Music translation: Alina Pash – Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Тіні Забутих Предків)

Information

Artist: Alina Pash
Artist’s social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram
Buy the song: Apple Music, Amazon Music
Country: Ukraine
Copyright: Alina Pash [Independent]
Licensing: Sony Music Entertainment

Foreword by artist

This song was composed on the eve of the invasion. I felt an impulse from the universe and wanted to show the depth and greatness of our roots. For seven months now, we have been courageously defending our country, culture, and language, each on our own front. We do prove that we are strong-minded people who are writing new pages of the ancient book called “Ukraine”. Skovoroda, Sausyura, Kotsiubynskyi and Oles. All those who desperately gave themselves all. Let’s continue their work in joy and sorrow. Let’s remember our ancestors, but create our own history

Alina Ivanivna Pash – 28th of September 2022. Kyiv, Ukraine

Notes

One sentence was slightly rewritten in the translation to improve its strength in connection with the English sentence sung moments later.

My apologies for any mistakes or lacking information in the references list. I am not of Ukrainian origin and writing it based on what I was taught at school here in Poland and how my siblings of Ukrainian origin explained it to me.

References

Trembita – A wind folk musical instrument made from hollowed halves of spruce wood and bound with birch bark. Linked to the Carpathian Mountains and the people of Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.

Kievan Rus’ – A former European state from the 9th century until the mid-13th century. Western and Northern Ukrainians regard this state as their cultural ancestor. Eastern and Southern Ukrainians have several people which are regarded as their cultural ancestors.

Olive tree – In Ukraine, the olive tree is seen as a symbol of peace and friendship, which dates back to ancient Greece. Greeks are a minority in Ukraine with a very long history. Many Eastern and Southern Ukrainian cities hold Hellenized names originating from former Russian Imperial rule. Historically, many Southern and Eastern Ukrainian city names were Turkic. Many Crimeans often still use the original Turkic names instead of the Hellenized names used by Ukrainians and Russians.

Taras Shevchenko – Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet and remains a national figure. His works during the Ukrainian national revival are regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature.

Lesya Ukrainka – Under her pseudonym, Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka was one of Ukraine’s most well-regarded female poets and playwrights. She was also a notable activist. Lesya Ukrainka actually means Lesya of Ukraine and was a name given to her by her mother. She is also notable in Ukrainian history for identifying herself as Ukrainian during the time of Imperial Russia when Ukrainian nationalism and the Ukrainian language were seen as subversion and treason.

Mykola Khylovlyi – Khylovlyi (or Khvylovy) was also a Ukrainian poet and writer during the Ukrainian cultural renaissance of the 1920s.

Music video with English subtitles

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Vladislav Dovganyuk-Krym

I am 17 years old. I was born in Russia and raised in Germany, Ukraine, and Poland. I currently reside in Poland. My beliefs revolve around Christianity, veganism, political anarchism, and pacifism. In my personal life, I am still a student and serve as the daily babysitter for three Ukrainian refugee children.

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