Ukrainian Folk Ballad
Performed by: Kateryna Artemenko, artist of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater
“Oh, will you, my dear, long for me
when I go away to serve in the army?”
When her beloved rode beyond the new gates,
the girl could neither sleep nor work.
When her beloved rode past the green willows,
tears began to flow from her eyes.
When her beloved rode across the yellow sands,
he turned to look back — his brother ran after him on foot.
“Oh, come back, brother — our father is dying!”
“I won’t return, I’ll be too late — may God receive him.”
“Oh, come back, brother — your sweetheart is dying!”
“I’ll ride hard, I’ll drive my horse to reach her alive!”
When the beloved reached his village,
painters and carpenters were building a coffin.
“Make it wide, make it deep —
she will lie within, and I shall lie beside her.”
“Oh, don’t weep, my dear, I’m not dying —
it’s just that love for you has driven me mad.
