Lyrics of album GladMesh

My Hungarian World

I was born in the city of Debrecen in Hungary, and as a little girl I was whirled and fascinated by the intensity of the enchanting world of Hungarian folk music. In addition to my family circles where music has been present all the time I began to deal with Hungarian folk songs seriously with Sáriné Szebenyi Judit, my dear teacher. My “love for folk music” evolved to a culmination at the Folk Music Department of the Hungarian Music Academy, where I was a student of Vakler Anna, and I graduated in 2012 as a folk performer and teacher. In this chapter you can listen to a beautiful choice of entrancing melodies from four different Hungarian speaking regions: the Great Plains of Hungary, Transdanubia, Moldova and Transylvania.

1. Invoking

Nursery rhymes from the Hungarian Great Plains

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal,

Boros Gerzson Dávid: jew’s harp

1

I have a wonderbag

With all my treasures inside

My ball, my swing, my trundling hoop

Red roses and violets

Apples and all kinds of nuts

You are the one who has to find us all!

2

Rainbow stretches up in the sky

Far too far for my stetching hands

But if I bring a ladder I can reach

The rainbow there.

2. Rain falls bubbling

Folk songs from the Transdanubian region of Hungary

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

Berta Alexandra: vocal, zither

Barvich Iván: harmonizing-tambura

Boros Gerzson Dávid: jew’s harp

1.

In my sweetheart’s garden there is a great cedar tree

A beautiful blood bay horse is tied to that tree

This horse has a ribbon for his bridle and a golden bite

My little angel, this is your horse

Short tailed swallow, pretty swarthy bride

How come you arrived here to this strange land

I couldn’t have made this trip on foot, a steam carriage has brought me here

As I have been lured by my sweetheart’s beautiful eyes.

2.

There is a mill on the bank of River Danube

To grind all the grief around, ejeha!

I have some grief in my heart

I’ll take it there to be ground to dust, ejeha!

Rain falls bubbling

The cock’s crowing, ejeha!

This cock is not a good cock

Crowing for midnight at the blush of the dawn, ejeha!

3.

In the middle of the village of Ürög,

There was a lass with bulging eyes,

Her eyeballs were popping out of their sockets

Like the eyes of a yeaning ewe.

Straight is the street of Ürög village,

You can’t find any good-looking lads there,

’Cause all the ones around are crooked fellows,

With gaping mouths.

Come on darling come this way, there is no mud around here,

And on my door I have no lock, but you’ll easily find there,

A golden handle to the lair,

And roses growing everywhere.

Around both windows and the door

That opens up

Though untouched by

Anything but a single sigh

Of some affectionate words

From the lips of my valentine.

4.

Put it down, take it up, strike it to the ground,

But then don’t throw it to the ground,

Ajnanana….

Cast some figures so unusually flashy,

That your heels would throw out sparks,

Ajnanana….

3. Love Songs from Bihar

Folk songs from Bihar County, Hungary

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

Berta Alexandra: zither

Barvich Iván és Boros Gerzson Dávid: vocal

1.

The birds of the sky neither plough nor sow,

Yet they can live off the fields and the meadows,

I myself till the soil not and neither sow at all,

Yet I manage to get by among you all.

This bird of song won’t sing at all,

As her woeful heart aches,

She will sing a song someday,

About the curse I take.

2.

Last week I was strolling around your place darling,

In front of your house white mallows were blooming,

The flowers of the mallow have all fallen to the earth,

My sweetheart lives his life with someone else.

My dear sweetheart if you come around our place please pop in,

There is a bench in front of our house, please dare to sit down,

Buti f you do sit down, be careful not to fall down,

You were my lover but I don’t need you anymore.

3.

A street at Bakonszeg,

Full, full of tea roses,

Dismount, hussar, dismount your horse,

And please pick a flower from here.

Nay I won’t dismount,

I need no tea roses,

I won’t be yours,

and you, darling could never be mine.

4.

