Oj, dodo, oj, dodole

iz knjige Stihom kroz život (2010.)

Protest and society

Oj, Dodo, Oj, Dodole

from the book Through Life in Verse (2010)

Nekada se pjevat znalo:Oj, dodo, oj, dodole.

In the old days people sang:Oj, dodo, oj, dodole.

Daj nam, Bože, kiše malo,da natopi žedno polje,da se malo živi bolje.

Give us, Lord, a little rain,soak the dry and thirsty ground,so we'll live better all around.

Oj, dodo, oj, dodole.

Kome krivo, kome milo,poreza je uvijek bilo,nameta i raznih daća,to je bilo od vajkada.Al' za kišu da se plaća,nije bilo baš nikada.

Some are sorry, some are glad,taxes we have always had,levies, dues of every kind,so it's been since days of yore;but to pay for rain, you'll find,that was never done before.

Svakog dana kiše liju,nastala je vražja klima.Kiša pala, žetva stala,primanja su vrlo mala,al' nameta zato ima.

Every day the rains pour down,what a devil of a clime!Rain has dropped, the harvest's stopped,and our earnings, too, are cropped,but the levies come on time.

Kraj poreza, raznih daća,PDV-a i nedaća,"KIŠARINA" sad se plaća.

Besides taxes, dues and fees,VAT and troubles such as these,now a RAIN TAX, if you please!

Sada narod od ljepote,pjesme pjeva sve na notei hrvatske plaća vode.

Now the people, full of glee,sing each song by note and key,and pay Croatian Waters' fee.

Oj, dodo, oj, dodole.

Valpovo, 26. 04. 1998.

Valpovo, April 26, 1998

Translator's note. The dodole were village girls who, in times of drought, went from house to house in a folk rain-making rite, singing "Oj, dodo, oj, dodole". The "rain tax" (kišarina) is his joke name for the water charge paid to Hrvatske vode (Croatian Waters); VAT came in 1998.