L for Lonely Frigate

 

Since I used to live by the Baltic Sea, quite a few entries of "My Polish Alphabet" in one way or another  are related to the sea.

"Lonely Frigate" ("Samotna Fregata") is one of those traditional songs that were known and sung by many Poles despite the fact, that it was not played on the radio or TV. Well, at least not in my time. The tune, which is rather sad, was quite popular where I lived. Combined with the lyrics, it has sometimes made me teary a bit. 

For so many years, I had no clue who the authors of the song were. I guess it is never too late to learn something. While preparing this post, I found out that the lyrics had been written by Konrad Łapin, a Polish poet who lived by the sea. Henryk Hubertus Jabłoński, a Polish composer of Gdańsk, wrote the music of  "Lonely Frigate" (and many other songs well).

Here is the song.

My translation of the text:

In a faraway port, somewhere at the end of the world,
Where a dead wave hits the shore,
A lonely frigate, for long years,
Has been waiting for something at the mouth of two rivers.

The rivers fall into one sea,
But a current carries them in two directions,
The frigate waits, though she might want to
Pick up the anchor and sail away.

In a faraway port, somewhere at the end of the world,
Where a dead wave hits the shore,
A girl lives who, for long years,
Has been waiting for someone at the mouth of two rivers.

The rivers fall into one sea, but a current carries them in two directions.
The girls has been waiting,
Though she might want to leave everything and sail away.

But the anchors hold too tight,
Two rivers have been flowing in both directions for years,
On the water only, at the northern lights,
A snow-like flower floats away.

And this is how the fate of the girl
Intertwines somehow with the fate of the frigate
That has been standing for years.
At a faraway harbor, somewhere at the end of the world,
Where only the wind sings carelessly.

An instrumental version of the song is included below. I have no clue why the lady is kneeling in the water (a mermaid ?). The music is nice, though.