Next up is a translation from one of my favorite Hungarian artists. I’ve enjoyed all of his songs and I’m very fond of the lyrics.
Ősz utca (Autumn Road) – Szakács Gergő
my full translation is also available on lyricstranslate 🙂
| Végül nem jöttél Nincs már közös út ezután A legmélyén hagytál Elzár a sötét, a homály | You ended up not coming There’s no shared path after this You left me at the deepest depths The darkness, the dimness, is suffocating |
| Túl nagy a szívem, összezavar Hogy értünk sír fel minden dal Túl kicsi a város, túl nagy a zaj Nincs, aki szól, nincs, aki hall! | My heart is too big, it confuses me How every song weeps for us The city’s too small, the noise too loud There’s no one talking, no one listening |
| Egy hideg nap után Az ősz utcán Egy képedhez suttognám Hol vagy már Elém áll a távolság Átfagyva várok rád Egyedül, hol vagy már | After a cold day On the autumn road I would whisper to a picture of you Where are you now The distance is right in front of me I’m frozen, waiting for you Alone, where are you now |
| Így várok rád Így várok rád Átfagyva várok rád Hol vagy már | I wait for you like this I wait for you like this I’m frozen, waiting for you Where are you now |
| Kísér pár emlék A sétány – nézem némán Ha kell, én állok még A szélben, míg jössz értem | A few memories accompany me The promenade – I silently look at it If I have to, I’ll keep standing In the wind, until you come for me |
Vocabulary
végül (adv.) – in the end, finally, ultimately (the line here literally is “in the end you didn’t come”)
közös (adj.) – common, joint, shared
út (n.) – path, track, course
note: this declines with the somewhat irregular “a” instead of “o” that back-vowel words usually take. the ú will become u in plural (utak) and accusative (utat). It will additionally change for all SINGULAR possessive declensions except for 3rd person singular (útja) and 3rd person plural (útjuk), where the stem stays the same. it’s a funky word, sorry
mély – (adj.) deep ; (n.) the deep
note: the full word here legmélyén literally translates to “in/at the deepest” and it includes the 3rd person possessive suffix that I can’t really translate word-for-word in English, but essentially it means the really really deep part of some unmentioned abyss or other depth
hagy (v.) – to leave (behind), to let/allow
elzár (v.) – to close in, strangulate
sötét – (adj.) dark, somber ; (n.) the dark(ness)
homály (n.) – dimness, the state of being poorly illuminated
összezavar (v.) – to confuse, mix up
felsír (v.) – to cry, burst into tears
dal (n.) – song (a more colliquial and current term is szám, which also means “number” but is used to refer to a track/song)
város (n.) – city
zaj (n.) – noise (the line here literally translates “the noise is too big”)
szól (v.) – to speak, talk
hall (v.) – to hear (I used “listen” in this context because it flowed better, but usually “listen” in Hungarian is hallgat, which means to actively listen to something)
hideg (adj.) – cold
ősz – (n.) autumn, fall ; (adj., referring to hair) gray
utca (n.) – street, road
suttog (v.) – to whisper
már (adv.) – yet, already
note: this is an adverb used in a variety of situations, so it won’t always necessarily translate to those exact two words
távolság (n.) – distance
átfagyva – the root verb is fagy (to freeze), with the coverb át (through, across, over), and the modifier -va which turns it into an adverbial participle1. So altogether it means “(in the state of being) frozen all over”.
egyedül (adv.) – alone, on one’s own
kísér (v.) – to accompany
related: hazakísér (v.) – to take someone home, accompany somebody home
emlék (n.) – memory
sétány (n.) – promenade2
némán (adv.) – silently, speechlessly
related: néma (adj.) – silent, speechless
még (adv.) – still, yet, even
note: as with már, this word has a variety of uses and you will not necessarily always see it translated to these exact words
szél (n.) – wind
míg (adv.) – while, until
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