Kingdom of Serbia, land of heroes
Milutin Bojić's famous song "Blue Tomb" - a monumental lyrical monument to the Serbian war suffering - received its first complete translation into English.
After several prose translations and partial translations, on the centenary of the victory in the First World War, this magnificent elegy of heroism and martyrdom in its full beauty became available to the world audience. The English version of the "Blue Tomb" was made by the architect, poet and artist Zoran Bogdanović, and his work, with the accompanying historical context, was included in the collection of the "Milutin Bojić" library in Belgrade. The integral text of the song in both languages can be found on the website of this cultural institution, as well as the historical background of the song in English. Bogdanović worked intermittently on the translation of "Blue Tomb" for seven years. Thus, as he emphasizes, he tried to repay his glorious ancestors, but also to help affirm the Serbian contribution to the allied victory in 1918.
This translation is important in many ways. Not only did Bojić's poem in its full beauty become available to the audience who reads in English, but it also spreads awareness in the world public about the insufficiently known and very important role of the Serbian people and the Serbian army in the First World War - says Bogdanović for "Novosti". - This anthological song represents the Serbian contribution to the world cultural heritage, but also promotes our culture in the world.
Bogdanović came up with the idea to sing "Blue Tomb" almost by accident. - Writing an essay on the occupation of Belgrade in 1914, at the University of Ilina, my wife wanted to quote a few verses that would hint at the essence of the Serbian war drama. Bojic's verses imposed themselves as a logical choice. Believing that the "Blue Tomb" was translated into English a long time ago, I searched on the Internet, but what I found did not leave a special impression on me. It was a prose translation and, in my opinion, without any special effect - our interlocutor explains. Bogdanović came up with the idea to sing an excerpt from the song. The beauty of Bojić's song pulled him to translate it in its entirety. An additional incentive for this endeavor was the memory of grandfather Risto Bogdanović, a volunteer from Thessaloniki. He spent many hours looking for the right way to convey what the original song is about and to convey it as faithfully as possible. However, work stopped at the middle of the song. - I spontaneously took a break, which was extended by inertia. Several years passed, until a friend from the Faculty of Philology, otherwise a great connoisseur of poetry, encouraged me to finish the poem. I am grateful to her, because it took me a lot of effort to re-enjoy the whole story and the atmosphere of the song - says Bogdanović.
Song translations are significantly different from prose translations, which are more common in literature. It is a complex procedure of the author whose goal is to convey the song as a whole, taking into account not only the meaning of the word, but also the rhythm, rhyme and especially the overall spirit and atmosphere. It is important that everything seems spontaneous and unforced. The prose translation of the poem, on the other hand, is like a straight line, with the translator trying to convey the meaning of the original text as closely as possible. Prepev, by the way, is considered writing poetry and a poetic work in itself.
Miltin Bojic, author of this poem, was born in 1892 in Belgrade, in a poor family. Father Jovan moved from Zemun to Belgrade with his family before his marriage. Bojić was a craftsman and merchant, even for a time the owner of a small shoe factory. [1] Milutin attended the "Vuk Karadzic" Elementary School in Belgrade (then called the "Palilula School"). His brother Dragoljub was a professor of geology, and his nephew Mirko Bojić was a journalist. As a high school student, he published his first song in the Belgrade magazine "Delo". He entered the war as a student of the philosophy of worn-out health. He was mobilized as a conscript from the clerical order. He worked as a clerk in the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Serbia.
Milutin Bojić was a participant in the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 , as well as the First World War. He printed the play "Uroš's Marriage", which he transmitted through Albania in 1915, in Corfu, and published a collection of poems "Songs of Pain and Pride" in Thessaloniki. From this collection is the song "Blue Tomb", dedicated to the suffering of Serbian warriors. The poet himself personally watched the Allied ships take away the piles of corpses that were lowered into the sea to the sound of military trumpets.
Although he lived only 25 years, he left an indelible mark in Serbian literature. In his short life, however, he managed to sing the sufferings and sufferings of the Serbian people through a tragic retreat through Albania, and in that way he immortalized the eerie vision of the blue tomb near the island of Vid - the island of death. But he did not wait to sing the victories and liberation in which he firmly believed. Death caught him at the moment of his strong poetic rise , November 8, 1917.
Vido is an island of the Ionian island group of Greece. It is a small island (less than kilometer in diameter) at the mouth of Corfu city port.
