A Traditional Ukranian Folk Song
Note that this is not the original Cyrillic text
Tam v haiu, pry Dunaiu, solovi shchebeche (2)
Vin svoiu ptashynochku do hnizdechka klyche.
Tam v haiu, pry Dunaiu, tam muzyka hraie (2)
Bas hude, skrypka plache, molodets' huliaie.
Tam v haiu, pry Dunaiu, khodzhu samotoiu (2)
I plachu, i rydaiu myla/mylyi za toboiu.
English translation:
In the forest near the Danube river,
there is a nightingale singing,
he sings to gather everyone from his family
In the forest near the Danube river,
there is a bass vibrating and a fiddle crying,
I think of a place where my lovely one is strolling now
In the forest near the Danube river,
I am sick with my loneliness,
crying, I want to fly like a bird,
to where my lovely one is now.
The origins of this song date back to the 1600s, when the
Ottoman Empire was expanding its
territory. The girl is singing the song because her love is away fighting a war for his native
Ukraine against the
Turks.
The repetition of the first line is common in Ukranian folk songs of the era, as is bird-related imagery. The nation of Ukraine is often referred to metaphorically as a seagull.
A modern version of this song can be found on Milla's 1994 album The Divine Comedy.