Скачать или смотреть Old Ukrainian Tango - Бували дні / There were days, B. Vesolovksy

Bohdan Vesolovsky / Богдан Весоловський (1915-1971) was a popular Ukrainian songwriter and composer of tangos, foxtrots, waltzes and rumbas. Vesolovsky was born in Vienna, studied law and music in Lviv, and performed in the city's celebrated Yablonsky band. After World War II he ended up in Canada where he eventually became head of the Ukrainian Service of Radio Canada International in Montreal. This track is taken from an LP of his songs recorded in North America in the 1960s which I preserved on a cassette. I've translated the song into English and the Ukrainian and English texts are provided below.
Бували дні

Бували дні, п'яніла ти з любови
І незабудки слала у листах.
При зустрічах дивилась так чудово,
Невинний усміх сяяв на устах...

Приспів:
І що ж ти, люба, тому всьому винна?
Твої чуття мінливі, не стійкі,
Твоя любов, як байочка невинна,
Хоч і уста принадливі такі.
І що ж тобі сказати, як розлюбиш?
Крізь плач промовиш: "Іншого люблю"...
Невже чекать аж знову світом знудиш
І нагадаєш про любов мою.

Бували дні чудового кохання.
Ми так цвіли, мов квіти у полях.
Пропало все, заліг туман розстання
І другий хтось повів на інший шлях.



There were days

There were days when you were drunk from love,
And reminders in your letters you would send,
You looked so gorgeous when we'd meet,
Radiance to your lips your innocent smile would lend.

And, is it you, my dear, that for it all's to blame?
Your feelings are erratic, do not endure,
Your love's like an innocent fable,
Even if your mouth is so full of allure.

And what to tell you when out of love you fall,
When teary-eyed, you say "I love another"...
Am I to wait until of the world you tire again,
And my love for you you rediscover.

There were days of wonderful enrapture,
When like flowers in the field we thrived.
Now all is lost, the mist of parting has descended,
And someone else for us another path devised.

B.N.