One of the
most famous of Agnieszka Osiecka’s songs. And probably it hasn’t been
translated into English. And it’s a pity.
In her
song, Osiecka used a symbol combined with a metaphor. The reference to the
Country of the Cherry Blossom may symbolize the exotic, the distant and the
most charming. It is difficult to establish precisely what is that exactly. Most
generally it can be a dream, a desire. That is the very nature of a symbol, namely
that we are unable to ascertain precisely its meaning.
The
metaphorical juxtaposition is based on substituting the usual word ‘country’ in
the common phrase ‘the Country of the Cherry Blossom’. The word in question was
replaced by ‘street’ and thus the combination ‘the street of the cherry
blossom’ needs explanation since the meanings of each element have been put
together. The word ‘street’ may also be recognized as a symbol because it is
the human ‘device’ used, in a manner of speaking, to achieve one’s purpose, the
purpose usually being a destination.
Ulica japońskiej wiśni
|
The street of the
Cherry Blossom
|
Szare
ulice, szare balkony,
|
Streets are gloomy,
balconies as well
|
z widokiem
na inne szare balkony.
|
Still facing another
balconies as well
|
Szare
żony, szare spódnice,
|
Wives are gloomy,
and skirts are the same
|
z
widokiem na nowe szare spódnice.
|
Still facing new other dull skirts again
|
Gdzieniegdzie
jeszcze kocie łby,
|
And in some places
are cobblestones
|
a w
kocich łbach kocie sny.
|
And cobble dreams in
these stones
|
Ulica
japońskiej wiśni,
|
The street of the
cherry blossom
|
niech
ci się przyśni co jakiś czas.
|
Let it be dreamt in every
now
|
Ulica
japońskiej wiśni,
|
The street of the
cherry blossom
|
niech
się wymyśli w purpurze gwiazd.
|
So be invented in
purple stars
|
Purpurą
do góry, purpurą w dół,
|
With purple up, or
purple down
|
na
końcu purpury Kanada i księżyc na stół.
|
With purple’s end, Aurora
with Moon, they will tell
|
Szare
kominy, ptaki bezskrzydłe,
|
Those dull chimneys,
birds without wings
|
z
widokiem na inne ptaki bezskrzydłe.
|
Viewing another
birds without wings
|
Szare
serca, biedne liczydła,
|
Those dull hearts,
poor abaci
|
z
widokiem na randkę z innym liczydłem.
|
Viewing dates with
another poor one
|
Gdzieniegdzie
jeszcze małe drzwi,
|
Here and there are
small doors,
|
a w
małych drzwiach śmieszne sny.
|
And there's a dream
that’s silly too.
|
Ulica
japońskiej wiśni…
|
