Ratnik paorskog srca - Đorđe Balašević translation in English

Ratnik paorskog srca

Kada se Braca devetnaeste vrn'o
S dalekog fronta 'di soldat je biv'o
Pric'o nam kako ga trefilo zrno,
Pa zavrt'o rukav i to pokaziv'o
A mi, mi smo bili derani,
A mi, mi smo bili derani
Pric'o nam Braca o mirisu mora
I o patroli od koje je bez'o
I kako je opsov'o nekog majora
I zbog tog posle na robiji lez'o
A mi, mi smo bili derani,
A mi, mi smo bili derani
Pric'o nam kako je pres'o Karpate,
Zujali meci k'o rojevi pcela
Rek'o je: Rat vam je krvav da znate,
Al' nije mi zao ni ljudi ni sela
Hej, zao mi konja
Kada se Braca devetnaeste vrn'o
Svake je veceri pric'o na šoru
Kol'ko je curica usput prevrn'o
I kako topovi livade oru
A mi, mi smo bili derani,
A mi, mi smo bili derani
I cim Braca korak iz avlije kroci
Skupi se drustvo iz naseg sokaka
A svi smo imali velike oci,
Prepuna srca i mastu decaka
Pa da, jer tad smo bili derani,
Pa da, tad smo bili derani
Psov'o je Braca i krivce i zrtve,
Puske i vaske i rov prepun blata
Rek'o je: Ne mo's izbrojati mrtve
Jer su se carevi igrali rata
Hej, zao mi konja
Negde u Braci je paorski koren
I moze rata i rata da bude
Kad nije paor za soldata stvoren,
Volije konje i zemlju neg' ljude
A mi, mi smo bili derani
I sve jos je vredelo za nas
Hej, hej, konji beli nebom terani,
Kroz san i kroz oblake u kas

Soldier of a Peasant's Heart

When Braca returned on the nineteenth
From the distant front where he was a soldier
He told us how a bullet hit him,
Then rolled up his sleeve and showed it
And we, we were just kids,
And we, we were just kids
Braca told us about the smell of the sea
And about the patrol he escaped from
And how he cursed a major
And because of that he later ended up in prison
And we, we were just kids,
And we, we were just kids
He told us how he crossed the Carpathians,
Bullets buzzing like swarms of bees
He said: War is bloody, you should know,
But I regret neither the people nor the villages
Hey, I regret the horse
When Braca returned on the nineteenth
He told us stories on the porch every evening
How many girls he rolled over on the way
And how the cannons plowed the meadows
And we, we were just kids,
And we, we were just kids
And as soon as Braca stepped out of the yard
The company from our alley would gather
And we all had big eyes,
Hearts full of dreams and childish pranks
Yes, because back then we were kids,
Yes, back then we were kids
Braca cursed both the guilty and the victims,
The rifles, the lice, and the trench full of mud
He said: You can't count the dead
Because the emperors played at war
Hey, I regret the horse
Somewhere in Braca there's a peasant's root
And there may be war and war to come
But a peasant is not made to be a soldier,
He loves horses and land more than people
And we, we were just kids
And everything was still worth it for us
Hey, hey, white horses driven through the sky,
Through dreams and through clouds into the night