Homeward, homeward, homeward now,

Because it’s red daybreak now,

So sweet is the red blush of the dawn,

But I can kiss you only by night and not now.

Why couldn’t I have been created to be a straw of wheat,

’Cause this way I could be cut down at the time of the harvest,

I know that my lover doesn’t want me anymore,

We are against each other.

4. Take that away, swallow

Music strains from Moldova

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal, koboz

Berta Alexandra: vocal, zither

Barvich Iván: kaval, whistle

Boros Gerzson Dávid: jew’s harp

1.

Green forest, green parsley,

Love runs cold in your heart, darling.

It’s not only cold but it has disappeared from your heart,

Planting grief into my merry heart.

In front of my gate runs the River Tisza,

In the middle of the water there is a weeping willow.

The wind blows among the leaves,

I’ve been waiting for my sweetheart’s letter for a long time.

Take that away, swallow, take my letter to her,

And console my grieving heart.

Take that away, swallow, take my letter to her,

And console my grieving heart.

5. If I go up …

Folk song from Magyarszovát, Transylvania

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

If I go up to that high mountain,

I will look up at the great sky of the stars,

Oh, starlit sky where could be my homeland?

Where is my grieving mother who painfully cries for me?

How I wish to be a tree in the forest,

Not any tree but an oak,

Because the oak burns with blue flames and without smoke,

My heart is never without grief.

How I wish to be a star in the sky,

Not any star but the one that consorts the Morning Star,

Before midnight I could compass the sky,

To discover who my sweetheart loves.

My Turkish World

Turkey has also become my home. I have had decisive encounters with this marvellous other world in several fields: language, music and most of all – human relations. The following tunes exemplify that there is a close relationship between the oldest layers of our Hungarian folk culture and that of the Turkish folk songs. Evidence of this fact was first prooved by Bartok Béla in his collection in 1936, and his research was continued by my mentor Sipos János ethnomusicologist. In this chapter you can listen to melodies from his collections. Nevertheless we have tried to weave them with Hungarian folk songs in a playful way.

6. Bridgemaster

Turkish folk song

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal, saz

Barvich Iván: kaval

Boros Gerzson Dávid: darbuka

Poplar creeking in the wind,

Nay it is poplar, they are fellers of the woods.

Are you at home, bridgemaster?

At home am I, but I’ve just arrived.

Let me go across your bridge!

Nay, I can’t let you come, ’cause the bridge will fall down!

If it falls down, we’ll grapple that!

How could you grapple this bridge?

With beads of rings and beading dew!

With beads of rings and beading dew!

How could you grapple this bridge?

With beads of rings and beading dew!

Where could you find the beads of rings?

God would give me some from his right hand!

7. A Jar of Apples

Strains from Hungarian and Turkish nursery rhymes

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal, saz

Barvich Iván: kaval

Boros Gerzson Dávid: darbuka, tambourine

1.

A jar full of apples,

Two jars full of apples,

Three jars full of apples,

Four jars full of apples,

Five jars full of apples,

Six jars full of apples,

Seven jars full of apples,

Eight jars full of apples,

Nine jars full of apples,

Ten jars full of apples,

Ten, ten, clear water,

If it is not clean, take it back,

There’s a donkey to drink it!

2.

Grinding, grinding poppy seeds,

Baking you a sweet yeast-leavened bread,

Reeling really reeling round,

I’ll give it to you, Johnny.

3.

Grinding, grinding poppy seeds,

Baking you a sweet yeast-leavened bread,

Reeling really reeling round,

I’ll give it to you, Johnny.

4.

You get on your bike,

You get on your bike.

Halfway you get off,

Halfway you get off.

Ayşének has a little lamb,

Ayşének has a little lamb.

With a curling horn,

With a curling horn.

5.

Hurry home honey,

Look at the Sun: it’s late now,

One o’clock, two o’clock,

I’ll drive you home if you don’t come.

6.

