. Last Updated:  2006/09/23
Quoted Text, Graphics, Links, and Linked Content belong to their respective owners.