One of the top trending songs from the Eurovision 2022 is the song by the Moldovan group Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers, which qualified for the final on Saturday 14 May.
The song opens with a quote by The Ramones and their famous punk scream par excellence
Hey ho! Let’s Go!
And then the lyrics delve into traditional Moldovan sounds in a punk note; in fact the key to the meaning of the song lies in its strong political connotations. A hymn to Moldovan independence, combining tradition and the revolutionary spirit of change, of which punk is the emblem.
The text is a succession of dichotomies: old-new, united-separated, east-west, which can be resolved as the song says in:
“Folklore și Rock’n’roll”
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
Testo e traduzione della canzone
Merge trenul, parcă zboară
Dintr-o țară-n altă țară
Merge și nu poate pricepe
Care țară? Unde-ncepe?
Țară veche, țară nouă
Parcă-i una, parcă-s două
Ba aparte, ba-mpreună
Parcă-s două, parcă-i unaHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chișinău – BucureștiȘi-ntr-o țară, și-n cealaltă
Joacă hora laolaltă
Și în fiecare țară
Face farmece vioara
Când ajunge trenu-n gară
Parcă n-a ieșit din țară
Parcă-a mers, fără să iasă
De acasă pân-acasăHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – BucureștiHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – BucureștiHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – BucureștiChisinău – București
Меrgе іutе, mеrgе bіnе
Тrеnu’ lеgănаt dе şіnе
Dar nu poate să înțeleagă
Рrіn саrе țară aleargă
Țară veche, țară nouă
Parcă-i una, parcă-s două
Ba aparte, ba-mpreună
Parcă-s două, parcă-i unaHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – BucureștiHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – BucureștiHey ho! Let’s go
Folklore și Rock’n’roll
Pleacă trenul! Unde esti?
Chisinău – București
The train’s going, just like flying
From one country to another
It is going but confused:
What’s the country? Are they fused?
Is it old or is it new?
Seems like one, but also two
Both together and apart
Are there two, or just one?Hey ho, Let’s go
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – BucharestBoth in that land and in this
We dance hora – it’s a bliss
And in each country within
Magic’s made with violin
When the train gets to a stand
Feels like almost the same land
Feels like went without a change
Home-to-home. What an exchangeHey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – BucharestHey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – Bucharest
Hey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – BucharestChisinau – Bucharest
Going quickly, going good
Train of our nationhood
But it cannot comprehend
What’s the country? Where’s the end?
Is it old or is it new?
Seems like one, but also two
Both together and apart
Are there two, or just one?Hey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – BucharestHey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – Bucharest
Hey ho. Let’s go!
Folklore and Rock’n’roll
The train’s route is east to west
Chisinau – Bucharest
