Esti Dal
"I was thinking quite a lot about the lullabies. We have got many, similar to 'Hush a bye baby' or 'Hush little baby, don't say a word', etc… but I wanted to send you something I personally heard a lot. This is the one I can manage with an authentic mp3 recording." -Jack
Esti Dal
Evening Song
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Hungarian)
(English)
Erdő mellett estvéledtem,
Subám fejem alá tettem.
Összetettem két kezemet,
Úgy kértem jó Istenemet:
– Én Istenem, adjál szállást!
Már meguntam a járkálást;
A járkálást, a bujdosást,
Az idegen földön lakást.
Adjon Isten jó éjszakát,
Küldje hozzám szent angyalát:
Bátorítsa szívünk álmát;
Adjon Isten jó éjszakát!
Nearby the forest night found me,
I lay my head upon my cloak*.
I folded my hands together,
And so I asked my gracious God:
- My God, give me a dwelling!
I've gotten tired of roaming;
Of roaming and hiding,
In an unknown land abiding.
May God grant me a good night,
May He send me His holy angel:
May He encourage the dreams in our hearts;
May God grant us a good night!
Notes
*The translation for cloak here is literally "suba" which is a very old, archaic word. A suba is a cloak that used to be worn by shepherds.
Comments
"This is a Hungarian folk-song whose author is supposedly an illiterate folk poet. In the 20th century, one of our greatest music composers, Kodály Zoltán found it in a Northern county of Hungary (Nográd) and he wrote it for a choir. He collected many songs from different counties of Hungary. Today this song is a typical camp-fire song and an evening prayer." -Jack
"This song was sung for Mama Lisa's World by Kállay Krisztina, an elderly Hungarian Lady whom I appreciate very much. She is 88. She told me that when she became a mother, she sang it many times as a lullaby for her children." -Jack
Many thanks to Kállay Krisztina for singing this lullaby for us!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Tinker Jack for contributing, translating and recording this song.
Köszönöm szépen!
