Here’s a rousing Latvian midsummer dance number to start off the season. Bonus points for the Xena-like war cries.
Midsummer Night
English Lyrics:
Its true, Its true, there lay no lies (sway*, sway)
In the old native language (sway, sway)
During summer solstice night the girls become
Witches and werewolves
Summer solstice, Summer solstice is tonight
Who does summer solstice belong to?
Witches and werewolves
summer solstice belongs to them
The witch ran through the air …
Not in my backyard
My yard is forged with iron
Needles on my roof
Needles on my roof
Caught up in the rafters
Needles stabbed
Rafters cut
The river flowed like buttermilk
In my cows’ pasture
There the hunter broke its neck
and stood nine witches,
Drowning was the woodlands fae**
Without the sun in the evening.
*The midsummer festival in Latvia is referred to as Ligo, but the word also roughly translates to mean a swaying or rocking dance motion (Reddit)
**The Lauma in Latvian folklore is a woodland fae or goddess who appears as a beautiful woman. She’s generally regarded as a temperamental entity who may prey upon men or kidnap children, but are also can summon rain and perform high quality domestic work. They are strongly associated with blessings or curses on children, and with cow’s milk. They are afraid of iron. (Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Brittanica)
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/raganu-nakts-midsummer-night.html
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