Peter wrote asking for help with some Ukrainian rhymes. Here’s his email:
I wonder if anyone can help me with some verses my father use to recite, all I have is some of the words, and the basic ideas behind the verses.
One involved fish and vegetables dancing:
Пастернак (Parsnip)
Риба (Fish)
The second involved a father sitting on a spade/shovel (Лопато), a mother sitting on something else (Kocубу?)…
There are commands to a horse in horse language to go left and right (that sounded like Hi-ta, viss-ta)…
And the last line:
їдемо до шлюбy (go off to get married)
Regards, Peter Kosylowicz
If anyone can help Peter with either of these verses, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
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February 15th, 2013 at 7:45 am
http://nashe.com.ua/song/14768
Танцювала риба з раком (Fish with crayfish were dancing)
Танцювала риба з раком,
А петрушка з пастернаком, (parsley with parsnip)
А цибуля з часником, (onion with garlic)
А дівчина з козаком! ( A girl with a Cossack)
Цибуля дивується, ( Onion wonders )
Як хороше танцюється. ( what a good dance)
Ходить гарбуз по городу –
Питається свого роду:
– Ой чи живі, чи здорові,
Всі родичі гарбузові,
Обізвалась жовта диня:
– Ой я твоя господиня;
Обізвались огірочки:
– А ми твої сини й дочки!
Обізвались буряки,
Гарбузові свояки:
– Усі живі і здорові,
Всі родичі гарбузові!
You can hear it there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJoadlexfVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s-BHjVrIpU
June 4th, 2013 at 3:30 pm
The second one is a kolomyika, a humorous Ukrainian song. It has two lines only:
Сідай, тату, на лопату, мамо, на коцюбу,
Тато гейта, мама вішта, поїдем до шлюбу.
Sit, Daddy, on the shovel,
Mum – on the poker,
Daddy – gee, Mamma – haw,
Let’s go to the wedding.
In Ukrainian folklore, poker is a very important object, for example, you could not throw it down, only to put it down. Also, witches are believed to use pokers to fly to the Bald mountain.
July 19th, 2013 at 3:49 am
I need help with a Ukrainian rhyme that starts:
Holo, bobo, dychka, prenychka
and is played with toes, starting with the little one and ending with the big toe. The big toe is pulled off! (Lots of fun as I remember:))
Also, not sure what it means?? Could just be gibberish…my great-aunt’s cat was called Bobo….
August 7th, 2013 at 5:01 am
This kind of folklore is called “zabavlyanka” (entertaining song).
They are sang to babies, to keep them amused and quiet.
Yours goes like this:
Bobyk, fasolk’a,
Kukurudza, barabol’ka,
A tse staruy bobushche,
Furrrrrr za plotyshche.
Бобик, фасолька,
Кукурудза, бараболька,
А це старий бобище,
Фур-р-р за плотище.
Little bean, little haricot
Corn, little potato,
And this is an old huge bean,
Frrr, it goes over the fence.
One by one, starting with the little finger, an adult massages the
toes, every one got a name (little bean, little haricot and so on).
When the adult comes to the big toe (huge old bean), they move it
from side to side, an then sharply – aside and up, “throwing” it
away, over the fence.