Dr. B. STEVENSON STANOYEVICH

BOSTON

RICHARD G. BADGER

THE GORHAM PRESS

Copyright, 1920, By Richard G. Badger

All Rights Reserved

Made in the United States of America The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.

TRANSLITERATION OF UNUSUAL JUGOSLAV SCRIPT:

a = a in father, garden e = e in men, envoy i = i in tin, ill o = o in son, note u = u in rule, rumor j = y in yoke, yes c = ts in cats, lots lj = ly in William, million dj = dy in endure, verdure gj = gy in George nj = ny in Kenyon, opinion č = tch in watch, catch ć = ch in culture, literature š = sh in ship, shade ž = zh in azure, seizure dž = dzh in Badger, or j in James

The rest of the letters correspond to the English sounds.

PREFACE

"Give me the making of a nation's songs, and let who will make their laws," was the maxim of a Scottish patriot. We would prefer to modify this rule, and say, "Give us the poems which the people make for themselves, and then we shall obtain a clear insight into the national character and learn what customs and laws they are likely to accept or reject." Folk-songs are the intimate expressions of the ideas of the people. What the comic drama is to the cultured, and the music-hall to the ill-educated portions of urban population, the popular song has been, and in some countries still is, to the rural peasantry, a true exponent of their sentiments, though too frequently inaccurate in statements of facts. Critics, as is well known, have censured Lord Macaulay for his indiscriminate adoption of the vulgar and often malignant rhapsodies sung in the streets of London. But the Russian bylina, collected by Danilov, Rybnikov, Sreznevsky and others, may be taken as furnishing unimpeachable evidence of the state of Russia during the invasions of the Mongols and Turks. The Jacobite poems give

us the real feelings of the people of Scotland for nearly an entire century. The popular and rustic strains which are handed down from the reign of Henry III have rehabilitated the memory of Simon de Montfort. Moore's Irish melodies, originally composed for the delectation of English aristocrats, have been so generally admired in his native land that they exhibit pretty clear indications of what the Irish patriots would like to do if they had the power. And the battle-hymn by Rouget de Lisle is not only popular in France, but has recently been sung by the Russian bolsheviki when marching to occupy Tsarskoe Selo and other imperial lands.

The songs to which the English form has been given in the following volume have been taken mostly from Vuk Karadžić's invaluable collection: Srpske Narodne Pjesme (Serbian National Songs). Karadžić, of whom the literary world has heard so much, is the father of modern Serbian literature. He spent many years among the peasants in collecting the national treasures: ballads, tales, proverbs, anecdotes and other folklore. Before his time the songs had never been reduced to written form, and were kept out of reach of the public ear. He was only able to hear them partly because of a ruse and partly in secret, when he listened with inexhaustible patience to the girls spinning, or the guslars (bards) trolling in taverns and at fairs, or the reapers chanting at their work. In the preface of his first book of Srpske Narodne Pjesme Karadžić tells us that in Serbia two sorts of popular poetry exist—the historical ballads, and popular songs of a character which caused them to be described as ženske pjesme (women's songs) chanted by

country folk, both men and women and mostly in duet. It is the latter, ženske pjesme, which having been translated into English are gathered together in the following anthology, Serbian Lyrics.

Sir John Bowring, who unveiled to his countrymen the rich treasures of Slavic popular songs in general, is also distinguished by being the pioneer to point out the Serbian in particular. But the claims, which we, at the present day, feel ourselves entitled to make on a translator, are very different from those current in Bowring's time. Correctness and fidelity are now considered necessary requisites in a good translation, just as antiquarian exactness is expected in the publication of an old manuscript.

Jugoslav lyric poetry is divided into several groups, as, for instance, one grouping contains poems concerning marriage. These songs tell of the beauty of the bride, of her joy and sorrow before departure from the home of her parents, as well as her feelings upon other occasions during wedlock. There are poems belonging to the group of bacchanalian songs, pronounced during the toast, and resounding with many refrains. Then there are lamentations (tužbalice) which are mostly provincial, from Montenegro and Dalmatia. They are also accompanied by refrains, expressing sorrow after the death of some loved one, and extolling the virtues of the deceased, or the great misfortune felt by those left behind. All this emotion is described very fitly and in a touching manner. Further, there are poems commemorating the holy seasons and "red-letter days," as svečarske pjesme sung on the Slava celebration of some svetac (saint). To the same grouping belong Christmas poems hailing the glory of the Christ, and depicting the customs of that season (koledo). Saints, such as

