Песна 1518
Пуста била мамо Америка
Pusta bila mamo Amerika · America Was Desolate, Mother
English: machine translation, not checked by a native speaker
| Пуста била мамо Америка, | Pusta bila mamo Amerika, | America was desolate, mother, |
| Америка, земја печалбарска. | Amerika, zemja pečalbarska. | America, a land of migrant labor. |
| Кој отиде мамо, не се врати, | Koj otide mamo, ne se vrati, | Whoever went, mother, did not return, |
| кој се врати, мамо, се сакати. | koj se vrati, mamo, se sakati. | whoever returned, mother, came back crippled. |
| Кој без рака, мамо, кој без нога, | Koj bez raka, mamo, koj bez noga, | Some without an arm, mother, some without a leg, |
| мојто либе мамо и без глава. | mojto libe mamo i bez glava. | my sweetheart, mother, even without a head. |
| Пуста била, мамо, Америка! | Pusta bila, mamo, Amerika! | Desolate was America, mother! |
Translator's notes
Traditional emigration song. 'Пуста била' is rendered 'was desolate' (the 'била' is a reported-past form, roughly 'it turned out to be').
Listen
Performers on Pesna.org: Благој Петров - Караѓуле, Никола Бадев
Audio samples on Pesna.org
Lyrics: Pesna.org (folk lyrics in the public domain; site content CC BY). View on Pesna.org