by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
Translation by Otokar Fischer (1883 - 1938)
Big Steamers
Language: English
"Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers, With England's own coal, up and down the salt seas? " "We are going to fetch you your bread and your butter, Your beef, pork, and mutton, eggs, apples, and cheese." "And where will you fetch it from, all you Big Steamers, And where shall I write you when you are away? " "We fetch it from Melbourne, Quebec, and Vancouver. Address us at Hobart, Hong-kong, and Bombay." "But if anything happened to all you Big Steamers, And suppose you were wrecked up and down the salt sea?" "Why, you'd have no coffee or bacon for breakfast, And you'd have no muffins or toast for your tea." "Then I'll pray for fine weather for all you Big Steamers For little blue billows and breezes so soft." "Oh, billows and breezes don't bother Big Steamers: We're iron below and steel-rigging aloft." "Then I'll build a new lighthouse for all you Big Steamers, With plenty wise pilots to pilot you through." "Oh, the Channel's as bright as a ball-room already, And pilots are thicker than pilchards at Looe." "Then what can I do for you, all you Big Steamers, Oh, what can I do for your comfort and good?" "Send out your big warships to watch your big waters, That no one may stop us from bringing you food." For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble, The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve, They are brought to you daily by All Us Big Steamers And if any one hinders our coming you'll starve!"
Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Big Steamers", appears in A History of England, first published 1911 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Big Steamers", published 1918 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Otokar Fischer) , "Veliké lodi"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-07
Line count: 28
Word count: 269
Veliké lodi
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the English
Proč chcete zas vyplout, vy veliké lodi, s tím anglickým uhlím tam na vodní step? „My pro maso plujem ti, pro sýr a jabka, my přivezem vejce a máslo i chléb.“ A kam pro to jedete, velké vy lodi, a kam, až mi zmizíte, zprávu vám dám? „My na Quebec plujem, my před Honkong plujem, piš na Nový Zéland, piš do Bombay nám.“ A když se co stane, vy veliké lodi, a zkázou-li bude Vám cizí ten kraj? „Pak nebudeš snídat jam ani kávu, pak nebude suchar a nebude čaj.“ Tak vám vymodlím slunko, vy veliké lodi, hru modravých vlnek a od vichru klid. „Nech si vánek a vlnky! My veliké lodi jsme železné vespod, máme z ocele kryt.“ Tak vám zbuduji maják, vy veliké lodi, a řidiče přidám, kde jsou bradla i tes. „Ach, řidičů máme jak o posvícení, a průplav je světlý, jak byl by tam ples.“ Tedy cože vám smím, vy veliké lodi, co na pomoc vyslat a do kterých míst? „Vyšli koráby na stráž tam do oceánů, ať nás nestíhá nikdo, když nesem ti jíst; neboť kýta, již krájíš, a chléb, který lámeš, a všechno, co musíš, a všechno, co rád, co den my ti vezem, my veliké lodi, a kdyby nás lapili, hladem bys pad!“
Confirmed with KIPLING, Rudyard. Písně mužů, translated by Otokar Fischer, Zlín: Tisk, 1946. pages 52-53.
Authorship:
- by Otokar Fischer (1883 - 1938), "Veliké lodi" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Big Steamers", appears in A History of England, first published 1911
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 210