Sts. John, George, Peter, and others, have their own eulogies. There are besides poems exalting the Holy Ghost (kraljičke pjesme). Dodole, which originated from old customs of heathenism, are sung during the summer droughts. Others are reapers' songs, mostly sung at prelo time (social gatherings). There are poems that are connected neither with marriage, nor death, nor harvests, but which treat of mythological or religious subjects; they are called pobožne, describing the spiritual virtues of the Virgin, or the Christ, or the apostles. Here are also to be found humoristic and satirical compositions, directed against women, or especially against monks, widows, and old bachelors. They are as a rule sprightly songs and piquant, pleasant and witty.

Critics who have written of the Serbian national songs declare that they are characterized by extreme delicacy both of feeling and workmanship, and that they are noble in their childlike purity, simple treatment of, and sympathy with, every phase of natural human experience. But these Serbian songs have quite a peculiar character of their own. They are directly, passionately, fiercely human, and rich with poetic sympathy. Love, glory, sorrow, death—are the themes constantly handled in a thousand weird and poetic phrases. There is a strong Indian flavor of the joy of rest in Mother Earth; and again, a keen thirst for the fight which smacks of the men who lived with Moslems around them. Although these chants occasionally recall something of the martial lilt of old Spanish ballads, they have an individual original turn which cannot be compared with any extant popular poetry. They have the uncanny mystery of the Celtic tales of love in death, which is very rare.

The love songs of the Jugoslav lands have a dreamy, calm and exalted sweetness that reminds us of the Alps and the Cevennes. Among these the Bosnian sevdalinke (love songs of Bosnia) are especially worthy of remark, for they are full of emotion, yearning and tender passion. The greater warmth of the songs of Herzegovina and Montenegro is owing more to the sonorous language than to any superiority in melody. Here are mostly to be found tužbalice. As to Dalmatia, Croatia and Slovenia, their melodies are chiefly marked by simplicity and a feeling for the domestic side of life. Bačka and Banat, blessed with much open air and sunshine, possess no love-songs in the strict sense of the term; but they have serenade and poskočice, although for these there is little or no original melody. To the light-minded and bright-witted singers of these provinces imagination is easier than memory.

A country very rich in melody is Serbia. Here one may find a truer and more intense musical feeling, a stronger love of the soil, and more sincere devotion to the beauty of nature, especially of spring and summer, than in any other part of Jugoslavia. The love songs of Serbia seem to have a special inspiration of their own. We may hear the shepherds singing in green pastures and among the fir-woods, or in the silence of the mountains. From the vineyards, from the fair and dances, and from the daily round of work the strains arise. Everywhere that youth is seen a poem is heard, and every occupation is accompanied by a song.

We cannot, however, leave this part of our subject without mentioning some of the burlesque poems, which the Jugoslavs possess in great number, partly narrative and partly lyric. The Americans are accustomed to think of the Jugoslavs and their kinsmen as grave and sombre, or, when their passions are excited, prone to deeds of tragic violence. Those who are better acquainted with them know full well that they are as loquacious and sarcastically sportive in their social gatherings as any nation, and many of their verses are redolent of these qualities. They display all the gradations of the comic, from the diverting simplicity of the innocent confession of an enamoured girl, together with the ludicrous situation and disappointed vanity of her cheated lover, up to a strain of bitter satire and merciless irony. Poems marked by that simplicity which borders between the touching and the humorous are also represented in this volume. Such is the song, "Trouble with the Husband":

The western world has already heard of the rich mine of Jugoslav folk-literature. Nevertheless, comparatively speaking, only a very small number have been translated into English. The extreme simplicity of these verses, the peculiar character of the Serbian language, with its melodiously protracted words, its pompously sonorous sounds, and its harmonious diffuseness, all render it exceedingly difficult to translate Serbian lyrics without encountering the danger of making constant additions; especially when rendering it into a language with so many monosyllabic words, and so philosophically condensed, as the English.

Milivoy Stanoyevich.

