Песна 330
Песна за Скопје
Pesna za Skopje · Song for Skopje
About this song
A modern song written as a folk lament after the 1963 earthquake that destroyed Skopje. The Vardar ran muddy with tears; one sorrowful morning the earth shook and took the child, Skopje, from the mother's lap. Macedonia lives and will bear a new Skopje. There is a second song with the same title under #131.
Notes written for this site, partly drafted with an AI assistant. These notes are a draft and have not been checked by a native speaker.
English: machine translation, not checked by a native speaker
| Матен Вардар течеше | Maten Vardar tečeše | The Vardar flowed muddy, |
| матиле го солзите | matile go solzite | tears had clouded it, |
| плаче Македонија | plače Makedonija | Macedonia weeps, |
| деца кој ги зема. | deca koj gi zema. | who took her children. |
| С' векови сум патила | S' vekovi sum patila | For centuries I have suffered, |
| ропски живот водела | ropski život vodela | I led a slave's life, |
| на крило од Вардарот | na krilo od Vardarot | on the wing of the Vardar |
| златно Скопје створила. | zlatno Skopje stvorila. | I created golden Skopje. |
| Едно утро жалосно | Edno utro žalosno | One sorrowful morning |
| земјата се затресе | zemjata se zatrese | the earth shook |
| и од скутот мајчин | i od skutot majčin | and from the mother's lap |
| чедо Скопје однесе. | čedo Skopje odnese. | it carried off the child Skopje. |
| Не плачи сестро Србијо, | Ne plači sestro Srbijo, | Do not weep, sister Serbia, |
| ни вие други сестрички | ni vie drugi sestrički | nor you other little sisters, |
| живее Македонија | živee Makedonija | Macedonia lives, |
| ново Скопје ќе роди, | novo Skopje ḱe rodi, | she will give birth to a new Skopje, |
| мајка Македонија | majka Makedonija | mother Macedonia |
| лично чедо ќе роди. | lično čedo ḱe rodi. | will give birth to a beautiful child. |
Translator's notes
Origin unclear; it clearly refers to the 1963 Skopje earthquake. The third line, 'деца кој ги зема', is my reading: 'who took the children'.
Listen
Performers on Pesna.org: Сестрите Мавровски
Audio samples on Pesna.org
Lyrics: Pesna.org (folk lyrics in the public domain; site content CC BY). View on Pesna.org