In 1927, Oscar Hammerstein II Originally wrote the song Ol’ Man Missisippi for a musical ‘Show Boat’. The song is famously, but wrongly, credited to Paul Robeson who sang the song in the film based on the musical.
Dere’s an ol’ man called de Mississippi,
Dat’s de ol’ man dat I’d like to be,
What does he care if de world’s got troubles?
What does he care if de land ain’t free?
Ol’ Man River,
Dat Ol’ Man River,
He mus’ know sumpin’,
But don’ say nothin’;
He jes’ keeps rollin’,
He keeps on rollin’ along.
He don’t plant taters,
He don’t plant cotton,
An’ dem dat plants ’em
Is soon forgotten,
But Ol’ Man River,
He jes’ keeps rollin’ along.
You an’ me, we sweat an’ strain,
Body all achin’ and racked with pain.
“Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!”
Git a little drunk,
An’ you lands in jail!
Ah gits weary,
An’ sick o’ tryin’,
Ah’m tired o’ livin’,
And skeered o’ dyin’,
But Ol’ Man River,
He jes’ keeps rollin’ along!
Bhupen Hazarika wrote an Aahomia song inspired by Ol’ Man Missisippi in which Hazarika alludes to river Brahmputra. (For more on Bhupen Hazarika and his Paul Robeson connection, click here ).
I present here Hindi version of the song written by Hazarika himself addressed to river Ganga, followed by my rough translation in English. The version is set around the belief in river Ganga’s cleansing powers as well as Ganga as a character in the epic story of Mahabharata.
Ganga baheti ho kyun?
Vistar hai apar, Praja dono par
Kare hahakar, Nishabdha sada
O Ganga tum, Ganga baheti ho kyuin?
Naitikta nashta hui, Manavata bhrashta hui
Nirlajja bhav se baheti ho kyuin?
Chorus: Itihas ki pukar, Kare hunkar
O Ganga ki dhar
Nirbal jan ko
Sabal sangrami, samagra gami
Banati nahi ho kyuin?
Anapadh jan, akshar hin
Anagin jan, khadyavihin
Netravihin dekh maun ho kyuin?
Vyakti rahe vyakti kendrit
Sakal samaj, Vyaktitva rahit
Nishpran samaj ko, Chodti na kyuin?
Shrutasvini kyuin na rahi?
Tum nischay chetan nahi
Prano mein prerana perti na kyuin?
Unmat avani, Kurukshetra bani
Gange janani, Nava bharat mein
Bhishma rupi, Sut samarajayi
Janati nahi ho kyuin?
Ganga why do you flow?
the spread is immense and
subjects on both banks are in turmoil
always quietly O Ganga, Ganga why do you flow?
morality stands destroyed, humanity stands corrupted
Why do you flow shamelessly?
Chorus: The call of history, roars
O stream of Ganga
turn powerless people into forceful strugglers
marching forward
Why don’t you?
illiterate people, unlettered
innumerable people, without food
sightless, why are you silent seeing this?
individual stays self-centered
entire society characterless
lifeless society why don’t you abandon?
Why aren’t you the listener anymore?
you are definitely not animate
why don’t you fill inspiration in life
exhilarated earth has become Kurukshetra (a battle ground)
Ganga, O mother, in modern India
Why don’t you give birth to
a victor, a son like Bhishma (whose loyality lay with the state)
The song, also sung by Hazarika, is really rousing and reverberates in heart for long. I am personally, a little disappointed in the last lines and of course, Bhupen Hazarika’s political u-turn a few years ago has taken some sheen off the song. But again, like I said in an earlier post, the work of a poet is much more than the poet himself/herself and their unexpected, irrational political swings.
Thanks for pointing out that Ol Man Missisipi was not written by Paul Robeson, and also the last two lines of the Hindi version. I like the Asomiya version better though I dont fully understand the words.
thank you! rw. keep coming, keep inspiring 🙂
am reloy appreciate, the effort…..it’s good atmpt…
but m not understand it’s hindi version “Ganga baheti ho kyun? ”
well keep going
Hello Ghazala,
Just wondering if I could get the video of this song ‘ ganga tum behti ho kyoon..
During the good old days of Doordarshan, we heard this song a lot but now it is nowhere. So, if there is some video or audio, we can relive those moments again..
Thanks,
The video for ganga and many other bhupenda songs can be found on youtube.
i think lyrics of the song and Bhupen sung the way ,it is that some body is taking you over the hills and see like a bird …..and think just imbibe it and say …i agree
can anyone translate the first two assamese lines in english?
it’s really nice
philosiphical thinking
You have done a good job. and I thank you for helping me with lyrics. The last para you begin with Shrutasvini and say why Ganga is not a listener any more. Some body else has written tejasvini and writes why did you not stay full of glory. Still one more writes it as रुतस्विनी क्यूँ न रही, without writing its meaning. I too hear it as Ruthaswini when Bhupen da sings. Please tell me which is correct and what is the correct meaning.
Mallesh, Thanks for appreciating my efforts. As for the lyrics… I do believe the word is ‘Shrutaswini’… (see this live performance by Dr Hazarika http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbyo8QW6vaY&feature=related ). The word ‘Shruti’ not only means listening… in musical parlance it refers to ‘discerning listening’ as in appreciating the nuances and differences between the notes… also in Hindu traditions Shruti refers to divine revelations (or ‘listening to divine words’) so the Vedas… belong to this stream of theological texts as opposed to ‘Smritis’ which are just ‘remembrance’ and thus not divine. I am not sure what ruthaswini might mean. even if such an expression were to be in currency it would probably have something to do with ‘ritu’ (seasons)… and wouldn’t really fit in this context. But then in Climate change… 🙂
‘Sabal sangrami’ should be translated as ‘powerful warriors’ rather than ‘forceful strugglers’.
Regards
Nice effort…!But pardon my temerity to point out that everything pertaining to India’s cultural past and history and mythology doesn’t always mean it is one political party’s ideology….it actually took the sheen out of YOUR effort!Would you like it if entire history,culture of India is altered just to be politically correct according to these times?Sorry if I sound a bit rough…(By the way,as an apology,I am a die hard atheist)!
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