Day 97: Second Fiddle to a Twelve-Year-Old
In his house in Murzasichle, near Zakopane, Mr Urban (A), a highland farmer who runs the village band and speaks the Podhale dialect, welcomes his new neighbour, Mr M艣cis艂aw (B), who played the violin for twenty years in the 艁贸d藕 Philharmonic, to his first rehearsal before a wedding.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Hej, dobry wiec贸r! A c贸z to za zelastwo pod pachom? Na wesele sie bierze skrzypki, nie meble.
Hey, good evening! And what's that ironmongery under your arm? You bring a fiddle to a wedding, not furniture.
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B
Dobry wiecz贸r. To pulpit, panie Urbanie, a w teczce mam nuty: znalaz艂em w internecie zapis ozwodnej.
Good evening. It's a music stand, Urban, and I've got sheet music in my folder: I found a transcription of an ozwodna, one of your old highland tunes, online.
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A
Ozwodnej z kartki sie nie gro. Nute sie nosi w g艂owie, a kozdy muzykant gro jom troche po swojemu.
You don't play an ozwodna off a sheet of paper. A tune is carried in your head, and every musician plays it a bit his own way.
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B
Czterdzie艣ci lat gra艂em z nut, dwadzie艣cia w Filharmonii 艁贸dzkiej. Gdybym by艂 wiedzia艂, 偶e tu gra si臋 ze s艂uchu, by艂bym zostawi艂 pulpit w domu.
I've played from sheet music for forty years, twenty of them in the 艁贸d藕 Philharmonic. Had I known you play by ear here, I'd have left the stand at home.
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A
Filharmonia to piykno rzec, ino u nos muzyka musi mie膰 pazur. Na weselu ludzie majom sie bawi膰, a nie spa膰.
The Philharmonic's a fine thing, only round here music has to have some bite. At a wedding people are meant to enjoy themselves, not doze off.
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B
Chyba nie wypada mi siada膰 od razu na miejscu prymisty: w orkiestrze ca艂e 偶ycie siedzia艂em przy drugim pulpicie.
It probably wouldn't be proper for me to take the lead fiddler's seat straight away: in the orchestra I spent my whole life at the second desk.
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A
Prym u nos gro m贸j wnuk, Jantek. Dwana艣cie lot mo, a ozwodnom gro, jakby sie z niom urodzi艂.
Round here the lead fiddle is played by my grandson, Jantek. He's twelve, and he plays the ozwodna as if he'd been born with it.
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B
Dwunastolatek prymist膮? To co ja w艂a艣ciwie b臋d臋 gra艂 w tej kapeli, panie Urbanie?
A twelve-year-old leading the band? Then what exactly am I going to play in it, Urban?
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A
Sekund: akordy pod prym i rytm, coby Jantek nie uciek艂 re艣cie muzyki. Na basach zagrom jo, jak zawse.
Second fiddle: chords under the lead, and the rhythm, so that Jantek doesn't run off and leave the rest of the band behind. I'll play the bass, as always.
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B
Czyli po czterdziestu latach kariery zostaj臋 akompaniatorem dwunastolatka. Chyba nale偶a艂oby mi z艂o偶y膰 kondolencje.
So after a forty-year career I'm becoming a twelve-year-old's accompanist. I think someone ought to offer me their condolences.
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A
Hej, nie frasujcie sie. Jantek tyz zacyno艂 jako sekund, kie mio艂 siedem lot. Za pare lot bedziecie gra膰 prym.
Hey, don't you fret. Jantek started out on second fiddle too, when he was seven. In a few years you'll be playing lead.
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