Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon facts for kids
"Oy Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon" is a Ukrainian lullaby. The title is usually translated into English as "The Dream Passes by the Windows".
The song is a traditional lullaby, composed of three verses in a minor tone. However, as it is a folk song, there are many popular versions of both the lyrics and the melody.
Lyrics
Ukrainian | Translated into English | Transliterated into English |
---|---|---|
Ой ходить сон, коло вікон. Де хатонька теплесенька, Там ми будем спочивати, |
The Dream passes by the window, Where the cottage is warm, There we will sleep, |
Oy khodyt' son, kolo vikon. De khaton'ka teplesen'ka, Tam budem spochyvaty, |
Ukrainian Lyrics (most popular version)
Ой ходить сон коло вікон,
А дрімота — коло плота.
Питається сон дрімоти:
— Де ж ми будем ночувати?
— Де хатонька теплесенька,
Де дитинка малесенька,—
Там ми будем ночувати,
І дитинку колиcати.
Ой на кота та воркота,
На дитину та й дрімота,
Котик буде воркотати,
Дитинонька буде спати.
Poetic Translation into English
Wondering dreams look for windows with gleams.
Stars in the skies sing lullabies.
Dreams ask a pale moon to throw light on a dim path to a sweet child.
Where’s a place so warm and quiet?
We’ll rest there with that child.
Purr, kitty-cat by rocking bed.
Peaceful be night, baby, sleep tight.
Translated by Iryna Vasylkova ®
Los Angeles CA 01.12.2020
Possible "Summertime" connection
When, after a performance, the Ukrainian-Canadian composer and singer Alexis Kochan was asked about the similarity of (the first line of) this lullaby and the melody of George Gershwin's aria Summertime (composed in December 1933), Kochan suggested that "Gershwin was deeply affected by the Ukrainian lullaby when he heard it sung by the Koshetz Ukrainian National Choir at Carnegie Hall in 1929 [1926?]."