New York, 1920.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I

THE CURSE[1]

II

FAREWELL[3]

III

THE VIOLET[4]

IV

SMILIA[5]

V

HARVEST SONG

VI

MAIDEN'S PRAYER

VII

KISSES

VIII

HARVEST SONG

IX

CURSE

X

SALUTATION OF THE MORNING STAR

XI

THE KNITTER

XII

ROYAL CONVERSE

XIII

ROSA

XIV

THE MAIDEN AND THE SUN

XV

THE MAIDEN'S WISH

XVI

THE FALCON

XVII

DEER AND VILA

XVIII

VIRGIN AND WIDOW

XIX

NIGHTINGALES

XX

THE RING

XXI

THE FRATRICIDE

XXII

LOVE

XXIII

MAPLE TREE

XXIV

SEMENDRIAN BEAUTY

XXV

SELF-ADMIRATION

XXVI

ASSIGNATION

XXVII

FOOLISH VOW

XXVIII

VILAS

XXIX

LEPOTA[18]

XXX

IMPRECATIONS

XXXI

SECRETS DIVULGED

XXXII

WISHES

XXXIII

LOVER ASLEEP

XXXIV

EARLY SORROWS

XXXV

THE YOUNG SHEPHERDS

XXXVI

THOUGHTS OF A MOTHER

XXXVII

COUNSEL

XXXVIII

DESOLATION

XXXIX

APPREHENSION

XL

MILICA

XLI

THE CHOICE

XLII

FOR WHOM?

XLIII

LIBERTY

XLIV

THE DANCE

XLV

ELEGY

XLVI

INQUIRY

XLVII

DOUBT

XLVIII

THE SULTANESS

XLIX

BETROTHING

L

CAUTIONS

LI

MAIDEN'S CARES

LII

MOHAMMEDAN SONG

LIII

MINE EVERYWHERE

LIV

MAID AWAKING

LV

MOTHER'S LOVE

LVI

THE GREYBEARD

LVII

MOHAMMEDAN TALE

LVIII

LOVE'S DIFFICULTIES

LIX

WITCHES

LX

PLEDGES

LXI

COMPLAINT

LXII

SONG

LXIII

MOHAMMEDAN SONG

LXIV

BROTHERLESS SISTERS

LXV

MISFORTUNES

LXVI

TIMIDITY

LXVII

YOUTH ENAMOURED

LXVIII

BLACK EYES AND BLUE

LXIX

THE WIDOW

LXX

ALARMS

LXXI

FOND WIFE

LXXII

UNHAPPY BRIDE

LXXIII

LAST PETITION

LXXIV

LOVE FOR A BROTHER

LXXV

REBUKE

LXXVI

MAN'S FAITH

LXXVII

MAIDEN'S AFFECTION

LXXVIII

MARRIAGE SONGS

The Marriage Leader:

The approaching bridegroom:

Parting of the bride:

Departure of the wedding guests:

To the bride, when the marriage hood is first put on:

At the marriage:

LXXIX

HEROES SERVE

LXXX

YOUTH AND AGE

LXXXI

CHOICE

LXXXII

ANXIETY

LXXXIII

INQUIRY

LXXXIV

FROZEN HEART

LXXXV

UNION IN DEATH

LXXXVI

LOVE AND SLEEP[30]

LXXXVII

LOVE CONFERS NOBILITY

LXXXVIII

A SOUL'S SWEETNESS

LXXXIX

REMINISCENCES

XC

SLEEP AND DEATH

XCI

IMPERFECTION

XCII

EMANCIPATION

XCIII

PLUCKING A FLOWER

XCIV

A WISH

XCV

A SERBIAN BEAUTY

XCVI

SLEEPLESSNESS

XCVII

A MESSAGE

XCVIII

TRANSPLANTING A FLOWER

XCIX

ISOLATION

C

FATIMA AND MEHMED

CI

MORAVA HORSES[32]

CII

THE GIRL AND THE GRASS

CIII

THE SUN AND THE GIRL

CIV

CURSE AND BLESSING

CV

THE NICEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD

CVI

THE PRETTY TOMB

CVII

TODA AND HER FATE

CVIII

THE VILA

CIX

THREE ROSES

CX

HER DREAM

CXI

TROUBLE WITH THE HUSBAND

CXII

THE PEACOCK AND THE NIGHTINGALE

CXIII

THE FIRST TOAST

CXIV

THE HODŽA[33]

