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The Threshingfloor Lyrics
look who's fan is in his hands
upon the ground of sifting
instruments with teeth
a place for the called for
we call it the floor
into the air
in this time of threshing
bara devlam
davlam bara
devlam bara
istenem
by the hooves of beasts
round this winnowing pile
golden sheaves
the gleaming plain for miles
lift up your iron heel
spin Ezekiel's wheel
him lord of hosts
him lord of hosts
every secret sin
on and of this earth
grows fierce from the ground
instruments with teeth
instruments with teeth
cut them down
upon the ground of sifting
instruments with teeth
a place for the called for
we call it the floor
into the air
in this time of threshing
davlam bara
devlam bara
istenem
round this winnowing pile
golden sheaves
the gleaming plain for miles
lift up your iron heel
spin Ezekiel's wheel
him lord of hosts
on and of this earth
grows fierce from the ground
instruments with teeth
instruments with teeth
cut them down
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I did some research on the meaning of the chorus' words "bara devlam" and "istenem". Apparently, "istenem" in Hungarian means "God", but doing some more research I found out that these two verses might come from the Lovari Romani language. "Devlam" would mean "God" and "bara" would work as "mighty". "Istenem" would probably translate into "my Lord" or "God".
I was curious, more than to find the meaning, to find where David could have taken something like that. Very similar lines appear in a Lovari Romani song written by Nikoli Lakatos after a bomb attack in Austria that killed four Roma young men. It's called "Phurde, bajval, phurde" (Blow, Wind, Blow): "Devlam, Devla, bara (...) Bara raja Devlam". "God, mighty God (...) Mighty God". I don't know how much David knows about traditional gypsy music, but maybe there could be an answer for his inspiration in this path.
@MichiVarela He worked quite closely with Muzsikas, a Hungarian folk band, and he has also used quite a bit of Hungarian folk music elsewhere. (He even performed with them at Sziget festival on the 50th anniversary concert of Muzsikas). 16 Horespower's "Outlaw Song" (on Folklore) is a straight translation of Muzsikas' "Betyarnota", and there are certain Hungarian folk motifs in the beginning of the song "Terre Haute" on this same album (the recorder motif).
@MichiVarela He worked quite closely with Muzsikas, a Hungarian folk band, and he has also used quite a bit of Hungarian folk music elsewhere. (He even performed with them at Sziget festival on the 50th anniversary concert of Muzsikas). 16 Horespower's "Outlaw Song" (on Folklore) is a straight translation of Muzsikas' "Betyarnota", and there are certain Hungarian folk motifs in the beginning of the song "Terre Haute" on this same album (the recorder motif).
The Gypsy influence is no surprise either, given his interest in world music, but also there is a strong Roma cultural...
The Gypsy influence is no surprise either, given his interest in world music, but also there is a strong Roma cultural presence throughout Eastern and Central Europe – Hungary has had many fantastic Gypsy musicians (Lakatos, by the way, is also of Hungarian Gypsy descent).
"Bara devlam" means "mighty God" in Lovari Romani language, and "Istenem" means "God" in Hungarian (probably in Lovari too). There is song called "Phurde, bajval, phurde", (written by Nikoli Lakatos, a traditional gypsy musician in Austria who wrote it after the killing or four gypsy youngsters in 1995) that includes lines singing "Devlam, bara Devlam (...) bara raja Devlam". David is known as a traditional music lover, so he might have gotten some inspiration from this piece. This could be a guideline to get to this complex track (:
Sorry for the double post, I thought the first one hadn't made it to be published! Long live Woven Hand and DEE.
Sorry for the double post, I thought the first one hadn't made it to be published! Long live Woven Hand and DEE.