Curls and waves, waves and curls- Bad woman, lost. Earrings and bracelets- Modest, almost. Like a girl among adults, Like a child that hurts. Fog and haze, fog and haze, You’re too hard to blame Words don’t have any weight- Only weakness reigns But you know no mercy And no shame Sad’s your stare, eyes torn, So close to tears Disappointments were not Meant to appear. How them evil fairies Deceived you, dear. Cruel people, bad world- There’s a whole long list Of what brings sorrow Oh orchid in swamp, oh wild plant in mist You’re lost in the present And lack tomorrow. And the mouth twitches In pain, in pain And the past, like a fetus, Curls up in heart again, In the hungry look In the pale hands. Fingers fly, fingers fly On piano keys, in dance. When this waltz is over, New one won’t commence Metronome Tic Tic Tac- And time passes by. Wandering, wanderings To where, to where- To the faraway places, Horizon over In the land of dark lakes And fields of clover
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*the original is composed and sung by Izhar Ashdoot, lyrics written by Alona Kimhi.
(One can listen to it here: The Ballad Of...)
**I wanted to translate this seemingly very simple song for ages-I’m glad I’m finally trying. There’s a room(or rather, rooms) for improvement, I’d point out where exactly if I wouldn’t be scared to bore you to death -but it’s a start, and maybe-who knows?-will inspire somebody else to come up with their own versions. We’d compare notes, and all that.
***soyons brefs, I reminded myself-just to add, that whatever picture I choose-I don’t remember being in such a “maybe they’ll get hurt” over it before. Amazing. I don’t even know who “they” are, but “sorry” is already here, growing like weeds allover.
Thank you for….everything, really.
Love,
Chen/April
Thoughts of aging come to mind. Wrinkles in time.
How do you protect your heart, Chen? I so admire and appreciate your courage in undertaking these translations. It’s humbling to this often cynical soul.