Мамо (Майданек)

Слова: Олександр Богачук або Василь Симоненко

Музика: Маруся (nee Юрків) Яроцька з "Тріо Конвалія"

Хто бачив Майданек, той бачив ті стіни,

Що слухали пісню одного хлопчини.

Він склав її просто, як серце складало,

Співав її просто як серце співало.

Приспів:

Мамо, чи чуєш ти мене, Мамо,

Мамо, я хочу до тебе прийти,

Мамо, я рвусь до тебе, Мамо.

Але не пускають колючі дроти.

Бараки, бараки, важкі домовини.

Націлили дула у пісню хлопчини.

Чи бачиш, чи чуєш, двайцятий мій віче,

Як спалена пісня, щовечора кличе.

Люди, чи чуєте мене, люди.

Люди, щасливо йдуть до мети.

Люди, єднайтесь у вогні, люди,

Щоб світ не скували колючі дроти.

Хто був цей хлопчина - Василько чи Янек.

Хай скаже нам попіл, цей сивий Майданек.

Ще й мить... ще секунда, і постріл лунає,

А хлопець вмираючи тихо співає...

Приспів

Варіянт

Як спалена пісня, щовечора кличе.
Неспалена пісня, щовечора кличе.

Majdanek (English Translation)

Переклад: Данило Сенторе

If you saw Majdanek, then you saw those walls

Which silently listened as a boy sang his song.

He wrote it exactly, as his heart wrote it,

He sang it exactly, as his heart sang it:

Chorus:

Momma, can you hear me cry to you, momma.

Momma, I want to come to you,

Momma, I'll break through to you, my momma.

Except that the barbed wire won't let me through.

The barracks, the barracks - our burdensome coffin.

They pointed a muzzle at the boy and his song.

Can you hear, can you see, my twentieth forum,

Where every evening he sings his burnt song:

People, please listen to me, people,

People, relieved to go to their fates.

People, unite despite the flames, people,

So the world doesn't herd us through barbed wire gates.

Who was that young boy - Vasylko or Yanek?

Let's ask the dry ashes of that grey Majdanek.

One moment... just a second, and a shot thunders loudly,

And the dying young boy, sings his song softly:

Chorus

Історія

It's unclear when (and if) Богачук wrote this poem. I suspect if he was the author that it would be found in his "Незабутнє" (1958) collection, but I've yet to be able to track down a copy to confirm. The song does have some vague resemblance to his poem "Крик Попелу" which is about the Majdanek camp.

There are at least 4 melodies for this poem:

Маруся (nee Юрків) Яроцька / Marusia (nee Jurkiw) Jarockyj. The most common version sung in the diaspora today. This version is not typically sung in Ukraine. The melody was written by Маруся Яроцька of the band "Тріо Конвалія" and was recorded on their 1973 album "Конвалія". Яроцька was originally from the UK when that song was written but has since moved to Australia where she is a member of СУМ Melbourne. Much of the history can be found in Юнак 1982-5 (ст 6). More info in the article Австралійські українці: пів на half чи half на пів. More info about Маруся in Новій Обрій Альманах ч11 1999 (ст 186-187). The original lyrics and sheet music can be found in Аванґард - Журнал Української Молоді - ч94 (1970р) (ст 119-120). Яроцька has said in the past that the lyrics were by Василь Симоненко, but this is inconsistent with the 3 other sources. We're diving in to find the source of the discrepancy and still looking for primary sources.
Василь Чинч. The most common version in Ukraine. ВІА Коломияни and the Toronto Kardash Choir sang this version.
Георгій Мірецький. The sheet music can be found in his collection Пісні Романси Том 4 (ст 31). There is also a synthesized version of this melody on pisni.org.ua (you need to make an account and log in to see it under "ЗАПИСИ, MP3, НОТИ").
Володимир Верменич. (Sheet music) sung by Хор Хлопчиків М. Львова "Дударик" on this LP. I have yet to see a digitized version of this album.

Словник

Двайцять - Двадцять. This is the correct historical Galician spelling+pronunciation. See Forgotten Galicia - "The Vanishing Galician Lexicon and How It Lingers in the Diaspora")

Виконання

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