Orovela

The other day I discovered the most beautiful and spiritual song I have heard in a long time, completely by chance, on this website (wait for it to load and the music should start automatically). After consulting a friend and my very knowledgeable husband, we thought it could be in Georgian, and to quote my husband, "people there are known to be great singers". Indeed! And... the pièce de résistance... my beloved found out through a Georgian contact that it is a Georgian folk song, Orovela, from the Eastern Georgian province of Kakheti, by the great singer and teacher of traditional Georgian music, Hamlet Gonashvili (lots of incredible songs on this page - Orovela is the 5th on the playlist). Ah... this has completely made my day (and the whole of my weekend, as I will spend it exploring his music!).

Below are the lyrics for Orovela, and no I do not read Georgian! However, I found out some possible explanations on the meaning of the lyrics: two words are repeated throughout the whole song: [ari aralo]. The words refer to soil/ land/ god of soil/ productivity, in a symbolic sense. Georgian peasants used to sing this song when they were plowing land with oxen. Georgia was then pagan. [*Edit: On viewing the YouTube clip again, a translation into English has been suggested, as updated below. (via)]

ოროველა (Orovela) (title)


გადი გამოდი გუთანო,
Go there [and] come back here you plough,


ღირღიტავ ბანი უთხარო
Ghirghita tell[give] him a bass[voice]. (to give him a voice, help in singing)
("Ghrighita" - name of ox)


სახნის საკვეთო გაუსვი
Your plough cutter cut it [cut it plough-cutter] [line it, cut in line]


რომ კაჭაჭს ძირი უთხარო
To dig out a bottom to Kachach [weed] [to sap out, to undermine a weed]("Kachach" - a kind of weed)


შენი ჭირიმე გუთანო
Your pain to me plough [love you plough] ("Let your pain be mine," a Georgian phrase, similar to "I love you" or "my darling.")


მაგ შენი მრუდე ყელისა
[pain] Of that your curved neck


შენა ხარ პურის მომყვანი
You are the bringer[leader] of bread


დამძველებელი ქერისა
The grower[old] of barley (To olden a barley, oldener of barley)



The sound quality of the following two videos is not very good, but the advantage is that you see a great musician in performance.





*Photograph: At the Abano-pass: The gate to Tusheti coming from Kakheti, source here.