Dideba (Praise - Georgia)

Next in line comes Georgia (the country, not the awful state). Oh, Georgia...your flag is classy as hell, your language looks like squiggly doom. You're pretty awesome. I'm so sorry.

Everyone else had had a chance to read a couple anthems by this point in the evening, so I felt I needed to up the ante by butchering the original Georgian. Again...sorry, Georgia.

ABOUT THE ANTHEM:
Former National Anthem of Georgia.
First used from 1918 to 1920, then again from 1990 to 2004.

LYRICS:

დიდება ზეცით კურთხეულს,
დიდება ქვეყნად სამოთხეს,
ტურფა ივერსა,
დიდება ძმობას, ერთობას,
დიდება თავისუფლებას,
დიდება სამარადისო
ქართველ მხნე ერსა!
დიდება ჩვენსა სამშობლოს,
დიდება ჩვენი სიცოცხლის
მიზანს დიადსა;
ვაშა ტრფობასა, სიყვარულს,
ვაშა შვებასა, სიხარულს,
სალამი ჭეშმარიტების
შუქ-განთიადსა!

[Transliteration]

Dideba zetsit k'urtkheuls
Dideba kveq'nad samotkhes,
T'urpa iversa.
Dideba dzmobas, ertobas,
Dideba tavisuplebas,
Dideba samaradiso
Kartvel mkhne ersa!
Dideba chvensa samshoblos,
Dideba chveni sitsotskhlis
Mizans diadsa;
Vasha t'rpobasa, siq'varuls
Vasha shvebasa, sikharuls,
Salami ch'eshmarit'ebis,
Shuk - gantiadsa!

[English translation]

Praise be to the heavenly Bestower of Blessings,
Praise be to paradise on earth,
To the radiant Iberians,
Praise be to brotherhood and to unity,
Praise be to liberty,
Praise be to the everlasting,
lively Georgian people!
Praise be to our fatherland,
Praise be to the great and bright aim of our lives;
Hail, O joy and love,
Hail helpfulness and happiness,
Greetings to the truth, that light of dawn!

INSTRUMENTATION:

Trey Beauregard - Violin
Timbill Corder - Vocals
Tommy Scheurich - Baritone Ukulele

• play
• pause
• stop
• min volume
• max volume

posted by askmeaboutLOOM (13 comments total)

I forgot to mention, Text by Kote Potskhverashvili, 1918.

Also, here's a bit of pre-take banter, of the conversation leading up to the aforementioned Georgian-butchering.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 3:09 AM on December 6, 2011

Georgia (the country, not the awful state)

Now, LOOM, just lemme say that any state that produced Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob, Peg Leg Howell, Josh White, Blind Blake, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Allman Brothers and REM cannot be altogether "awful". And just try to imagine Ray Charles singing this, but substituting, say, "Connecticut". Now that would be awful.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:54 AM on December 6, 2011

Oh, and...

Otis.
Redding.

Case closed.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:04 AM on December 6, 2011

Those people were non-awful. The state still is.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:14 AM on December 6, 2011

Why are so many people from Georgia blind?
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:16 AM on December 6, 2011

Must be something in the water.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:37 AM on December 6, 2011

Well, for what it's worth, the guy who wrote "Georgia On My Mind" was actually from Indiana.
posted by koeselitz at 8:42 AM on December 6, 2011

Well, for what it's worth, the guy who wrote "Georgia On My Mind" was actually from Indiana.

True, and Stephen Foster never set foot in Alabama, with or without any banjo on his knee. But the American south, being the cradle of pretty much all American music, has always had an intense pull for just about any songwriter wanting to reference something primal or essential about America.

Except for LOOM, who is looking further afield for inspiration here!

Now I think I'm actually gonna listen to his piece!

(*listens...)

Sheeeeeee-it! That's good stuff raht thar, buddy. I'm a-tellin' yew WHUT!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:11 PM on December 6, 2011

I think he's speaking Georgian. You can actually hear the squiggly doom.
posted by koeselitz at 3:40 PM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

^♫ just the squiggly doom
keeps Georgia on my mind... ^♫
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:59 PM on December 6, 2011 [2 favorites]

THERE ARE SO MANY CONSONANTS. CAN I PLEASE BUY A VOWEL.

Also, I have no idea why Tommy goes into Auld Lang Syne...
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 4:00 PM on December 6, 2011

I dunno LOOM, I didn't hear a whole lotta consonance in that one...

anyway, dis music business, dissonance so easy, is it?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:03 PM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Especially not when you have man vs sun on violin. He's really quite awful. It's spectacular--not that I'm any better, or even as good.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 4:09 PM on December 6, 2011