Old Czech song

Discussion in 'Culture' started by bagsmo, Apr 22, 2016.

  1. bagsmo

    bagsmo New Member

    Does anyone know this song my grandmother use to sing to my mother? Her family was from the Pilsen area. This is the phonetic version as I translate it from my mothers singing.

    Sekita motika descha bollek
    Poitsa Semnoe Hulka vollet
    Ya sumti povidal nevda vessa
    Sesca bochka Pala Mesa

    Her understanding of its meaning was this:

    “Axe, Hoe rolling pin
    Roll (dance) me around the floor
    I told you you were to frail
    and would break to pieces”

    Anyone have knowledge of this song or a better translation, either english to czech or czech to english?

    Thank You
    Ray Parker
    bagsmo@aol.com
     
  2. Dana

    Dana Well-Known Member

    Hi Ray,

    I don't know the song but found the lyrics to a similar version online. They're a little different from those you posted. Here's how I think your version should be written correctly in Czech:

    Sekyra, motyka, deska, válek, (Axe, hoe, board, rolling pin)
    pojď se se mnou holka válet. (come roll with me girl)
    Já jsem ti povídal [nevda vessa] (I told you...)
    [Sesca bochka Pala Mesa]

    I can't quite figure out the parts in brackets. "Nevda vessa" could be "nevdávej sa" - don't get married ("I told you not to get married"?) and Pala Mesa could stand for "poláme sa" or "polámeš sa" - it/you will break to pieces. I hope someone else can help with this.

    Greetings to Lafayette! I used to live in Danville. :)

    Dana
     
  3. bagsmo

    bagsmo New Member

    Dana,

    Thank you so much for your help. This goes a long way to solving this 90 year mystery. Lets hope someone else can contribute the missing pieces. Would it be possible to direct me to the online source of the lyrics? I'd love to chase it down a bit further. Did you uncover any background or or cultural
    context to the verse?

    BTW, Danville hasn't been the same since you left!

    Thanks again
    Ray
     
  4. bagsmo

    bagsmo New Member

    Dana

    On second thought, it is most likely a Czech language site which will do me no good. I did find this:

    Sekyra, motyka, deska, válek, pusť mě holka na špejchárek.

    Sekyra, motyka, deska, válek, pusť mě holka k vám.

    Začneme kroky do strany a postupně zrychlujeme, až jsou z toho poskoky.

    Does this lyric relate at all?

    Ray
     
  5. Dana

    Dana Well-Known Member

    It appears to be the same song but the lyrics are different from yours. It could be another part of the song. It says:

    Axe, hoe, board, rolling pin,
    Let me in the granary girl.
    Axe, hoe, board, rolling pin,
    Let me in your house girl.

    Only the first two lines are from the actual song. The last sentence ("Začneme kroky...") gives instructions on how to dance to the song.

    I found the same thing you did, that's why I'm not able to decode the rest of the original text you posted. I didn't see any information about the song from a historical or cultural perspective.
     

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