CXV

WOES

CXVI

HARD TO BELIEVE

CXVII

THE CONDITIONS

CXVIII

PRAYER BEFORE GOING TO BED

CXIX

VISION BEFORE SLEEP

CXX

PRAYER IN THE FIELD

CXXI

A CHILD IN HEAVEN

CXXII

CHRISTMAS

CXXIII

CHRIST THINKS OF HIS MOTHER

CXXIV

THE BLESSED MARY AND JOHN THE BAPTIST

CXXV

THE HOLY MOTHER

CXXVI

DREAM OF THE HOLY VIRGIN

CXXVII

MOTHER AT THE TOMB OF HER SON

CXXVIII

MOTHER OVER HER DEAD SON

CXXIX

MOTHER'S LAMENT FOR HER SON

CXXX

GREATEST GRIEF FOR A BROTHER

CXXXI

THE DEATH CHAMBER OF HER FATHER-IN-LAW

CXXXII

KOLEDO

CXXXIII

A HORSE'S COMPLAINT

CXXXIV

A DANCE AT VIDIN

CXXXV

THE PRICE

CXXXVI

PREFERENCES

CXXXVII

A BRIDE'S DEVOTION

CXXXVIII

FIDELITY

CXXXIX

A SISTER'S LAMENT

CXL

THE PRAYER OF KARAGEORGE'S LADY[38]

CXLI

THOU ART EVER, EVER MINE[40]

CXLII

SEA MERCHANT[41]

CXLIII

ANGELA AS WATCHMAN[42]

CXLIV

A LAD AND HIS BETROTHED[43]

CXLV

DIREFUL SICKNESS[44]

CXLVI

ALL AS IT SHOULD BE[45]

CXLVII

BEAUTY PREENS HERSELF[46]

CXLVIII

HARVEST SONG[47]

CXLIX

LONG NIGHT[48]

CL

EYEBROW LURE[49]

CLI

GIRLHOOD[50]

CLII

YOUTH WITH YOUTH[51]

CLIII

COME, MY LOVER, TO ME[52]

CLIV

SIGHS[53]

CLV

A BOUQUET OF LITTLE ROSES[54]

CLVI

DREAM INTERPRETATION[55]

CLVII

WITH SWEETHEART NIGHTS ARE SHORTEST[56]

CLVIII

DAWN AWAKENED LAZAR[57]

CLIX

A DEVILISH YOUNG MATRON[58]

CLX

GIRL IS ETERNAL POSSESSION[59]

CLXI

JOVO AND MARIA[60]

CLXII

ROSE TREE[61]

CLXIII

DARLING'S WRATH[62]

CLXIV

LAD PIERCED WITH ARROW[63]

CLXV

NOUGHT BUT KISSES[64]

CLXVI

UNITED[65]

CLXVII

GIRL PLEADS WITH JEWELLER[66]

CLXVIII

WIFE DEARER THAN SISTER[67]

CLXIX

GREATEST SORROW[68]

CLXX

YOUTH AND GIRL[69]

NOTES

[1] This song as also those signed "S. J. B." has been transversified and published by (Sir) John Bowring, "Servian Popular Poetry," London, 1827.

[2] The Serbian peasants, especially women, firmly believe that saints, parents, rulers, bishops and clergymen have the privilege of cursing and that the person to whom the curse is addressed is bound to undergo the consequences pronounced by the curser. There are several instances in the Serbian heroic ballads by which it is proven that the national Serbian bards, and indeed all the peasants who participated in the composition of their epic poetry, believe that curses pronounced by privileged persons always come true. Thus in the ballad Uros and Mrnjavcevici King Vukasin of Macedonia, angry with his son Marko Kralyevich because the latter, when chosen for arbiter, said that the imperial crown belonged to Carevic Uros and not to him (Vukasin), exclaimed:

"O son Marko, may God smother thee! Mayest thou have no tomb, nor progeny May thy soul not leave thy body Before thou hast served the Turkish emperor!"

While Marko's kingly father cursed him, Carevic Uros blesses him thus:

"O my Kum Marko, God second thee! Thy face shine at divan Thy sabre smother in duels! May no one excel thee in heroism Thy name be reverently remembered. As long as Sun and Moon shine!"