During the First World War, the Corfu island served as a island hospital and quarantine for the sick Serbian soldiers following the epic retreat of the Serbian army and part of the civilian population through Montenegro and Albania in 1915 following the Austro-German-Bulgarian invasion of Serbia. While the main camps of the recuperating army were on the Corfu itself (a contingent was sent to Bizerte as well, and many of the civilian refugees were accepted by France), the sick and near-dying, mostly soldiers were treated on Vido to prevent epidemics. In spite of Allied material help, the conditions of both the improvised medical facilities and many of the patients on the island resulted in high fatality rate. Due to small area of the island and it’s rocky soil it soon became a necessity to bury the dead in the sea (by binding rocks to the corpses to prevent flotation). More than 5000 people were buried at sea near the island of Vido.
The waters around Vido island are known by the Serbian people as the Ode to a Blue Sea Tomb , after a poem written by Milutin Bojić during World War I.
The blue Tomb
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Restrain your mighty rudders!
Stroke your oars silently!
I’m proudly officiating a sublime Requiem in the chill
of the night
Upon these sacred waters.
Here at the bottom, where seashells tire in sleep
And upon the dead algae peat falls,
Stretch the graves of the brave, couched brother
beside brother,
Prometheuses of Hope, Apostles of Pain.
Don’t you feel the wafting sea,
That it may not trouble their holy repose?
From the deep abyss peaceful slumber ebbs,
And in tiring flight the moonlight slowly passes.
This is a mysterious temple and a sad graveyard
With decaying carcasses, unfathomably real.
Silent like the night on the tip of the Ionian Sea
Dark as a conscience, cold and despairing.
Don’t you feel from your most depressing moods
That piety grows over this benediction
And the air fills with curious gentleness?
That great soul of the fallen roams
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Upon this tomb
my dear kindred ones
Veil the trumpets in mourning black.
Let your sentry, upright, chant the holy dirge
Here, where waves come to an embrace!
For the centuries will pass as the white foam
vanishes upon the sea without a trace,
And a new and great age will come in its place,
To create a splendid home upon this grave.
But these waters, in which was shrouded
the terrible mystery of the Epic,
these waters will be a cradle in Time of legends revealed,
Where the soul will seek out its Destiny.
Buried are here once ancient garlands
And the passing joy of more than one generation,
That’s why this cemetery lies in the shadow of waves
Between the bosom of the sea and the vault celestial.
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Extinguish the torches,
Let the oars come to a blustering rest,And when the Requiem prayers are said, steal away
into the dark night
inaudibly and with reverential awe.
I wish for the eternal silence to rule
and for the glorious dead to hear the noise of Battles,
And rejoice in our cries of victory, as we cast ourselves beneath
the wings of Glory upon the fields vermillion with blood.
For, there far away, battles sway
With the same blood that emanates from this resting-place:
Here above the eye of the resting lords,
There before the son’s history is made.
That’s why I seek peace, to officiate a Requiem
without words, without tears and quiet sighs,
Mingle with the odor of powder, the perfume of incense
As we hear resound the far noise of the cannon.
Hail to you, imperial galleys! In the name
of a conscientious fast
Glide lightly upon these sacred waters.
A Requiem I’m officiating, one that heavens
Kraljevina Srbija, zemlja heroja
Čuvena pesma Milutina Bojića „Plava grobnica“ – monumentalni lirski spomenik srpskom ratnom stradanju – dobila je prvi celovit prepev na engleski jezik.
Posle nekoliko proznih prevoda i delimičnih prepeva, na stogodišnjicu pobede u Prvom svetskom ratu, ova veličanstvena elegija herojstva i mučeništva u svojoj punoj lepoti postala je dostupna i svetskoj publici.
Englesku verziju „Plave grobnice“ sačinio je arhitekta, pesnik i likovni umetnik Zoran Bogdanović, a njegovo delo uz prateći istorijski kontekst uvršteno je u kolekciju biblioteke „Milutin Bojić“ u Beogradu. Na sajtu ove ustanove kulture može se naći integralni tekst pesme na oba jezika, kao i istorijska pozadina pesme na engleskom jeziku.
Na prepevu „Plave grobnice“ Bogdanović je sa prekidima radio čak sedam godina. Time je, kako naglašava, pokušao da se oduži slavnim precima, ali i da pomogne afirmaciju srpskog doprinosa savezničkoj pobedi 1918. godine.
– Ovaj prepev višestruko je značajan. Ne samo što je Bojićeva pesma u punoj, svoj lepoti postala dostupna publici koja čita na engleskom, već u svetskoj javnosti širi svest o nedovoljno poznatoj a veoma značajnoj ulozi srpskog naroda i srpske vojske u Prvom svetskom ratu – kaže Bogdanović, za „Novosti“. – Ova antologijska pesma predstavlja srpski doprinos svetskoj kulturnoj baštini, ali i promoviše našu kulturu u svetu.
Na ideju da prepeva „Plavu grobnicu“ Bogdanović je došao gotovo slučajno.
