Auburn Feathered Maidens
a verse translation
A companion piece to Violet Breeze. This is another rhyme from the same classic children’s album that my generation grew up with.
a poem by Sándor Weöres, translated by Joe Varadi
Auburn Feathered Maidens
Auburn feathered maidens, taking fancy flight
Spirit themselves moon-bound, by cover of night
Scurrying ‘til sundown, branches piled high
Cauldrons feed the flames that paint the evening sky
Neatly swept the courtyard, not a spot is missed
You won’t hear their heady cackles ’til the morning mist
The elder one rides bareback, on a plume of smoke
The younger one she’s trailing, barely by a stroke
Should have been more careful, from the very start
Auburn feathered maidens are bound to break your heart
Poetry is an exercise in ecstasy and agony. Translating adds another layer of pleasure and masochism. A literal translation of the title is “girls with dark red hair”, which brings an entirely different set of associations to the mind’s eye of the English reader. In order to stay faithful to the original (below), to convey the playful innocence of the lyrics, and the folksy, agrarian vibe of the composition, I had to change both the color, to the more natural-sounding “auburn”, and “girls” to “maidens.”
Vöröshajú lányok
Vöröshajú lányok, mint a gondolat
Felröppennek éjjel holdvilág alatt.
Este vizet hoznak, szalmát, tüzifát,
Sürögnek, kacagnak, mint a jó család.
Kisöprik az udvart, csak úgy bizsereg,
Ki hinné, hogy éjjel hol vannak ezek!
Manci, a nagyobbik füstön lovagol,
Joli most bújik ki az eresz alól.
Vöröshajú lánnyal ne kezdj sohasem!
Fogjátok meg, ott száll, viszi a szívem!
poet: Sándor Weöres; performer: Judit Halász; language: Hungarian
See my other translations of children’s verses also popularized by Halász Judit:
