Sibereze

(scroll down for English translation)

Gaqinuli guli vervin gamitbo

Khmashits gakra khaverdi

Avt’obusshi gogom sk’ami damitmo

Esegi davberdi

Ertma botlma rkats’itelma damatro

Amibnia tav bedi

Lamazebis tskeramats ver amanto

Esegi davberdi

Momenat’ra tetri k’vitsis gakhedna

Ch’alebshi rom davdevdi

Ekimebma gamedides satvali

Esegi davberdi

Ver gavtsure me mshpotvare aragvi

Mtazets veghar avedi

Amik’rdzales tutuni da sasmeli

Esegi davberdi

Utseb tmebshi gachnda tetri ch’aghara

Gakra pikris t’al-k’vesi

Rats viqavi me khom is aghara var

Esegi davberdi

Translation:

A Song of Old Age

No one can warm my icy heart
My voice is no longer so velvety
A girl offers me her seat in the bus
Such is old age...

A single bottle of rkatsiteli¹ makes me drunk
I can't think clearly
Even beauty no longer excites me
Such is old age...

I miss looking out for the young white foals
Chasing them through the low wet reeds
The doctor gave me stronger eyeglasses
Such is old age...

I can't swim the fast Aragvi River² whitewater
Or climb mountains any longer
I'm not supposed to drink or smoke
Such is old age…

Suddenly I find white hair on my head
And my mind doesn't work like it should
I'm just not the same as I used to be
Such is old age...

¹White wine made from the rkatsiteli grape, one of the oldest grape varieties in Georgia.

²The major river of the eastern Georgian highlands of Khevsureti, Pshavi and Mtiuleti. The 112 kilometer long Aragvi was dammed in Zhinvali in 1986, forming the Zhinvali Reservoir which provides power to much of Georgia. The river eventually flows into the Mtkvari at Mtskheta.

Jvari Ts’inasa (from Pshavi)

Jvari ts’inasa adga mkharesa

Shen krist’e ghmerto dasts’ere jvari

Akhal qoilta da akhal sheqrilta

Ert sastaulze t’k’bilad daberdnen

Jvari ts’inasa adga mkharesa

Translation:

In Front Of The Cross (from Pshavi)

In front of the cross, stand on one side

Jesus Christ, wed these flowers¹

The new bride-groom

May they age together sweetly in one bed

In front of the cross, stand on one side

¹New couples are referred to as flowers.

Kalebs Gauprtkhildit K’atsebo

(scroll down for English translation)

Kalebs gauprtkhildit k’atsebo da

Guli piandazad gaushalet

/Shublze gachenili naoch’ebi

Nazi moperebit ts’aushalet/

Kalebs shvlis nu k’rivit mouare

Marili khelis gulze mouqaret

/Kalebs daulotset kaloba da

Baghis qvavilivit mouaret/

Torem sul skhva aris kalis dzala

Kali atas javrad gadagaktsevs

/Kali agat’irebs dagachokebs

Ts’amo gaqenebs da k’atsad gaktsevs/

K’atebsats gauprtkhildit kalebo da

Guli piandazad gaushalet

/Shublze gachenili naoch’ebi

Matats moperebit ts’aushalet/

Torem sul skhva aris k’atsis dzala

Is skhvastan ts’ava, migat’ovebs

/Is shentan aghar dabrundeba

Shen k’i tmebshi tetrad chagatovebs/

Ho da ai amas gevedrebit

Kalebo da k’atsebo genatsvale

/Shublze gachenili naoch’ebi

Erturts moperebit ts’aushalet/

Translation:

Men and Women,

Be Careful With One Another

Men, be careful with women

Give your hearts to them

If their foreheads have wrinkles,

Erase them with your caresses

Sparring like deer is not how to nurture women

Pour salt on their palms

Glory to women and their womanhood

Care for them like garden flowers

A woman’s power is something different

She will anger you

She will make you cry, make you get down on your knees

And then she will turn you into a real man once again

Women, be careful with men too

Give your hearts to them

If their foreheads have wrinkles,

Erase them with your caresses

Because a man’s power is something different

He will leave you for another woman

He will never return to you

And your hair will turn gray

So, I beg this of you:

Men and women, genatvale¹

Those wrinkles, born on your foreheads --

Erase them with caresses

¹Literally me instead of you, or "let me handle your pain for you," genatsvale  is used as a term of endearment.

Mushani

(scroll down for English translation)

Ese itsian pshavlebma

Rom michumdeba sopeli

Shaiqrebian ertada

Mrtveli mchechavi mksoveli

T’rialebs musha dedai

Khelpekhs ar daasvenebsa

K’etseuleebs daatskhobs

Erboshi daasvelebsa

Maikharshavs khortsis khink’alsa

Khonchaze gaanelebsa

Mait’ans p’ant’is araqsa

Mushata daasvelebsa

Rom gasch’ris p’ant’is araqi

Pandursats daamgherebsa

Satamashoshi gadava

Ra sibrut’s daaqenebsa

Translation:

The Workers

Pshavs¹ know

That when the village becomes silent

They gather together

The spinners, carders, and knitters

The mother worker spins

Her hands and legs never rest

She bakes traditional bread

That will become wet with erbo²

She will boil the khinkali³

It will cool in the khoncha4️⃣

She will bring crab-apple vodka

To quench the workers' thirst

When the crab-apple vodka settles in

She will sing with the panduri5️⃣

And the game-playing begins

¹People from Pshavi, a small historic highland region in northeastern Georgia

²Clarified butter, well-loved in the mountains of Georgia

³A traditional food from the highlands of eastern Georgia, khink'ali are boiled dumplings most often made from beef and pork and eaten with black pepper.

4️⃣A wooden sieve used specifically for taking khinkali out of the boiling water they are cooked in.

5️⃣A three-stringed, fretted lute common in all regions of northeastern Georgia. The instrument is most frequently used to accompany ballad singing. Read more about the panduri here.