– Pišući esej o okupaciji Beograda 1914. godine, na Univerzitetu Ilinoj, moja supruga je želela da navede nekoliko stihova koji bi nagovestili suštinu srpske ratne drame. Bojićevi stihovi nametnuli su se kao logičan izbor. Verujući da je „Plava grobnica“ odavno prevedena na engleski potražio sam na internetu, ali ono što sam našao nije na mene ostavilo poseban utisak. Bio je to prozni prevod i, po mom utisku, bez naročitog efekta – objašnjava naš sagovornik.
Bogdanović je tako došao na ideju da prepeva odlomak iz pesme. Lepota Bojićeve pesme povukla ga je da je celu prevede. Dodatni podstrek za ovaj poduhvat bilo je sećanje na dedu Rista Bogdanovića, inače solunskog dobrovoljca. Proveo je mnogo sati tražeći pravi način da prenese ono o čemu izvorna pesma govori i da je što vernije dočara. Posao je, međutim, zastao na polovini pesme.
Spontano sam napravio pauzu, koja se po inerciji odužila. Prošlo je nekoliko godina, sve dok me prijateljica sa Filološkog fakulteta, inače vrstan poznavalac poezije, nije podstakla da završim pesmu. Zahvalan sam joj, jer mi je trebalo dosta napora da se ponovo uživim u celu priču i atmosferu pesme – navodi Bogdanović.
Prepevi pesama bitno se razlikuju od proznih prevoda koji se češće sreću u literaturi. Reč je o složenom postupku autora čiji je cilj da dočara pesmu u celini, uzimajući u obzir ne samo značenje reči, već i ritam, rimu i naročito sveukupni duh i atmosferu. Važno je zato da sve deluje spontano i neusiljeno. Prozni prevod pesme, sa druge strane, nalik je pravoj liniji, pri čemu prevodilac nastoji da što približnije prenese smisao izvornog teksta. Prepev se, inače, smatra pisanjem poezije i poetskim delom po sebi.
Autor pesme, Miltin Bojic, rođen je 1892. godine u Beogradu, u siromašnoj porodici. Otac Jovan doselio se pre braka sa porodicom iz Zemuna u Beograd. Bojić je bio zanatlija i trgovac, čak jedno vreme i posednik male manufakture cipela.[1] Pohađao je Milutin Osnovnu školu „Vuk Karadžić“ u Beogradu (tada se zvala „Palilulska škola“). Njegov brat Dragoljub bio je profesor geologije, a bratanac Mirko Bojić novinar. Kao gimnazijalac prvu pesmu je objavio u beogradskom časopisu "Delo". Ušao je u rat kao student filozofije istrošenog zdravlja. Mobilisan je kao obveznik iz činovničkog reda. Radio je kao pisar u Ministarstvu unutrašnjih dela Kraljevine Srbije.
Milutin Bojić je učesnik balkanskih ratova 1912. i 1913. godine, kao i Prvog svetskog rata. Dramu „Uroševa ženidba“ koju je preneo preko Albanije 1915. godine štampao je na Krfu, a zbirku pesama „Pesme bola i ponosa“ objavio je u Solunu. Iz ove zbirke je i pesma „Plava grobnica“, posvećena stradanju srpskih ratnika. I sam pesnik lično je gledao kako saveznički brodovi odvoze gomile leševa koje uz zvuke vojničkih truba spuštaju u more.
Iako je živeo samo 25 godina, ostavio je neizbrisiv trag u srpskoj književnosti. U svom kratkom životu ipak je stigao da opeva patnje i stradanja srpskog naroda kroz tragično povlačenje preko Albanije i na takav način ovekovečio je jezivu viziju plave grobnice kod ostrva Vida – ostrva smrti. Ali nije dočekao da opeva pobede i oslobođenje u koje je čvrsto verovao. Smrt ga je zatekla u trenutku njegovog snažnog pesničkog uspona 8. novembra 1917. god.
Tokom Prvog svetskog rata ostrvo Krf služilo je ostrvskoj bolnici i karantinu za bolesne srpske vojnike nakon epskog povlačenja srpske vojske i dela civilnog stanovništva kroz Crnu Goru i Albaniju 1915. godine nakon austrougarsko-bugarske invazije na Srbiju. Dok su glavni logori vojske koja se oporavljala bili na samom Krfu (kontingent je poslat i na Bizertu, a Francuska je prihvatila mnoge civilne izbeglice), bolesni i skoro umirući, uglavnom vojnici lečeni su na Vidu kako bi sprečili epidemije. Uprkos savezničkoj materijalnoj pomoći, uslovi improvizovanih medicinskih ustanova i mnogih pacijenata na ostrvu rezultirali su visokom stopom smrtnosti. Zbog malog područja ostrva i kamenitog tla, ubrzo je postalo neophodno sahranjivanje mrtvih u moru (vezivanjem stena za leševe kako bi se sprečila flotacija). Više od 5000 ljudi sahranjeno je u moru u blizini ostrva Vido.
