All my ancestors, who I often dream of,
were Serbs and I bow down to them.
Half-illiterate farmers, highlanders
and woodchippers, but Orthodox Christians.
I am thankful that, through all those angry years,
they saved for us these hills and meadows
These hills and meadows over which still rings the shout
of their songs, curses and shouts
And over which still bloom the fruits, which they planted
Those old fruit-growers, those former hard workers!
Now they are dust, mixed with the ground and sand
May their souls be at peace in the Heavenly Kingdom!
And I, their descendant and debtor, from my
head to my toes, a patriot and Saint Sava*'s student
I want to live, grow old and die
in the land of Serbia and to be a lump
Of this soil that I sing of nonstop,
inside which glows the Dust of my Ancestors!
And my descendants, pupils, farmers
and soldiers, are Serbs too, just like my ancestors.
Kind-faced, kind-hearted stubborn children
with a sharp tongue, but students of Saint Sava.
Shall they live through this long winter of evil,
they'll save their first and last names.
I thank them for defending the graves from grass
and their doorstep and ritual bread** from the three-headed dragon***
I bless their sofras and cradles
thankful that I can proudly step before my ancestors.
May smoke always come out of their flues
as long as the residents are celebrating their slava!
And I, their ancestor, a servant with no income
and no master, lover of songs and a student of the limpy Vuk****
I want to live, grow old and die
in the land of Serbia and to be a lump
Of this soil, which is being looked after
like a gospel, by the bravest lords of the mountains,
some of them being my ancestors!
* - Saint Sava: first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox church, diplomat and an enlightener. Born into the royal Nemanjic family, as the youngest son of Prince Stefan Nemanja, as a teenager Sava (then Rastko) ran off to Mount Athos and became a monk despite the wishes of his family. He is regarded somewhat as a patron saint of Serbia, serving as a strong symbol of Serbian Orthodoxy and Serbian nationalism overall.
** - Ritual bread: the best translation for the bread that is baked during slava. Slava is an unique Serbian Orthodox tradition - every house venerates a saint.
*** - Three-headed dragon: refers to the dragon which was killed by Saint George.
**** - limpy Vuk: Serbian language reformer Vuk Karadzic. Here, Eric calls him limpy because of his - you guessed it - limp. One of Vuk's legs was shorter than the other.
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| Second Serbian Uprising |
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