Fereydoun Farrokhzad - Yo Sad Easterner! (ای شرقی غمگین)

It's a song of those fellows in exile to those fellow countrymen in the motherland. Sad Easterner was first sung by Fereydoun Farrokhzad (R.I.P). The lyrics are composed by Iraj Jannati Ataaei. In it Jannati speaks of exile, homeland and the sun. He asks his fellow countrymen not to lose their hope and not to let "our sun" fade away. It's a song of hope and despair.

Why did I choose this song?
A couple of days ago I came to find a trailer of a documentary project to be made about Fereydoun Farrokhzad by DENKmal Film. On their tribute page to the artist, they asked everyone interested to sing this song and make a video clip of their singing and send it to DENKmal Film. Then on August 3rd they will release a mash-up video clip as a tribute to the artist.
Plus they asked anyone who can translate the lyrics to any language they know. So I decided to translate them to English.


Yo Sad Easterner!

Yo Sad Easterner!
When the sun shone on you,
your scent filled the rain-soaked town,
and the darkness got lost in your [dark] hair,
and the sun of freedom smiled in your eyes.
 
Yo Sad Easterner!
You're like a mountain of light,
don't let our sun fade away.
You're as pure as the morning,
and as proud as the sea.
Don't let the darkness grow stronger. (chorus)

Yo Sad Easterner!
The sun rose once again,
and her dove flew away from your roof.
You're eyes are filled with the fragrance of spring.
The smell of cornflower reminds me of you.

Yo Sad Easterner!
It's painful to die in your absence.
It's painful to see there's no way out and grind my teeth.
It's impossible to plant the flower of loneliness in a swamp.
Yet there's no time to grieve.

Yo Sad Easterner!
Winter in before me!
When you're with me,
I have no fear of rain and mud.
The song of our clapping will be heared throughout winter.
There will be no fear of the winter because it will finish soon.

Yo Sad Easterner!
The west is nothing more than that.
In its blue eyes homesickness lies.
His masculine hands are as cold as ice in winters.
Come back to my embrace and we'll return home.

Lyrics by Iraj Jannati Ataaei
Translated by Mehdi Mehtari

Gallery

Iraj Jannati Ataaei

Fereydoun Farrokhzad

Ludwig Hirsch

Ludwig Hirsch (1946 - 2011) was an Austrian songwriter well-known for his morbid, dark songs. He had his biggest successes in the years around 1980, especially with his debut album Dunkelgraue Lieder (Dark Grey Songs). In 2011 he commited suicide.

Komm‘, großer schwarzer Vogel (Come, big black bird!)

This dark, melancholic song was his greatest success. It's about the longing for death.

Come, big black bird, come now!

Look, the window’s open,

Look, I’ve put sugar on the windowsill for you.

Come, big black bird, come to me!

Span your great, mild wings

And put them on my wet eyes!

Please take me away from here!

And then we fly up, straight into heaven,

Into a new time, into a new world.

And I’ll sing, I’ll laugh,

I’ll shout “I can’t believe it!”,

And suddenly I’ll understand

What it’s all about.

Come, big black bird, please help me!

Press your damp, cool beak on

My wound, on my hot forehead!

Come, big black bird,

Now it’s a good moment!

The others in the room are all well asleep,

If we’re quiet,

The sister is not gonna hear us.

Please, take me away from here!

And then we fly up, straight into heaven,

Into a new time, into a new world.

And I’ll sing, I’ll laugh,

I’ll shout “I can’t believe it!”

And suddenly I’ll understand

What it’s all about.

Yeah, big black bird, finally!

I didn’t even hear you come in,

How silently you fly, oh god,

How beautiful you are!

Let’s set off, big black bird, let’s set off!

Bye-Bye, my dearest at home!

You, my girl, and you, mama, bye!

Please, don’t forget me!

Now we depart, straight into the sky,

Don’t be sad, no, there’s no reason to be sad!

‘cause I’ll sing, I’ll laugh, I’ll shout “I can’t believe it!”

I’ll finally understand, I’ll be happy!

Yeah, I’ll sing, I’ll laugh, I’ll shout “I can’t believe it!”

I’ll finally understand, I’ll be happy!

I’ll sing, I’ll laugh, I’ll shout “I can’t believe it!”
I’ll finally understand, I’ll be happy!

Omama (Grandma)

A very humorous and sarcastic yet dark song is Omama (Grandma), very much in contrast to STS's Großvater (Grandfather).

Now we’re standing here at the cemetery of Stammersdorf;

It’s raining, my feet are already hurting.

The priest says she was just such a good woman,

Nonetheless I cannot really cry,

The grandma, the grandma isn’t alive any more.

When I was little, she pushed into my mouth the dumplings,

Waited for me with the stick in the hand,

My stomach was already turning sick,

She didn’t care, she still gave me a hiding,

So long till I already started praying:

“Dear Jesus Christ, please let grandma conk out.”

The seven raves, they were only six,

The good fairy, she was a witch,

The bad wolf, a little dachshund,

The fairy tale prince, an awful git.

In Stammersdorf she had her little flat,

With lace doilies and a picture of Hitler,

A glass of fat on the windowsill,

The jerry under the bed,

Just so white, fat, round and always full,

Perhaps we should have put it in the grave as well!

One day I asked her “Where’s grandfather?”

“Up in heaven on a cloud he’s playing violin.”

For Führer, Volk and Vaterland

He was shot, hanged and burned,

But she always forgave Adolf,

After all he’d awarded her Mutterkreuz.

The seven raves, they were only six,

The good fairy, she was a witch,

The bad wolf, a little dachshund,

The fairy tale prince, an awful git.

In the last time she was a bit weird,

The glass of fat was under the bed,

The lace dollies she burned,

Hitler she called a criminal,

The jerry she placed on the windowsill.

Everyone in Stammersdorf was talking about her.

On mother’s day we took her to the amusement park,

The old lady was suddenly young again,

On the Go-Cart she yodeled,

A few langos she ate,

Just on the white water ride there was a little misfortune,

There she was suffocated by her artificial teeth.

The seven raves, they were only six,

The good fairy, she was a witch,

The bad wolf, a little dachshund,

The fairy tale prince, an awful git.

Goodbye, grandma, do it better up there,

Don’t cook dumplings for the angels, be so kind!

Don’t annoy the saints, don’t denounce grandpa,

And if you should visit god – a good tip:

Grandma, don’t take the Mutterkreuz with you.

Translations: Julian Trummer