Happy Mother's Day Celia. Great point you made about one does not have to give birth to be a mother. My sister was 8 years older than I, and she mothered me for years.
May 8, 2022·edited May 8, 2022Liked by Celia Farber
Celia, this Polish song is quite different from Kubišová's song, but I like it a lot. This is entitled "To you, Mama/A letter to Mother." This recording took place in November 1999.
Happy Mother's Day Celia! I love that you are under the spell of this song. Marta Kubisova and Hana Hegerova are my favorite singers. I'm from Czechoslovakia. In my universe it's still one country. I can't believe you were there during the Velvet Revolution! I translated this stunning song for you and I took a lot of poetic license because this song is poetry and to translate it dryly would be an abomination. The hardest word to translate is Mama. It's definitely not "mommy". "Mama" does not have the diminutive tone of "Mommy". The closest to "Mommy" would be "Maminka". "Mama" holds the quality of a steady kind of tenderness, an almost ordinary but elevated gaze of mercy.... it's holy and fleshy at the same time. So for that reason I left that word in its original. Your "Remembering My Mother" piece left me in a puddle on the floor crying - my mother passed away on June 6th, 2020, one month after your father. And what you wrote about your father and the tribute film also had me on the floor. I remember Marshall Rosenberg saying that grief needs to be celebrated - full out. You are the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Celebration of Grief! I so appreciate how you stand, how you honor the full glory of what it means to be human - snot, tears, brokenness, loss, longing, love and the whole shebang. When my father was still alive he told me one day with heavy face and sunken chest "People don't cry at funerals anymore". He had just attended the funeral of a co-worker. He was upset that he didn't cry, like this American culture had somehow diluted him. That really got to me. Then he proceeded to tell me how in his village when someone would die, everyone came out and accompanied the family to the cemetery, everyone wailing, singing, playing music. It was a celebration, like Flamenco is a celebration of the sweet ache of being alive. Here is a link to a little video I made for my mother's memorial: https://youtu.be/027u8u1Rxwo I would also like to share with you and this amazing community the solo play I wrote about my complicated relationship with my mother. This show was born from sessions I had with the brilliant Jon Rappoport. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQRPPtaHls&t=3s Okay, now for the translation of MAMA. Here it is:
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
And Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Time is running away here, as questions are drawing near.
Mama... love, I know what it’s about. Is it a sin when I let it out?
Underneath the tear that rolls down my face, a smile shines in its place
And then the wisdom of my sorrow takes a pause until tomorrow.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Yes, once he came to our home, took everything and left me alone.
I burned bright, what he did was not right
He had somewhere important to go, his way back he didn’t know
Mama if you had not been there for me, my life would have been cut short like a tree.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Angel of Death my mother from me took, now I must go on without her, write my own storybook.
I live with my husband now, he’s no prince I know but I took a vow.
Life’s blows will come, the strong amongst us will not run
Let’s hope the one’s who’s asking “why?” can see beyond the sky.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Thank you for referring to mothers as mothers vs. "Moms". Drives me crazy. My mother brought me into this world, and I called her "Mom", but she was always my mother -- and that's how I referred to her: "I'll have to ask my mother." "I'd like you to meet my mother." Etc., etc. This modern motherhood-denigrating, casual reference to mothers as "Moms" is yet another means of taking that which deserves respect and formality (motherhood) and trivializing it.
Happy Mother's Day Celia. Great point you made about one does not have to give birth to be a mother. My sister was 8 years older than I, and she mothered me for years.
Hi Celia,
My mother died in 1999, too---September 30.
The translation is clumsy. It's probably done by Google Translate.
Mama
Marta Kubišová
Mom ends up dolls in paradise and with whom they play there
Mamá skončí panenky v ráji a s kým si tam hrají
Mom, and when will the prince come to us for me?
Mamá a kdy přijde ten princ pro mně k nám?
So as time goes on asking increases
Tak čas ubíhá ptaní přibývá
Mom I know love is a sin when I give it to her
Máma lásku znám je hřích když jí dám
A tear-filled smile shines through
Slza prolitá úsměv prosvítá
And then the advice sounds yet to wait with her.
A pak rada zní ještě počkej s ní.
Mom ends up dolls in paradise and with whom they play there
Mamá skončí panenky v ráji a s kým si tam hrají
Mom, and when will the prince come to us for me?
Mamá a kdy přijde ten princ pro mně k nám?
He came to us once and took everything I have
Jednou přišel k nám všechno vzal co mám
Now I'm burned, it's not done
Teď jsem shořelá to se nedělá
Somewhere he had no way back
Někam cestu měl zpátky neuměl
If I don't have her then, I'll steal her life.
