"Doina lui Lucaciu" (transl. "Lucaciu's Doina") is a Romanian patriotic song dedicated to the orator, activist and Greek Catholic priest Vasile Lucaciu (1852–1922).
The first version of the song was authored by Iosif Vulcan in 1870. Taking up the doina form, he lamented the imprisonment of Alexandru Roman, who had been sentenced by the Kingdom of Hungary for a series of offenses culminating with the publication of the Blaj Pronouncement. The mournful melody invoked a blackbird in a forest. In 1893 and again 1894, the Hungarian authorities tried Lucaciu on various politicized charges. It was while the popular priest was serving a prison sentence at Szeged that Gheorghe Bocu, a teacher from Șiștarovăț in the Banat, substituted “Lucaciu” for “Roman” in the original lyrics. The resulting song gained currency shortly before Lucaciu was tried as a signatory of the Transylvanian Memorandum and sentenced to five years in prison.
Lyrics
The original lyrics are as follows:
|
Cântă mierla prin păduri |
A blackbird is singing in the woods |
Notes
- ^ Corneliu Mezea, Dr. Vasile Lucaciu: "Leul dela Șișești": 1852-1922: viața și faptele lui, pp. 64-65. Satu Mare: Presa Liberă, 1936
- (in Romanian) Ioan Țiplea, “Vasile Lucaciu, un cărturar al Unirii”, in Observator Cultural, nr. 948/November 23, 2018