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Czech songs #1 - Chodounska
- Thread starter JerryPH
- Start date
Nice post! I'm half Czech. I guess I'm going to have to learn that song too!
So the Beer Barrel Polka is Czech? I never knew that. My last name in Czech is "new news" or just "news."
Alan Polivka
Active member
Yes, it is Czech - written by the famous Czech composer, Jaromir Vejvoda. Its original name was "Škoda lásky". During WWII, it was so popular that troops on both sides were singing it. The Germans created their own lyrics and name ("Rosamunde") for it.
Very interesting to me about your last name because my grandmother's maiden name may have been the same as your last name. Please drop me a line at: AcrdionMan@msn.com to discuss the names a bit further.
Alan Polivka
Active member
Cool. Feel free to drop me a line at: AcrdionMan@msn.com if you want to chat about "Czech stuff".
Yeah, I’ve mentioned before that there are a couple songs that are Czech that people are not commonly aware of. Beer Barrel being the most well known.
The popular but mis-translated “Blue Skirt Waltz” was initially translated from the original “Červená Sukýnka” which literally translates to
‘Red Skirt” Waltz. Red was a color generally associated with communism, so someone translated that to “blue” and since they could not do that in Czech because the first 3 words of the lyrics literally are “that red skirt”, they more elegantly shortened the name to Sukýnka” in publications.
Musically speaking, the Czechs LOVE their Eb and Ab songs, as the majority of them are written that way in their original key notations. If you want to play Czech music in its original keys and are not comfortable doing so, be ready for a few extra repetitions before getting comfortable.
Wow, this thread pulled a few more Czechs out of the woodwork!
The popular but mis-translated “Blue Skirt Waltz” was initially translated from the original “Červená Sukýnka” which literally translates to
‘Red Skirt” Waltz. Red was a color generally associated with communism, so someone translated that to “blue” and since they could not do that in Czech because the first 3 words of the lyrics literally are “that red skirt”, they more elegantly shortened the name to Sukýnka” in publications.
Musically speaking, the Czechs LOVE their Eb and Ab songs, as the majority of them are written that way in their original key notations. If you want to play Czech music in its original keys and are not comfortable doing so, be ready for a few extra repetitions before getting comfortable.
Wow, this thread pulled a few more Czechs out of the woodwork!
Imagine that! I play both the Blue Skirt and the Beer Barrel. Neither of my versions are in Czech keys. . . shame on me
Interesting history information too. Thanks again!
Interesting history information too. Thanks again!
cestjeffici
Member
I'm going to swallow my pride and confess my ignorance. What are the "flaps" JerryPH is referencing? Open? Closed?
You are in good company. I once had several months of some earworm in the march/galop kind of genre and it made me really mad because I could not identify it but sing it. Lots of suggestions from musical friends (mostly from military marches but also the Tell overture) that were almost but not quite it. I've listened in to more military marches on Youtube et al than I ever imagined, hoping nobody would catch me doing so.
So when visiting an old lady in Zurich, I also told her my problem, and she couldn't figure it out either though knowing the tune. We ended up asking a folk musician and music publisher when he came for a visit, and he volunteered that it sounded like something from Franz von Suppé (when foregoing the accent, "soup" in German). Never heard of the guy. But apparently of his work, finally identified as the overture from "Leichte Kavallerie" ("Light Cavalry").
So translating to soup clearly is not an impediment at all for producing catchy tunes.
Alan Polivka
Active member
Yup - I just found this and it's in Eb!Yeah, I’ve mentioned before that there are a couple songs that are Czech that people are not commonly aware of. Beer Barrel being the most well known.
The popular but mis-translated “Blue Skirt Waltz” was initially translated from the original “Červená Sukýnka” which literally translates to
‘Red Skirt” Waltz. Red was a color generally associated with communism, so someone translated that to “blue” and since they could not do that in Czech because the first 3 words of the lyrics literally are “that red skirt”, they more elegantly shortened the name to Sukýnka” in publications.
Musically speaking, the Czechs LOVE their Eb and Ab songs, as the majority of them are written that way in their original key notations. If you want to play Czech music in its original keys and are not comfortable doing so, be ready for a few extra repetitions before getting comfortable.
Wow, this thread pulled a few more Czechs out of the woodwork!
cestjeffici
Member
Thanks for the replies. I’m a bit smarter about accordions now. Something that happens every time I read thieve posts!
Your version above is a mish-mash with a few popular German songs (Anneliese, etc...). Beer Barrel is the only one that I originally learned it in Eb and so many others played it in C that I learned that one too and since most people I played with asked for it in C, thats the one that stuck with me. I have that version on the FR-8X on my YouTube channel.
Chodounska, to be fair to it, I decided to keep it in the original key.
Sukynka is also in Eb... I am not decided but I may add it later, it's a fairly easy one to learn/play.
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