Bre, Petrunko [English translation]

Hey, Petrunka1, oh my, young la...

Hey, Petrunka, young lass2

We've gone, oh my, all ov...

We've gone all over.

We haven't found horo3, oh my, anywhe..

We haven't found horo anywhere.

In your village, oh my, there are three ho...

In your village there are three hora.

The first horo, oh my, is Petrun...

The first horo, is Petrunka's

Petrunchitsa4, oh my, the horo lea...

Petrunchitsa the horo leads.

From down the street5 comes, oh my, reckless and you...

From down the street comes reckless and young.

He didn't go6 , oh my, in the mid...

He didn't go in the middle.

But he joined, oh my, the dan...

But he joined the dance

He joined the dance, oh my, next to Petrun..

He joined the dance next to Petrunka.

With his forelock, oh my, her flower7 he te...

With his forelock her flower he tears.

With his legs her, oh my, flippers he pudd...

With his legs her flippers he puddles.

1. An old Bulgarian's female name. Male's name is Petar (Петър), female's name is Petrana or Petruna (Petrunka is diminutive for Petruna)but no one names his child like this these days. The lyrics are in very strong shope dialect, typical for western Bulgaria and some words are very hard to be translated2. In Bulgarian folklore young unmarried woman was usually called "малка мома" or just "мома". They were at age of 14 - 17 years old. At this time they were considered as ready to be married and to bear children. On the other hand young boys were called "лудо-младо", literally 'young and reckless'3. A typical Bulgarian ring dance4. As I said Petrunka is diminutive of Petruna, but here we have diminutive of Petrunka. It's confusing but Bulgarian language is full of such rules which don't follow the rules5. Literally - He come from the down part of the village. Many villages were built on a hill so they had down neighborhood and upper neighborhood6. The horo dance is played usually in a circle by men and women who catch each others hands. Here, the young boy haven't taken part in the middle of the horo but he went at the beginning. The leader of the horo is usually the best dancer. Taking part in these dances is a way to flirt with a woman. Boys dance next to girl they like most7. The girls at these days put a flower in their hairs or behind the ear as a decoration

• Artist:Bulgarian National Ensemble Philip Koutev