Paroles et traduction Đorđe Balašević - Lepa protina kći

Lepa protina kći

Još sam bio sasvim mlad,
Neke barske ptice sam lovio tad
Kad je došla da se kupa,
Lepa protina kći.
Nije znala gde sam ja
Da je gledam krišom kroz trsku i šaš,
A preko reke, noć je pala
Kao plašt.
Mesec tinja nad vrbakom,
Srebri nebom zvezda roj,
A kapi vode kao biseri
Koji blistaju svud po njoj...
O srce ludo, ludi sni
Već se moji drugovi momčili svi,
A ja sam hteo, samo jednu,
Lepu protinu kći.
Čudnom pesmom, zvoni drum
Te su zime svatovi došli po nju,
Izdaleka, neki svet,
Za mene tuđ.
I baš sam prošao sokakom,
Padao je prvi sneg.
I još ponekad zazvone praporci,
što me odnose, ko zna gde?!...
Da se ženim, imam kad
Ja sam eto, ostao momak do sad
I nikad više, nisam sreo
Lepu protinu kći.
Jedan život, miran, tih
Nekad bacim kartu il' napišem stih
Stvari teku,
Ja se držim izvan njih.
I ljubim dobre, ljubim lake
Neke prave, a neke ne.
I sve su vile, ma sve su kraljice,
I sve su nevažne, naspram nje...

Daughter of a ferryman

I was still quite young,
I was hunting some kind of night birds then
When she came to bathe,
Daughter of a ferryman.
She did not know where I was
As I watched her secretly through the reeds and rushes,
And across the river, the night fell
Like a cloak.
Moon glows over the willows,
Silver sky, stars swarming,
And the drops of water like pearls
That sparkle everywhere on her...
Oh, crazy heart, crazy dreams
Already my friends had all gotten married,
But I only wanted one,
The ferryman's beautiful daughter.
In a strange song, the road rings
In the winter, the wedding party came for her,
From afar, a foreign world,
Alien to me.
And I just walked down the street,
The first snow was falling.
And sometimes the flags still ring,
That carry me away, who knows where?!...
I have time to get married.
So, I have remained a bachelor until now
And I have never again met
The ferryman's beautiful daughter.
A quiet, peaceful life
Sometimes I play cards or write a poem
Things flow,
I stay out of them.
And I love good ones, I love easy ones
Some real, and some not.
And they are all fairies, but they are all queens,
And they are all unimportant, compared to her...