Text & Translation
A csendes dalokból
Hungarian source:
János Arany
Ne szégyeljük, ha jól esik;
Hiszen egy-két ital bortul
Ez a világ fel nem fordul.
S ha felfordul: mit én bánom!
Abba sincsen semmi károm;
Tán, kit a sors fejre buktat,
Akkor ismét talpra juthat.
Ha felfordul: Isten neki!
Tán bizony még használ neki:
Mélyen leszánt a jó gazda,
Úgy esik alul a gazza.
From the quiet songs
English translation ©
Laurie Anne McGowan
we'll not be ashamed if it does us good;
one or two swallows of wine
won't turn the world upside down.
And if it is turned upside down: well then!
It won't bother me any;
if fortune drops you on your head,
it can set you on your feet again.
If it's turned upside down: in the name of God!
Perhaps it may be of some use;
a good farmer ploughs deeply,
thus are the weeds buried under.
A csendes dalokból
Hungarian source:
János Arany
From the quiet songs
English source:
Laurie Anne McGowan
Igyunk biźazt egy-egy kicsit,
Come, let's drink a wee bit,
Ne szégyeljük, ha jól esik;
we'll not be ashamed if it does us good;
Hiszen egy-két ital bortul
one or two swallows of wine
Ez a világ fel nem fordul.
won't turn the world upside down.
S ha felfordul: mit én bánom!
And if it is turned upside down: well then!
Abba sincsen semmi károm;
It won't bother me any;
Tán, kit a sors fejre buktat,
if fortune drops you on your head,
Akkor ismét talpra juthat.
it can set you on your feet again.
Ha felfordul: Isten neki!
If it's turned upside down: in the name of God!
Tán bizony még használ neki:
Perhaps it may be of some use;
Mélyen leszánt a jó gazda,
a good farmer ploughs deeply,
Úgy esik alul a gazza.
thus are the weeds buried under.
Composer
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music.
Poet
János Arany
János Arany was a Hungarian journalist, writer, poet, and translator. He wrote over 102 ballads, which have been translated into over 50 languages.