Still White Danube Undulates

"Тих бял Дунав се вълнува" ("Still White Danube Undulates") also known as the Botev March, is a popular Bulgarian patriotic song. The lyrics are based on a poem of the same name by Ivan Vazov. The storyline recounts a historically accurate incident from the Bulgarian struggles against Ottoman rule, which has earned the status of modern myth for Bulgarians, to some degree due to this song. On May 29, 1876 Bugarian revolutionary and poet Hristo Botev at the head of 200-strong company of rebels seized control of the Austro-Hungarian passenger steamship Radetzky by armed force and used it to cross the Danube from Romania to the Bulgarian territories of the Ottoman Empire in order to join the April Uprising. Dagobert Engländer, Captain of the Radetzky, later recounted that he had been deeply moved by Botev's patriotic zeal.

{|! style="text-align:left;" | Bulgarian original! style="text-align:left;" | Transliteration! style="text-align:left;" | English translation
- valign=top|"Тих бял Дунав се вълнува"

Тих бял Дунав се вълнува,
весело шуми
и "Радецки" гордо плува
над златни вълни,

но кога се там съзирва козлодуйски бряг,
в парахода рог изсвирва,
развя се байряк.

Млади български юнаци
явяват се там,
на чела им левски знаци,
в очите им плам.

Горд отпреде им застана
младият им вожд -
па си дума капитану
с гол в ръката нож:

- Аз съм български войвода
момци ми са тез.
Ний летими за свобода,
кръв да лейме днес.

Ний летиме на България
помощ да дадем
и от тежка тирания
да я отървем.

|"Tih bjal Dunav se valnuva"

Tih bjal Dunav se vylnuva ,
veselo šumi
i Radetzki gordo pluva
nad zlatni vylni

No koga se tam syzira kozlodujski brjag,
v parahoda rog izsvirva,
razvja se bajrak.

Mladi bylgarski junaci
javjavat se tam
na čela im levski znaci
v očite im plam

Gord otprede im zastana
mladijat im vožd
pa si duma kapitanu
s gol v rakata nož:

-Az sym Bylgarski vojvoda
momci mi sa tez
nij letime za svoboda
kryv da lejme dnes.

Nij letime za Balgaria
pomošt da dadem
i ot težka tiranija
da ja otyrvem

|"Placid White Danube Is Excited"

The placid white Danube is excited
And splashing merrily,
For the Radetzky is proudly sailing,
On its golden waves.

But as Kozloduy is sighted
A horn sounds on the ship,
A banner is unfurled.

Young Bulgarian warriors
Suddenly appear,
On their foreheads lion badges,
Ardour in their stare.

Proudly there stood before them,
Their leader young,
And thusly spoke he to the captain
With bare sword in hand.

‘I am a Bulgarian voivod,
And these are all my men.
We are speeding now for freedom
to spill our blood today.

We are speeding to Bulgaria,
To offer our help,
And from oppressive tyranny
To rescue her today.'

|