[Cz-L] Gloomy and other sad Sundays

In the pre-war Europe many people must have sensed that something bad
is about to happen, and another sad "Sunday" tango competed in
popularity with the Rezső Seress' "Gloomy Sunday". Written in the same
year (1933), Jerzy Petersburski's poignant "The Last Sunday" was
translated into several languages and admired in many countries.

Here it is with the original Polish lyrics by Zenon Friedwald
("Ostatnia niedziela") performed by Mieczysław Fogg -
http://youtu.be/N-hg58QQmdc

Translated into Hebrew by Israel Biderman and performed by Ben Lewi
(better known as Adam Aston). The Hebrew title is "ha-Shabat
ha-aharoni" (The Last Shabbat) - http://youtu.be/5ha92yBAB-c

The Yiddish version ("Letstikn shabes", translation by Avishai Fisz)
is performed by Olga Mieleszczuk and Mendy Cahan -
http://youtu.be/weC8aGkiU4s

The Russian version (lyrics by Iosif Alvek) is a perennial hit until
this day, here is the first recording by Pavel Mikhailov (1937) -
http://youtu.be/8cTLRYTVvl8

To bring this story closer to the scope of this list, we can recall
that two great Bukovinian poets used the trope of a tango foreboding a
war and destruction in their most famous poems. The first version of
Celan's "Todesfuge" was titled "Todestango", and the first
publication (in Romanian translation by Petre Solomon) is "Tangoul
Mortii".

Dan Pagis, who was born in Radautz in 1930 and spent the war years in
a Transnistrian ghetto, started his, perhaps most important collection
of poems "Sealed Railcar" with a poem "Eropa, me'uhar" ("Europe,
late"). Here it is in the original and English translation by Stephen
Mitchell:

 אירופה, מאוחר

בשמים פורחים כנורות
ומגבעת של קש. סלחי לי, מה השנה?
שלושים ותשע וחצי, בערך, עוד מֻקדם מֻקדם,
אפשר לסגור את הרדיו,
נא להכיר: זאת רוח הים, הרוח החיה של הַטַּיֶּלֶת,
שובבה להפליא,
מסחררת שמלות פעמון, טופחת
על פני עתונים מודאגים: טנגו! טנגו!
וגן העיר מתנגן לו,
    אני נושק ידך, מדאם,
    ידך העדינה כמו
    כְּסָיַת העור הלבנה,
    הכל יבוא על מקומו
    בחלום,
    אל תדאגי כל כך, מדאם,
    כאן לעולם זה לא יקרה,
    את עוד תראי,
       כאן לעולם


Europe, Late

Violins float in the sky,
and a straw hat. I beg your pardon,
what year is it?
Thirty-nine and a half, still awfully early,
you can turn off the radio.
I would like to introduce you to:
the sea breeze, the life of the party,
terribly mischievous,
whirling in a bell-skirt, slapping down
the worried newspapers: Tango! Tango!
And the park hums to itself:
   I kiss your dainty hand, madame,
   your hand as soft and elegant
   as a white suede glove. You'll see, madame,
   that everything will be all right,
   just heavenly - you wait and see.
   No it could never happen here,
   don't worry so - you'll see - it could

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Received on 2014-08-25 14:14:29