Derek Piotr
Fieldwork Archive

⤝ 1943 ⤞

Коломийка (III)


Performed by Liubomyr Chermak.
Recorded May 31, 2026 at St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, New Haven, Connecticut.


The коломийка (kolomyika) is a genre of festive Ukrainian folk dance.

На я гаю не рубаю
через ті осики.
А я вдома не ночую
через ті музики.

Ой, музико, музиченьку,
як ти файно граєш,
Пальці би ти (тобі) поломило,
як перебираєш!

Ви музики, грайте, грайте,
в ви, люде, чуйте.
А ви, старі, йдіть додому,
молоді – танцюйте!
I don't cut down the grove
because of those aspens.1
And I don't spend the night at home
because of the music.

Oh, musician, musician,
how well you play,
You could break your fingers,
how you play!

You musicians, play, play,
you people, listen.
You old people, go home,
young people — dance!

1. In old Ukrainian folklore, the aspen tree is considered a bad omen, associated with Judas Iscariot, who was said to have hung himself from its branches.







Tags

Connecticut, United States