Noć kad sam preplivao Dunav - Đorđe Balašević translation in English

Noć kad sam preplivao Dunav

Na mostu smena straze,
Znao sam da me traze,
Zandara nema
Koji ne zna moj lik.

Zar moja glava vredi sto forinti,
Gospodo draga?
Pod slikom toliko pise,
Vredi bar krajcaru vise.

Dobre smo krcme znali,
Dobre smo konje krali,
Dobra nas neka zvezda pratila svud.

Ostajte zbogom zeleni Karpati,
Drumovi carski.
Dugo sam bio daleko,
Dal' me pozeleo neko?

Dolazim, sto dukata donosim,
I kasmirsku maramu cudesnih boja.

Dolazim, da te opet zaprosim,
Dok te drugom ne daju,
Ljubavi moja.

Talasi ladje lome,
Sta srce zna o tome?
Srce je ludi husar, pijan i mlad.

I te sam noci preplivao Dunav,
Dubok i strasan.
Oprosti velika reko,
Al' ja sam morao preko!

Dolazim, sto dukata donosim,
I kasmirsku maramu cudesnih boja.

Dolazim, da te opet zaprosim,
Dok te drugom ne daju,
Ljubavi moja.

The Night I Swam Across the Danube

On the bridge, the guards have changed,
I knew they were after me,
There is no gendarme
Who doesn't know my face.

Is my head really worth a hundred florins,
My dear gentlemen?
That's what it says beneath the picture,
It's worth at least a kreutzer more.

We knew the good taverns,
We stole good horses,
A good star followed us everywhere.

Farewell, green Carpathians,
Imperial roads.
I've been away for so long,
Has anyone missed me?

I'm coming, I'm bringing a hundred ducats,
And a cashmere scarf of wonderful colors.

I'm coming to ask for your hand again,
Before they give you to another,
My beloved.

The waves are breaking against the boat,
What does the heart know about that?
The heart is a mad hussar, drunk and young.

And so that night I swam across the Danube,
Deep and frightening.
Forgive me, great river,
But I had to cross!

I'm coming, I'm bringing a hundred ducats,
And a cashmere scarf of wonderful colors.

I'm coming to ask for your hand again,
Before they give you to another,
My beloved.