Hurry home honey,

Look at the Sun: it’s late now,

One o’clock, two o’clock,

I’ll drive you home if you don’t come.

7.

I was walking outside the town hall,

I was walking outside the town hall,

With my open red umbrella,

With my open red umbrella.

8.

Water’s leaking, leaking,

Water’s leaking, leaking,

Among the pebbles

Among the pebbles.

Lean here, let me kiss,

Lean here, let me kiss,

That sweet place between your eyebrows,

That sweet place between your eyebrows.

9.

A stalk walks with a nestling,

Putting it down then taking it up again,

Go, go, go!

Now, it’s here, jump!

8. On all the Roads

Parallel strains from Hungarian and Turkish folk music

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal, saz

Barvich Iván: kaval

Boros Gerzson Dávid: darbuka, tambourine

1.

Mother you asked Allah for some relief,

Mother you asked Allah for some relief,

Providence helped you to give birth to me,

And to cultivate the land by the sweat of your work.

You swathed me in white linen, Mother,

Singing lullabies to soothe us,

When we were ill, you shed your tears inside,

When we were crying, you dried our eyes, Mother.

2.

I would keep a lover but I can’t choose one,

I’m a poor girl and I don’t know anyone,

I’d like to visit the Spinnery but my mother doesn’t let me go,

And if I am crying about it she doesn’t understand.

We’ve got a dangerous, cunning dog: so no one can come in,

I’m all alone here by the fireplace,

Only God knows what I will become this way,

All the other lads don’t know a thing about me.

3.

I have felled the alder tree,

It fell on the road,

These are my songs,

They are all about my love.

Listen to the sound of the rain,

It’s calling you to love me,

Each drop dripping on my window,

Makes me suffer more and more.

This is the rain that took you away,

Took you away from me,

Our love was washed away by the flood,

Of this pouring rain.

The rain will fall again,

And takes you away from me,

My sweetest dreams,

Are mingled in her dreams.

4.

The bike is flying fast,

Dust emerges behind the wheels,

Get married, lad,

Because your youth will soon fly away.

Aj-haj spinning,

Have I become a bride again?

Now, let’s go!

Send me some lokum,

That should be yours as well,

Wave me with your handkerchief.

Don’t clad in white, you might get cold,

What are you thinking about, my love?

Let’s pray to Allah to give me to you.

Aj-haj…

Lentils galore,

I’m measuring that, wiping some off the top,

Örü will be a bride,

Let her live happily!

Aj-haj…

On all the roads and all the streets,

I’ve been looking for you, darling,

Nevertheless, sweet rose, I could not find you at all,

Under all the windows I’ve been listening for your sweet voice,

While in the end, thank God, I could find you at last,

While in the end, thank God, I could find you at last.

9. My little blue one

Folk songs from Turkey

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal, saz

Barvich Iván: vocal, harmonizing tambura

Boros Gerzson Dávid: vocal, darbuka

1.

My road led me to foreign country,

My heart cries sadly,

There is longing between us,

My heart cries sadly,

My heart cries sorowfully,

My heart cries destitutely.

2.

My blue one, my little blue one,

My blue one, my little blue one,

Let’s meet up in a quiet place somewhere, my blue one,

Let’s meet up in a quiet place somewhere, my blue one.

Oh Lord! I sacrifice myself for you!

Oh Lord! I sacrifice myself for you!

Please send him quickly, so that we find each other again, my blue one,

Please send him quickly, so that we find each other again, my blue one.

3.

Coachman, coachman!

I’m your passanger.

Coachman, coachman!

I’m your passanger.

Coachman go on! To where? To Pera!

Come on, come on, yallah, yallah,

Come on tıkır mıkır, yallah yallah!

Come on, come on, yallah, yallah,

Come on tıkır mıkır, yallah yallah!

