Translation offering from Firefly Soundtrack

POSTED BY: shotgunjedi
UPDATED: Saturday, March 18, 2017 08:57
VIEWED: 13249
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SHOTGUNJEDI

Sunday, August 13, 2006 5:24 PM

Never started a Thread of me own before, so bare with me...

...but I've been digging around a bit in archives and don't think this has been translated before. So here goes...

Firefly Soundtrack -track #3-
at the beginning of 'The Heart of Gold' montage, there's an Indian lady singing this beautifully haunting Raga-kind-of a thing (can't find her credited on the CD notes or anywheres else...), but it's the music from the opening shots of the episode, zooming in on the Heart of Gold from all the way in outter space...

Anyway, she's wailing away, and she's got this aMAZEing voice, haunting, like I said, and I've wondered more than many times what she's singing about. So...

My wife is Bengali, but speaks about 9 other languages (yes, she's leagues smarter as well as much prettier than me...), most of those being Indian dialects. Plus, she's a HUGE Firefly fan like me (US, I mean, referring to all a' yous reading this thread...), so she LOVES to listen along in the car when I've got the soundtrack going (she extra-loves Sonny's rendition of the theme-song). When I first asked her about the track we're talking about, she said it sounded like a prayer, but after taking another listen or two, she had this to say about it;

She's singing in Punjabi.

She didn't give me a word-for-word literal translation, but said she's basically singing a lament, saying something to the extent of,
"Oh, my! My Lover! He knows I want him, he knows I can't live without him, so why does he make me chase him here and there, here and there? Why does he play 'hard to get'? I can't take it anymore!!!!"

Something like that.

She said it's basically a recurring theme in songs about Krishna, and his lover Radha, how Krishna used to give Radha the run-around, even though they were totally in love. It's part of Krishna's character to play around with his devotees like that. God's 'liila'(play) I think they call it. In her exact words, Krishna was very "naughty"...

If there are any native Punjabi speaking Flans out there, I'd love get a confirmation on this.

So... um, wow... my first tangible contribution to flandom... thanks for listening!

P.S. -Insert Here- all the super-gushy yet sincerest thanks and praise for anyone and everyone envolved in and/or regularly visiting and/or contributing to this site and by extension, my insatiable appetite for all things Joss and 'Verse... you know who you are. Thanks...

"Life's not fair... and 'Earnest Goes To Jail' teaches us that."

STINKINGROSE

Monday, August 14, 2006 12:49 AM

Thank you thank you thank you!!
I loved that music. I had to go back and listen to it again before I could watch the episode a second time.
How appropriate for it to be a lover's lament.

Any chance of getting the words, or where to find them, posted? I have this problem with songs that get into my head and won't leave until I learn them.

DQBABY76

Monday, August 14, 2006 12:59 AM

Wow, that was rather insightful. Now the episode makes even more sense. Man I love Firefly!!! Thanks!

-------------------------------------------------
Shepard used to tell me...can't do something smart, do something right.
I'm so into Firefly, my butt glows in the dark.

SHOTGUNJEDI

Monday, August 14, 2006 2:09 PM

Hey, thanks back attcha Rose, and DQbaby!...

I'll ask about getting a word-for-word clarification, but some of it's hard to catch, just cuz she's wailin' away so ...deeply, and sweetly... and painfully...

Music like that, sung in a tradition that's thousands of years old, then snuck into the opening shots of an episode of our very all-time favorite TV show... well... yeah, it gets into your soul. And your head, like you mentioned.

Props (can I use that term even though I'm not Randy Jackson?) to Greg Edmonson.

"Life's not fair... and 'Earnest Goes To Jail' teaches us that."

FLYWITHMECAPTN

Monday, August 14, 2006 3:45 PM

Hey, that is cool. I always wondered what was being said there....cool beans

*smiles*

"Don't forget to call him "Sir." He likes that."

ENGINEANGEL

Monday, August 14, 2006 7:47 PM

coolness!! it fits so well into mal and inara's relationship, and into the episode. thanx for sharing shot!

ELDUSTO

Monday, August 21, 2006 8:31 PM

Sounds like that song describes(sort of) the relationship between Mal and Inara.

7UPILLOW

Friday, July 29, 2016 4:00 PM

Obviously very late to the conversation here... but I also recognized this bit of lyric we're discussing; it is the same (even voice, I am sure) as the opening bit to Sonia Dada's Moons of Jupiter song. I listened to it with my dad growing up a lot and it drove me up the wall trying to remember where I had heard it after watching this part in Firefly. Not sure it does any helping figuring out the lyrics because that part isn't included on any lyrics for the song, but interesting connection as well.

BRINGFIREFLYBACK

Saturday, March 18, 2017 8:57 AM

Surinder Kaur is the OG. Song is called" Hai Oh Mere Daadeya Rabba". It's a really old wedding song.

Then I think Karunesh took part of it, had someone (I have no idea who) do these awesome vocals for it and added a piece of another song (Aao Huzoor Tumko) before it. That song's called "Punjab". Then I think Sonia Dada used it in "Moons of Jupiter". Don't quote me on any of this last part though, I'm not too sure of the order.

I also think it's very clever (intentional or not, but I'm thinking intentional) that he named the woman Nandi. Nandi the name of Lord Shiva's - I guess the english translation is vehicle? - who is in the form of a bull, and also the guardian of a mountain called Kailash. In the show, Nandi is really strong willed, like a bull and she protects her little hill that she's made on her planet. Thought that was a nice parallel to the culture.