Vode oko ostrva Vido u srpskom narodu su poznate kao Plava Grobnica, po pesmi koju je tokom Prvog svetskog rata napisao Milutin Bojić
Plava grobnica
Stojte, galije carske! Sputajte krme moćne!
Gazite tihim hodom!
Opelo gordo držim u doba jeze noćne
Nad ovom svetom vodom.
Tu na dnu, gde školjke san umoran hvata
I na mrtve alge tresetnica pada,
Leži groblje hrabrih, leži brat do brata,
Prometeji nade, apostoli jada.
Zar ne osećate kako more mili,
Da ne ruši večni pokoj palih četa?
Iz dubokog jaza mirni dremež čili,
A umornim letom zrak meseca šeta.
To je hram tajanstva i grobnica tužna
Za ogromnog mrca, k’o naš um beskrajna,
Tiha kao ponoć vrh ostrvlja južna,
Mračna kao savest hladna i očajna.
Zar ne osećate iz modrih dubina
Da pobožnost raste vrh voda prosuta
I vazduhom igra čudna pantomina?
To velika duša pokojnika luta.
Stojte, galije carske! Na groblju braće moje
Zavite crnim trube.
Stražari u svečanom opelo nek otpoje
Tu, gde se vali ljube!
Jer proći će mnoga stoleća, k’o pena
Što prolazi morem i umre bez znaka,
I doći će nova i velika smena,
Da dom sjaja stvara na gomili raka.
Ali ovo groblje, gde je pogrebena
Ogromna i strašna tajna epopeje,
Kolevka će biti bajke za vremena,
Gde će duh da traži svoje korifeje,
Sahranjeni tu su nekadašnji venci
I prolazna radost celog jednog roda,
Zato grob taj leži u talasa senci
Izmeđ nedra zemlje i nebeskog svoda.
Stojte, galije carske! Buktinje nek utrnu,
Veslanje umre hujno,
A kad opelo svršim, klizite u noć crnu
Pobožno i nečujno.
Jer hoću da vlada beskrajna tišina
I da mrtvi čuju huk borbene lave,
Kako vrućim ključem krv penuša njina
U deci što klikću pod okriljem slave.
Jer tamo, daleko, poprište se zari
Ovom istom krvlju što ovde počiva:
Ovde iznad oca pokoj gospodari,
Tamo iznad sina povesnica biva.
Zato hoću mira, da opelo služim
Bez reči, bez suza i uzdaha mekih,
Da miris tamjana i dah praha združim
Uz tutnjavu muklu doboša dalekih.
Stojte, galije carske! U ime svesne pošte
Klizite tihim hodom.
Opelo držim kakvo ne vide nebo jošte
Nad ovom svetom vodom!
Stojte, galije carske! Na groblju braće moje
Zavite crnim trube.
Stražari u svečanom opelo nek otpoje
Tu, gde se vali ljube!
Jer proći će mnoga stoleća, k’o pena
Što prolazi morem i umre bez znaka,
I doći će nova i velika smena,
Da dom sjaja stvara na gomili raka.
Ali ovo groblje, gde je pogrebena
Ogromna i strašna tajna epopeje,
Kolevka će biti bajke za vremena,
Gde će duh da traži svoje korifeje,
Sahranjeni tu su nekadašnji venci
I prolazna radost celog jednog roda,
Zato grob taj leži u talasa senci
Izmeđ nedra zemlje i nebeskog svoda.
Stojte, galije carske! Buktinje nek utrnu,
Veslanje umre hujno,
A kad opelo svršim, klizite u noć crnu
Pobožno i nečujno.
Jer hoću da vlada beskrajna tišina
I da mrtvi čuju huk borbene lave,
Kako vrućim ključem krv penuša njina
U deci što klikću pod okriljem slave.
Jer tamo, daleko, poprište se zari
Ovom istom krvlju što ovde počiva:
Ovde iznad oca pokoj gospodari,
Tamo iznad sina povesnica biva.
Zato hoću mira, da opelo služim
Bez reči, bez suza i uzdaha mekih,
Da miris tamjana i dah praha združim
Uz tutnjavu muklu doboša dalekih.
Stojte, galije carske! U ime svesne pošte
Klizite tihim hodom.
Opelo držim kakvo ne vide nebo jošte
Nad ovom svetom vodom!
Really good info... enjoyed reading...