Nemít tenkrát ji život ukrátím.
Mom ends up dolls in paradise and with whom they play there
Mamá skončí panenky v ráji a s kým si tam hrají
Mom, and when will the prince come to us for me?
Mamá a kdy přijde ten princ pro mne k nám?
I took my mother's grave here without her
Matku hrob mi vzal jsem tu bez ní dál
I live with my husband, not a prince I know
Žiju s mužem svým, není princ to vím
Disappointment will come over who will defend themselves
Přijdou zklamání kdo se ubrání
Maybe the one who asks me has prospects.
Vyhlídky snad má ta co se mě ptá.
Mom ends up dolls in paradise and with whom they play there
Mamá skončí panenky v ráji a s kým si tam hrají
-Mum
-Mamá
Thanks again. Love your writing!
Loved your message today! Enjoy your time with your son today!!
As always Celia - Priceless.
A Joyous Mamas Day to you dear lady.
Celia, this Polish song is quite different from Kubišová's song, but I like it a lot. This is entitled "To you, Mama/A letter to Mother." This recording took place in November 1999.
https://youtu.be/hhdZuSBUCQ8
Happy Mother's Day Celia! I love that you are under the spell of this song. Marta Kubisova and Hana Hegerova are my favorite singers. I'm from Czechoslovakia. In my universe it's still one country. I can't believe you were there during the Velvet Revolution! I translated this stunning song for you and I took a lot of poetic license because this song is poetry and to translate it dryly would be an abomination. The hardest word to translate is Mama. It's definitely not "mommy". "Mama" does not have the diminutive tone of "Mommy". The closest to "Mommy" would be "Maminka". "Mama" holds the quality of a steady kind of tenderness, an almost ordinary but elevated gaze of mercy.... it's holy and fleshy at the same time. So for that reason I left that word in its original. Your "Remembering My Mother" piece left me in a puddle on the floor crying - my mother passed away on June 6th, 2020, one month after your father. And what you wrote about your father and the tribute film also had me on the floor. I remember Marshall Rosenberg saying that grief needs to be celebrated - full out. You are the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Celebration of Grief! I so appreciate how you stand, how you honor the full glory of what it means to be human - snot, tears, brokenness, loss, longing, love and the whole shebang. When my father was still alive he told me one day with heavy face and sunken chest "People don't cry at funerals anymore". He had just attended the funeral of a co-worker. He was upset that he didn't cry, like this American culture had somehow diluted him. That really got to me. Then he proceeded to tell me how in his village when someone would die, everyone came out and accompanied the family to the cemetery, everyone wailing, singing, playing music. It was a celebration, like Flamenco is a celebration of the sweet ache of being alive. Here is a link to a little video I made for my mother's memorial: https://youtu.be/027u8u1Rxwo I would also like to share with you and this amazing community the solo play I wrote about my complicated relationship with my mother. This show was born from sessions I had with the brilliant Jon Rappoport. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQRPPtaHls&t=3s Okay, now for the translation of MAMA. Here it is:
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
And Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Time is running away here, as questions are drawing near.
Mama... love, I know what it’s about. Is it a sin when I let it out?
Underneath the tear that rolls down my face, a smile shines in its place
And then the wisdom of my sorrow takes a pause until tomorrow.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Yes, once he came to our home, took everything and left me alone.
I burned bright, what he did was not right
He had somewhere important to go, his way back he didn’t know
Mama if you had not been there for me, my life would have been cut short like a tree.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Mama, when is that prince coming for me?
Angel of Death my mother from me took, now I must go on without her, write my own storybook.
I live with my husband now, he’s no prince I know but I took a vow.
Life’s blows will come, the strong amongst us will not run
Let’s hope the one’s who’s asking “why?” can see beyond the sky.
Mama when our dolls end up in heaven who’s there to play with them forever?
Here's a couple of other videos of the song. You can see Violetta's evolving looks, none of them the "Natural Look". https://youtu.be/hhdZuSBUCQ8
https://youtu.be/c9MW_tisDy4
Thank you for referring to mothers as mothers vs. "Moms". Drives me crazy. My mother brought me into this world, and I called her "Mom", but she was always my mother -- and that's how I referred to her: "I'll have to ask my mother." "I'd like you to meet my mother." Etc., etc. This modern motherhood-denigrating, casual reference to mothers as "Moms" is yet another means of taking that which deserves respect and formality (motherhood) and trivializing it.