by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
Translation by Otokar Fischer (1883 - 1938)
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy...
Language: English
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea, There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me; For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say: "Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay! " Come you back to Mandalay, Where the old Flotilla lay: Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay ? On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! 'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green, An' 'er name was Supi-yaw-lat - jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen, An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot, An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's foot: Bloomin' idol made o' mud Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed 'er where she stud! On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! When the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' slow, She'd git 'er little banjo an' she'd sing "Kulla-lo-lo! With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek agin my cheek We useter watch the steamers an' the hathis pilin' teak. Elephints a-pilin' teak In the sludgy, squdgy creek, Where the silence 'ung that 'eavy you was 'arf afraid to speak! On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! But that's all shove be'ind me - long ago an' fur away An' there ain't no 'busses runnin' from the Bank to Mandalay; An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells: "If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else." No! you won't 'eed nothin' else But them spicy garlic smells, An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells; On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! I am sick o' wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones, An' the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones; Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand, An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand? Beefy face an' grubby 'and - Law! wot do they understand? I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land! On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst, Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst; For the temple-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea; On the road to Mandalay, Where the old Flotilla lay, With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay! O the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay !
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Scots Observer, June 1890Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Mandalay", appears in Barrack-Room Ballads, first published 1892 [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 Frederic Ayres (1876 - 1926), "Mandalay", published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bewicka Beverley , "Mandalay Waltz", published 1893 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Johannes Damrosch (1860 - 1950), "Mandalay", published 1898 [ voice and chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold Dixon , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1927 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "Mandalay", published 1915 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harald Genzmer (1909 - 2007), "Mandalay", c1963 [ chorus of 4-8 voices (and piano?) ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Mandalay", c1904 [ voice and piano ], fragment [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter William Hedgcock (1864 - ?), "On the road to Mandalay", published 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dyneley Prince , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1903 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ethel Florence Lindesay Robertson, née Richardson (1870 - 1946), as Henry Handel Richardson, "Mandalay" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oley Speaks (1874 - 1948), "On the Road to Mandalay", published 1907 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Wilder Thayer (1857 - 1934), "Mandalay", published 1892 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by H. Travannion , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1898 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Battelle Whiting (1861 - 1936), "Mandalay", published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Barrack-Room Ballads [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Willeby (1865 - 1955), "Mandalay", published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Otokar Fischer) , "Mandalay"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 60
Word count: 526
Mandalay
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the English
Do moře se děvče dívá u pagody birmanské, a jak sedí si tak líně, na polibky myslí mé. Třes jen, větře, listím palmy, chrámový ty zvonku, hrej: „Vojáčku, můj Englishmane, vrať se mi do Mandalay!“ Vrať se mi do Mandalay, k indické se flotě dej, neslyšíš, jak veslo pleská od Rangoonu k Mandalay? Ach, na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře když svítá z Číny, bouří to vždy nádherněj. Kouřila, jak jsem ji poznal, cigáro své ohromné, sladkým jménem byla zvána jak po sábské královně, do zelena čapku měla, žlutou sukni nosila, ke studené noze modly horké rty své přitiskla. Co s tou modlou! ani zbla o Budhu víc nedbala, když ji tam, kde jsem ji našel, ústa moje zlíbala. Tam na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře když svítá z Číny, bouří to vždy nádherněj. V mlhách byla pole rýže, zvolna slunce dřímat šlo; vyňala své drobné banjo, zpívajíc si „Kulla-lo“! Ruku v ruce, líce k líci, zírali jsme, jak se tmí, voraři jak dříví plaví, paroloď jak přijíždí. Slon se hrbil pod tíží v mastném bahně pobřeží, kde tak těžce visí ticho, že se sotva dýchat smí. Tam na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře když svítá z Číny, bouří to vždy nádherněj. Teď je pryč a pryč to všechno — nechtěj si anebo chtěj —, nejede mi žádná tramvaj od Temže až k Mandalay; v Londýně jsem začal chápat slovo veteránských rad: „Ten, hlas východu kdo zaslech, o jiný už nechce dbát.“ O nic víc už nechci dbát, chci jen slunce vidět plát, dýchat palmy, česnek čichat, slyšet zvonky chrámu hrát. Tam na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře když svítá z Číny, bouří to vždy nádherněj. Líto je mi boty trhat na té dlažbě špinavé, a tou zatrachtilou mlhou prolezlé mám kosti své. Tady aťsi třeba ženich padesáti holek jsem, ať mi o své lásce mluví — co mi po tom žvastu všem! Hrubé ruce hrubých žen, od beefsteaku tváře jen — — Divukrásnou znám já dívku, zelenější znám já zem! Tam na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře když svítá z Číny, bouří to vždy nádherněj. Na východ chci od Suezu, tam, kde není ctnost a zlo, kde se Desateru navzdor napojí, co žíznilo; zvonek pagody mě volá, tam, jen tam jde přání mé, do moře chci líně zírat u pagody birmanské. Tam na cestu k Mandalay, k indické se flotě dej, naši choří na lehátkách leží cestou k Mandalay; tam na cestě k Mandalay létavých je rybek rej; přes moře jak svítá z Číny, hřímá to vždy nádherněj!
Confirmed with KIPLING, Rudyard. Písně mužů, translated by Otokar Fischer, Zlín: Tisk, 1946. pages 28–31.
Authorship:
- by Otokar Fischer (1883 - 1938), "Mandalay" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Mandalay", appears in Barrack-Room Ballads, first published 1892
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: 60
Word count: 439