My Moroccan World

Thanks to a couple of beautiful trips to Morocco and France the Moroccan bud seems to open in my heart at last. As I have had the opportunity to collect folk songs there, I could find sources that used to be inaccessible from my homeland. In the last chapter of my album I try to open this treasury. All these songs emphasize the importance of the proximity to God. It is a natural part of Moroccan culture. In this part you can hear traditional songs of the Berber people – or as they call themselves the Amazigh – and Arabic melodies as well.

10. Berber/Amazigh

Moroccan Berber folk song

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

Aouaaa, patience my heart!

Iua-ua, there is a name, a name of God

Iua-ua, my God, plant it in my heart until I fulfil my fate

Iua-ua, in my heart there is no place for those ones

Iua-ua, who don’t belong to me

Iua-ua, please heal this world, my Lord!

Iua-ua, patience my heart!

Iua-ua, it’s a celebration today,

Iua-ua, a great celebration where I can find my friends.

Iua-ua, patience my heart!

Iua-ua, here are my friends,

Iua-ua, the berbers are here, so now we don’t miss a thing!

11. In thy name

Moroccan Berber folk song to God

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

Barvich Iván: cello-tambura

Boros Gerzson Dávid: bendir

In thy name I start my poem, oh blessed God, please, be merciful with me!

You are the only one who can fulfil my desires without a mediator.

You give everything to those ones you want to and you give what you want

There is no one who is as mighty as you are.

So let my mouth speak about all the things that are happening round here

You should speak about the events accurately!

Talk about the past, about all the things that happened once

To inform those who haven’t heard about them!

God created the Earth, the lowland plains,

the rivers and the mountains too.

God created the sea, the sky and the water

The running animals and the flying birds.

God ordered the Sun to shine

The stars and the Moon to shine at night.

The one and only God made no mistakes at all.

12. Moroccan Espousal

Arabian and Berber wedding songs

Guessous Majda Mária: vocal

Barvich Iván: vocal, riq

Boros Gerzson Dávid: vocal, darbuka, bendir

1.

Oh, my God send your peace and greetings to Mohamed

and to Mustafa (the guided one)

Oh, my God send your peace and greetings to Mohamed

and to Mustafa (the guided one)

Oh, my God, oh, my God …

2.

Peace and greetings to God’s messenger, the Prophet clad in dignity!

The greatest honour is to God!

3.

Oh, my God send your blessing and peace to the Prophet,

The Arabian Prophet who is my master, Mohamed!

Oh, my God send your blessing and peace to the Prophet,

The Arabian Prophet who is my master, Mohamed!

The holy and mightiest name is the name I start my speech with,

Int he name of God I speak because he must know about our rejoice.

The bride is a beautiful flower, her bridal wreath is made of lilies-of-the-valley

The bridegroom must be very happy to say this woman is mine.

In the name of God I start my song this is the only way to kindness.

If we speak ’in the name of God’ it will scatter the sufferings

and defeats the soldiers of the Satan.

Oh, my God send your blessing and peace to the Prophet,

The Arabian Prophet who is my master, Mohamed!

Starting everything in the name of God will dismiss all your enemies

Bearing this in mind I begin my songs.

The bride is a beautiful flower, her bridal wreath is made of lilies-of-the-valley

The bridegroom must be very happy to say this woman is mine.

Let there be blessing on the traveller (Mohamed)

Let there be peace on the Messenger who interprets the words of God (Mohamed) Let there be peace on him while he’s writing down those words

Oh, my God send your blessing and peace to the Prophet,

The Arabian Prophet who is my master, Mohamed!

4.

Oh my God protect the one who gives us food

Let all the greed and jealosy avoid him!

Oh my God protect the one who gives us food

Let all the greed and jealosy avoid him!

Peace and greetings to God’s messenger, the Prophet clad in dignity!

The greatest honour is to God!

Oh my God protect…

Peace and greetings …

There are flowers on the top of the trees,

And a bridal wreath on the maiden’s head,

All the flowers are to fall down,

And this girl is to get married!

These folk songs were translated into English by BAJKÁN LÁSZLÓ

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