Raca Plava translated literally means "blue duck." The lyrics are peculiar when translated from Croatian. The song is about a man who is in love with a woman who steps off a boat. He recognizes her by her distinctive walk and wants to marry her. The refrain is "this year the roses will bloom."
The link to the song provides Croatian lyrics with a German translation.
Raca Plava is very popular in folk dance circles. I know of two variations: Video #1 is the version taught by Yves Moreau and the one that our dance group uses.
Video#2 is a simplified variation performed by the Tanzgruppe Baeckerstrasse, from Vienna, Austria. Like the Israeli Dunav group, they have many folk dance videos posted on YouTube. Most of them were posted in the early 2000's. The group used to have a web site; but they may have disbanded since I can no longer find it.
Video #3 is a funky version of Raca Plava. The kids in the foreground dance it freestyle, along with the singers.
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Khalil Gibran
Today's post features dance songs from Croatia and Romania that are named after rivers.
Raka Plava po Dravi from Croatia is a very strange song. The title translates to Duck Swimming in the Drava. The lyrics are rather strange, because the duck has a hat on its head, and the refrain is "this year the roses will bloom." The woman recognizes her beloved as he walks off a ship (he supposedly has a distinctive walk), and she wants to marry him.. The lyrics are really random, and there was no English translation (although I was able translate from German).
By the way, the Drava is a tributary of the Danube, River of Many Names, which has written about extensively on this blog (see the links to other posts). The Drava flows from the west, through Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
Here's Raca Plava taught by Yves Moreau. He is a well-known teacher, primarily of dances from Bulgaria. He leads workshops all over the world; this one was held in Israel.
In the "village" of Vienna, Austria, they dance Raca Plava a little differently. At dance we have a saying, "he or she is "from a different village" when someone visits one of our dances and does a different variation. Choreography is not a static entity. Remember the game "telephone" you may have played as a child? Dance works the same way.
The next dance song is about a river in Romania Siriul din Buzau. This is another love song, a bit more romantic than the one from Croatia, with beautiful imagery (you can find the English translation here). The music sounds like flowing water.
This group is from the United States.
If you enjoyed this you may also like:
The River of Many Names (all the links are accessible from part seven); a pan-Balkan series with Danube songs from different countries.
Beli Dunav (parts one, two and three) Danube Songs from Bulgaria
A great resource for dance songs and translations is the Songbook for Nearsighted People. The Songbook features lyrics from many different countries (especially the Balkans) in the original languages (transliterated for Bulgarian and Macedonian). Most of the songs are translated into German and English.
You can view the publication in its entirety or each song as a single page. The font is large, perfect for those who are visually challenged :)
Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture. Anthony Burgess
Have you ever wondered about what some of those folk songs mean? Before the Internet it was almost impossible to get translations of Balkan folk songs. Now they are relatively easy to find if you know where to look.
Today's post features two songs from Croatia with humorous lyrics. After I read the translations, I wondered if Croatia is a fantasyland full of crazy people and anthropomorphic creatures. From what I've seen of it in pictures, it looks nothing like Disney World. Croatia does, however, have some amazingly beautiful scenery, and it's a place I'd definitely like to visit. I've been to Disney World too many times, anyway.
The first song is Raca Plava, and the group in the video is a "bonding folk dance class" from China. They seem to take their dancing quite seriously; you can hear the teacher call the steps while the music plays.
Click this link for the lyrics in English translation. If you've ever seen a duck swimming with a basket on its head you have probably had a bit too much to drink or spent too much time in Alice's Wonderland. According to the lyrics, the man is in love with a woman who has a distinctive walk. Maybe she walks like a duck. The song as a whole is rather strange.
The next song Sukacica, (dance: Sukacko Kolo)is another excursion into surreality. This time it's a kitchen disaster, complete with burnt food, poultry with singed feathers, and roasted chickens with water running out of them (somebody tried to put out the fire). The cook and the rest of them danced all night despite the mishaps. They had a jolly old time. You can read the lyrics in Croatian, German and English here:
By the way, the Songbook For Nearsighted People is an excellent source of lyrics with songs from the Balkans and beyond. Most of the songs are translated into German and English. It's definitely worth a look.
Sukacko Kolo can be done in a circle (kolo is Croatian for circle) or as a couple dance. This group is from Belgium, and they use the "double kolo" method: two circles.
If you love Balkan music and dance you have come to the right place! The Alien Diaries began in February 2010 and is updated at least twice a month.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of my cat Fatso (see avatar), who passed away on April 9, 2011 from congestive heart failure. He was the inspiration for several of my early posts.
Don't forget to check out my second blog, Light and Shadow, for some humor, satire, photos and poetry!
