Shchedryk (Щедрик) - Mitya Kuznetsov

Ukrainian lyrics: Щедрик щедрик, щедрiвочка, прилeтiла ластiвочка, стала собi щебетати, господаря викликати: “Вийди, вийди, господарю, подивися на кошару, там овечки покотились, а ягнички народились. В тебе товар весь хороший, будеш мати мiрку грошей, В тебе товар весь хороший, будеш мати мiрку грошей, хоч не грошей, то полова: в тебе жiнка чорноброва.“ Щедрик щедрик, щедрiвочка, прилeтiла ластiвочка. Transliteration: Shchedryk shchedryk, shchedrivochka, pryletila lastivochka, stala sobi shchebetaty, gospodarya vyklykaty: “Vyydy, vyydy, gospodaryu, podyvysya na kosharu, tam ovechky pokotylys’, a yagnychky narodylys’. V tebe tovar ves’ khoroshyy, budesh’ maty mirku groshey, V tebe tovar ves’ khoroshyy, budesh’ maty mirku groshey, khoch ne groshey, to polova: v tebe zhinka chornobrova.“ Shchedryk shchedryk, shchedrivochka, pryletila lastivochka. English translation: Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka [diminutive of shchedryk]; A little swallow flew [into the house] and started to twitter, to summon the master: “Come out, come out, O master [of the household], look at the sheep pen, there the ewes are nestling and the lambkins have been born Your goods [livestock] are great, you will have a lot of money, [by selling them] if not money, then chaff: [from all the grain you will harvest] you have a dark-eyebrowed [beautiful] wife.“ Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka, A little swallow flew. /Wikipedia used as a source/ The paintings shown are works of the Russian-Ukrainian painter Vladimir (Volodymyr) Orlovsky (Ukrainian: Володимир Орловський) (1842 -- 1914). As the lyrics show the song is dedicated to the spring and the rebirth of life and hope. Apparently this is a very old motif originating in Pre-Christian times when the heathen Slavs worshipped gods like Perun, Veles, Lada, Dazh(d)bog etc. Indeed Shchedryk is a New Year’s song but the Slavic tribes celebrated the new year in April - the time when the swallows migrated (and still do) to the latitudes of Eastern Europe. Strange as it may seem but the same motif has been preserved almost unchanged in the Bulgarian folklore. A strikingly similar picture is described in the Bulgarian song “Prehvrukna ptichka“ (“A little bird flew“).