12 Oct Oj Werzse, Mij Werzse
This song is from the Lemko people, an ethnic group inhabiting Lemkivshnchyna, a part of Transcarpathia (spanning Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland) who have been displaced from their homeland for years. The spoken language of the Lemkos, which is somewhat of a language in its own right, is a dialect of Ukrainian.
Composer & Copyright
Traditional Lemko, arrangement by Lisa G. Littlebird.
Recording
Lyrics
Oj wersze, mij wersze,
Mij zełenyj wersze,
Już mi tak ne bude (x2)
Jak mi było persze.
Już mi tak ne bude (x2)
Jak mi było persze.
Translation
Oh, mountains, my mountains
My dear green mountains
Life has changed for me
Pronunciation Guide
Oy ver she mi ver she he (e=eh as in “ending”)
Me zele ne ver she
Nyo shmi dak ne bode (i=ee as in “Lima”)
Nyo shmi dak ne bode
Yak mi belo pershe
Nyo shmi dak ne bode (i=ee as in “Lima”)
Nyo shmi dak ne bode
Yak mi belo pershe
Teaching Notes
Coming soon!
Level of teaching speed/ difficulty (1 = very easy, 10 = very challenging)
Definetely not the dialect of Russian. People of Transcarpathia and Halychyna have been called Rusyny for centuries. But despite of resemblance of spelling Rusyn ≠ Russian. The language people use in Transcarpathia is a dialect of Ukrainians (actually several dialects).
Is this Laboratorium Pieśni? I love this song.