'Рiдна мати моя'
or 'Пісня про рушник'
'Dearest Mother of Mine' or 'Song About a Rushnyk'
"Ridna maty moya"("Рідна мати моя") is a Ukrainian ballad with lyrics from a poem by Andriy Malyshko. It is the confessional of a lyrical hero who leaves home to be a soldier, lamenting about his mother who gave him a rushnyk of remembrance upon his departure symbolizing his journey and her love for him. The poem was adapted to music by composer Platon Mairboroda for the soundtrack to a 1950's Soviet era film called "Young Years", and has since remained very popular, and has been sung by many different Ukrainian artists in Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora (Song About a Towel, Wikipedia).
Below are two different english translations: Vasily Gerello's translation is closer to the original Ukrainian lyrics, while Stephan Pasicznyk's interpretation is more suited to the melody and rhythm of the music for English performance.
In the west we are not as accustomed to love songs for mothers, while in Ukraine this is much more common practice. This speaks to the deep family values of traditional Ukrainian life, and the profound emotional and spiritual matrilineal ties between mother and child.
Рідна мати моя
Ukrainian Version
Рідна мати моя, ти ночей не доспала.
І водила мене у поля край села,
І в дорогу далеку ти мене на зорі проводжала
І рушник вишиваний на щастя дала.
І в дорогу далеку ти мене на зорі проводжала
І рушник вишиваний на щастя, на долю дала.
Хай на ньому цвіте росяниста доріжка,
І зелені луги, й солов'їні гаї,
І твоя незрадлива материнська ласкава усмішка,
І засмучені очі хороші твої.
Я візьму той рушник, простелю, наче долю,
В тихім шелесті трав, в щебетанні дібров.
І на тім рушничкові оживе все знайоме до болю,
І дитинство, й розлука, і вірна любов.
І на тім рушничкові оживе все знайоме до болю,
І дитинство, й розлука, й твоя материнська любов.
Dearest Mother of Mine
English translation by Stephan 'Ludwig' Pasicznyk
Dearest mother of mine,
Tell me why you weren't sleeping?
Why you woke me to gaze
At the stars up above?
Did you know I was leaving?
Tell me why ... was that why you were grieving?
Was the rushnyk that you gave me
a sign of your love?
Did you know I was leaving, tell me why,
was that why you were grieving?
Was the rushynyk you gave me goodbye, and a sign of your love?
In my dreams I still see there's a blossoming garden
and a meadow so green with the birds full of song
And your smile never leaves me,
through your tears you had said you believed me
When I said I must go but I wouldn't be long
And your smile never leaves me,
through your tears you had said you believed me
Now I live in a faraway land and I know I was wrong
On this rushnyk I gaze as my face is unfolding
You still whisper to me through the grass and the trees
Though your heart was so broken
so insisted on making this token
of your motherly love so important to me
Though your heart was so broken so insisted on giving this token of your motherly love though you knew what was going to be
Квітка Цісик - "Рiдна мати моя"
"Dearest Mother of Mine" performed by Kvitka Cisyk
Stephen Ludwig Pasicznyk performing "Dearest Mother of Mine" in English
Dearest Mother of Mine
English Translation by Vasily Gerello
Dearest Mother of Mine, you had many sleepless nights
You led me to the fields next to the village
And on my long journey, you saw me off at dawn
And gave me an embroidered rushnyk for luck
And on my long journey, you saw me off at dawn
And gave me an embroidered rushnyk for luck and destiny
Let the dewy road blossom on it
Along with the green glens and groves full of nightingales
And your faithful, kind, motherly smile
And your sad, dear eyes
And your faithful, kind, motherly smile
And your sad, dear, blue eyes
I'll take this rushnyk, and unfold it as if destiny
In the quiet, rustling meadows, and chirping oak-woods
And on this little ruhnyk, will live the familiar pain
My childhood, seperation, and unconditional love
And on this rushnyk, will live all the familiar pain
My childhood, seperation, and your motherly love
Rushnyk made for a soldier who died in battle: cross, bird-pair, deer-pair, text, kalyna, grave, butterfly, rose, oak.
Image: http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/folkloreukraine/?page_id=97
National Unity Rushnyk
Embroiderers adding their contribution to the National Unity Rushnyk, in the Ukrainian Museum of Manhattan's East Village while singing 'Dearest Mother of Mine"