First, I came across this video of the northern lights in Finland. I liked the pictures, since at the very rare times the northern lights appear here in the southern U.S., they’re pale by comparison.
But what struck me most about the video was the haunting background song, which I am willing to bet has nothing directly to do with the aurora borealis in Finland or anywhere. The song’s title, which I cannot translate, is: Aš pabudau žiemoj. Another video featuring the song is here.
Here is another sweet melody by the same artist. This one, called Negrįšiu, seems to be about transience, and possibly about snow.
I’ve managed to determine that a Lithuanian singer named Ieva Narkuté (I hope I have not gone completely astray with this spelling), whose stage name is Jieva, performs the songs and, I assume, wrote them.
Here is her Facebook page, I think.
Can anyone help with translation? The music is beautiful anyway, but it would be wonderful to know the words.
Tracks in last year's snow, Woodford County, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Hey I tried to translate negrįšiu, I hope its better than google’s gibberish
Negrįšiu
Kai triukšmas virsta tyla
Geriu rasą iš tavo delnų
Kai sniegą skandina tamsa
Nedrąsiai pakylu ir išeinu
Negrįšiu. Kaip žmonės negrįžta
Kaip triukšmas rūke vandeniu virsta
Išeisiu. Kaip žmonės išeina
Kaip garsas palieka pamirštą dainą
Kartais, kai noriu sudegt
Man neleidžia tavo dangus
Kartais, kai noriu kalbėt
Žodžius nuplauna lietus
Negrįšiu. Kaip žmonės negrįžta
Kaip triukšmas rūke vandeniu virsta
Išeisiu. Kaip žmonės išeina
Kaip garsas palieka pamirštą dainą
I wont come back
When noise turns into silence
I start to drink dew from your palms
when snow is covered with darkness
I bashfully stand up and leave
I wont come back just like the others
Like noise in myst turns into water
I will leave just like the others leave
Like sound leaves forgotten song
Sometimes I want to burn away
But your sky wont let me
Sometimes when I want to talk
My words disappears into the rain
I wont come back just like the others
Like noise in myst turns into water
I will leave just like the others leave
Like sound leaves forgotten song
Thanks so much for the translation! This is a beautiful song, and Google translation did not begin to do it justice!
I stumbled upon this website by accident. I suspect it’s slowly going viral in certain circles of people, and you may expect a few translations coming over. This is my attempt, but with poetry it’s never easy.
I woke up in winter,
Blindfolded, from an alien thought,
I woke up in winter,
And the snow scent like the nights long lost.
I woke up in silence,
Though I still could have clung
To the darkness,
To the sound that’s gone,
But I woke up in winter…
I woke up in winter,
When man’s fate prayed on top of the dome,
I woke up in winter,
Hoping that the sins will soon be undone.
I woke up in light,
Though my sight had dissolved in a filthy thought
How to kill the wind,
That had the scent
Of a night that’s forgotten…
Warmest thanks for the translation. While it is very difficult to catch the nuances of poetry, I think this is a brilliant effort, and certainly adds a great deal to the tiny drift I was able to catch.
I posted a note on Ieve Narkute’s Facebook page, and this was her response:
Hi,
first of all, let me say how surprised I am by your enthusiasm to understand Lithuanian songs. This is really amazing and I wish you good luck
Secondly, I have to explain something to you. By some stupid mistake made years ago the songs you are mentioning (Aš pabudau žiemoj, Negrįšiu) are thought to be mine, but they are not. It’s just that the girls who are singing them are from the same school as I am, therefore we got mixed. Their names are Domantė Urmonaitė and Ieva Vaserytė, in case you want to find them.
All the best,
i.
maybe it is best ‘lost in translation’.
I agree – what great songs. I am Russian so to me it sounds very similar to Russian language though I can’t make anything out. Maybe you could send a message via facebook.
Thanks, Marina. Did that….so far, nobody’s been able to come up with more than the strange gibberish from auto-translation applications. Both songs do seem to involve winter images, so I got that much right, just from the mood.