And the bard finishes his poem with, "Whatever they said, it came true."

Another oral tradition tells us how a nobleman Velimir Bogati (Velimir the Rich) who once refused hospitality to Knez Lazar, the emperor of Serbia (1389), was cursed by the noble prince and how Velimir's first son indeed drowned himself in the river Lepenica, his second son fell from his horse and died in consequence of the accident and how his third, and now only son, was imprisoned by his father in one of the remotest towers of his castle in order to avoid any danger of experiencing the prince's curse. One day, however, Velimir Bogati brought to his imprisoned son some grapes from his own vineyard, in order that the poor young fellow should at least know what time of the year it was, and lo! while the boy was eating the grapes a small viper jumped out of the bunch and mortally bit him. The news of the sudden death of the young nobleman spread rapidly amongst the neighboring villages and fortified the peasants in their belief that one cannot escape the curse.

Par extension a kletva (curse) can be effective even if pronounced, as in the above song, by other persons than those privileged.

Another saga narrates how a peasant greedily coveted and wished to appropriate a corn field that belonged to his neighbour and, in order to attain his evil end, he buried in the middle of that field his only son whom he had previously taught what to say when interrogated. The judge and the plaintiffs came with the defender to the spot and the mischievous peasant in order to mystify those present, exclaimed: "O black earth, speak of thy own free will, to whom dost thou rightly belong?"

"I belong to thee," the voice from below was heard.

The lawful owner, hearing this, started aback. And the judge's verdict appointed the field to belong to the covetous and wrong claimant. And the parties dispersed in wonder.

Then the father began to dig the ground in order to disinter his son. But—there was not the shadow of one! He called loudly and the child answered the call but the voice from beneath the earth was ever fainter and fainter. Finally the child turned to a mole.

Thus became, according to Serbian tradition, the first mole. (Edit.)

[3] Sir John Bowring, although a remarkable transversifier and at times a true interpreter of popular songs of the Slavs, has taken too much of that licentia poetica in his rendering of this, one of the most beautiful lyrics ever composed by Serbian peasant women. The reader may judge for himself, when comparing Sir John Bowring's liberal transversification with the following verbatim translation (which he, himself, felt absolutely indispensable to reproduce) what a great injustice is inflicted upon the popular songs of any people by even the most conscientious transversifier and how infinitely less untrue to the original a rendering can be. (Edit.)

Of this little poem, which Goethe calls "wonderful," the following is an almost literal translation:

Full of wine, white branches of the vine-trees To white Buda's fortress white had clung them: No! it was no vine-tree, white and pregnant! No! it was a pair of faithful lovers, From their early youth betrothed together. Now they are compell'd to part untimely. One address'd the other at their parting, "Go! my soul! burst out and leave my bosom! Thou wilt find a hedge-surrounded garden, And a red-rose branch within the garden; Pluck a rose from off the branch, and place it, Place it on thy heart, within thy bosom; Then behold!—ev'n as that rose is fading, Fades my heart within thy heart thou loved one!" And thus answer'd then the other lover: "Thou, my soul! turn back a few short paces. There thou wilt discern a verdant forest; In it is a fount of crystal water; In the fount there is a block of marble; On the marble block a golden goblet; In the goblet thou wilt find a snow-ball. Love! take out that snow-ball from the goblet, Lay it on thy heart within thy bosom; See it melt—and as it melts, my lov'd one! So my heart within thy heart is melting." (S. J. B.)

[4] This song has obviously been composed by a Serbian woman of Mohammedan faith. A large percentage of Serbians in Bosnia, Hercegovina and even Macedonia are still adhering to the Koran. Ali Bey surely must have been a Serbian bey. (Edit.)

[5] Smilia, the grapharium arenarium, or "lovely love." Also a woman's name. (S. J. B.)

[6] This song is sung at the close of the harvest, when all the reapers are gathered together. Half as many reeds as the number of persons present are so bound that no one can distinguish the two ends which belong to the same reed. Each man takes one end of the reeds on one side, each of the women takes one end at the other. The withes that bind the reeds are severed, and the couples that hold the same reed kiss one another. (S. J. B.)

[7] Kalpak, the fur cap of the Serbians. (S. J. B.)

[8] This is one of the songs sung at the breaking up of the company, addressed to the giver of the festival. (S. J. B.)