This is a clip (Message For The Queen) from the film 300 that I recently saw.
Apparently Tyler Bates was influenced by the magical traditions of Bulgarian folklore. Though Tyler Bates claims to have composed the song it is obvious that in fact he didn't. Many people were not happy with that fact but in cases like such it is impossible to track down the composer of the song , since many of the Bulgarian folk songs are made by the people for the people and they do not belong to anyone but to the Bulgarian people. I was extremely happy to hear the song in this movie but I wished the filmmaker and the composer researched more thoroughly the history of this beautiful musical piece and credited it properly in the titles. And I want to make it clear that I am saying this not for the sake of a specific artist or musician, but for the sake of Bulgarian folklore. I do believe it is high time that people start recognizing and appreciating more the amazing Bulgarian culture. However, if people don't know where exactly that musical piece was taken from they would not get curious and explore more what Bulgaria has to offer.
First lyrics record of the song was published in Turnovo (Bulgaria) by Ljuben Karavelov in 1878.
Here is the original lyrics of the song and an English translation. I have to note several things...It is impossible to translate the absolute meaning of this song the same way we Bulgarians hear it. A small example is the fact that the woods in Bulgaria have a very powerful meaning for us. The word itself in Bulgarian is "gora" and is in feminine grammatical gender (Bulgarian grammar) and for this reason the performer also calls the woods sister- "sestro". In addition, in the past the woods was the place where many of the revolutionary movements had hidden and many Bulgarian sons and daughters found their death there. The woods is a sacred place in Bulgaria. It was a shelter and a "mother" for many Bulgarians for a long time.
Zaidi zaidi iasno slunce
zaidi pomrachi se
I ti iasna mesechinko
Zaidi zaidi udavi se
Plachi goro plachi sestro
Dvete da zaplachem
Ti za tvoite lista goro
Az za moita mladost
Tvoite listia goro sestro
Pak shte se zavurnat
Moita mladost goro sestro
Niama da se vurne
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Hide… hide… bright sun
Hide….. go dark
You too bright moon
Hide… hide…. Drawn
Cry woods, cry sister
We should both cry
You- for your fallen leaves
and I -for my youth
Your leaves, woods, sister
They will grow back one day
My youth, woods, sister
It will never come back
