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ARTicles vol. 1 i.2: Epic Fragments
DEC 1, 2002
Lyrics to the Kazhak epic song fragments sung by
Ulzhan Baibussynova in The Children of Herakles
1
It was the Creator Himself
Who gave me my special,
Living, breathing tongue,
Gave me the precious words.
I speak on behalf of my people,
Don’t let me stumble,
Give power to my words
I am a rider of my soul,
So speak, my tongue,
Don’t stop, don’t pause.
The people are waiting for you
To bring them your words,
Words that will give us the power of freedom!
Give us this power!
Raise the warriors’ spirit!
The spirit of warriors who sacrifice
Their lives for their land
And for their free will.
So, speak, my tongue,
As long as you are alive,
No one will ask
You to speak up
Once you cease to exist.
2
O, my people,
Be prudent, be judicious;
Life is given to us only once,
So value it, appreciate it.
Respect, esteem, honor each other.
Live in union,
Be all in one, whole, with integrity.
If you will live peacefully in union
The Creator will send you
A bird of happiness, of love,
Of common sense and reason.
3
My lords, I ask you
To be reasonable, be judicious,
You must preserve and maintain peace,
Tranquillity and order
For your people.
To be powerful doesn’t mean
To destroy mountains.
It means to be high-minded
And noble, to unite people,
To create peace for them.
Life is short – it will pass
Before we have a chance to blink.
I speak to you in hope
That you will understand.
4
O, Creator,
You took my sight away –
So that I wouldn’t see,
Wouldn’t rejoice with my friends,
So that I wouldn’t see
And experience the joy of life.
But You gave me my tongue
So that I wouldn’t die
Of desperation,
Of grief, of yearning.
O, Creator, if only I had eyes,
If only I could see a single ray of light –
I would give up my whole life
For that one moment.
I know for sure
That in that other world
There will be light.
But there has never been any news
From those who are gone,
Not a word – How are they now?
But I know – I’m certain –
That when I join them in that other world –
There will be light, I’ll finally see the light.
5
God created Adam from clay,
He gave him all good gifts.
He let him live with Eve in His paradise.
But Adam went against God’s will,
And then all of humanity’s misfortunes began.
His son, Cain, envious,
Kills his brother:
And it’s that same envy
That brings to earth the first blood,
The first victim,
The first violent death.
This sacrificial blood
Flows into our days.
God sends Moses
To enlighten man
And imbue his soul
With God and mercy.
Moses sacrifices himself,
Gives his life for the good of humanity.
But man destroys everything once again,
Forgets about God,
And chaos comes back to earth.
Then God sends Abraham,
But man does not believe in his miracles,
In the existence of his God.
King Nimrod orders Abraham burned at the stake.
But Abraham comes out of the fire unharmed.
Man witnessing this miracle still continues to sin,
And does not believe in God or Abrahams prophecy
So God sends Ishmael, Joseph,
David, Solomon, Zachariah;
And then Noah arrives,
Furious with the foolishness of man.
He implores God to let loose the flood on earth.
But Noah saves humanity,
Bringing with him in the ark
A man and a woman,
And we are their descendents.
By God’s will, Jesus arrives on earth,
But betrayal kills him.
Jesus gives his life
To enlighten us even after his death
And bring God back to our hearts.
We forget about God
But God doesn’t forget about us.
He pardons us all our sins,
All our follies.
Then God sends the prophet Mohammed.
But man continues to bring disgrace,
pain, and suffering on himself.
Man continues to kill, lie,
betray, and get jealous.
God, we know You are full of mercy:
You must not forget us. We need You.
Give us another chance.
Stay with us.
Lay the light in our souls:
the light of love, hope, and faith.
6
Everything in this life is wonderful!
Wonderful are children’s voices
Ringing as a brook’s chime.
Wonderful are young people
Who are just like tulips’ buds.
Wonderful are women
Who respect and appreciate
Their husbands.
Wonderful are brothers
Who respect and value each other.
Wonderful is water,
Which tastes like honey
When you crave it.
Wonderful are the wise men,
Whose mind and words
Are like clean spring waters:
They quench your thirst,
They penetrate you,
And cleanse your body,
Mind and heart.
Life’s wonder is in striving for Great wisdom.
Life’s meaning will be revealed.