Besedilo (Lyrics)
Celotno besedilo pesmi »Naš mucek« z angleškim prevodom.
Naš mucek je ljub'co imel, ponoči k njej v vas je odšel, prišel je domov ves zaspan, ko mežnar odzvonil je dan.
#Zbolela je ljub'ca hudo, kaj če več zdrava ne bo, naš mucej je jokat začel, nobene več miške ni ujel.
#Ko pa mu vzame jo smrt, okoli se plazi potrt, življenje sovražit začne, v soboto obesil se je.
#V nedeljo na vrvi visi, tam mimo gre mnogo ljudi, pri sebi pa misli si vsak, da mucek je bil en bedak.
#To zgodbo v eksemplar povem brezskrbnim ta mladim ljudem, če vam življenja je mar, zaljubit' se nikdar nikar.
#English translation
Our tomcat had a sweetheart, by night he'd go to her in the village, he'd come home all sleepy when the sexton rang in the day. His sweetheart fell gravely ill — what if she never gets well again? — our tomcat began to weep, and caught not a single mouse any more. And when death took her from him, he crept about, broken, began to hate his life, and on Saturday he hanged himself. On Sunday he hangs on the rope, many people pass by there, and each one thinks to himself that the cat was a fool. I tell this story as a lesson to carefree young folk: if you care about your life, never, ever fall in love.
#Naš mucek at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia
- Sung in
- Slovenian
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- traditional macabre/satirical folk song; author unknown
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
Meaning and origin
A word of caution before this one: despite its cosy title, “Naš mucek” is not a gentle nursery song. It is a piece of black comedy — a mock-tragic folk song of the kind sung among older children and adults for its grim, ironic humour — and it deals with grief and suicide. A tomcat falls in love and courts his sweetheart by night; when she sickens and dies, he is broken, stops catching mice, comes to hate his life, and hangs himself, whereupon the passers-by dismiss him as a fool. It ends with a deliberately absurd “moral”: if you value your life, never fall in love.
It belongs to an old tradition of darkly comic, mock-cautionary songs, in which exaggerated misfortune is played for gallows humour rather than genuine despair — the bleakness is the joke. We include it because it was part of the collection and this project aims to present the material honestly, dark corners and all, rather than quietly leave it out; but it is flagged plainly for what it is, and is best kept for older listeners who will hear its irony. No author is recorded; like most such songs, it has simply been passed down by ear, a wry, morbid counterpoint to all the tender animal songs around it.
Common questions
- What is "Naš mucek" about — and is it for young children?
- It is a dark, ironic folk song, and really not a young-children's song. A tomcat falls in love and courts by night; when his sweetheart falls ill and dies, he is broken by grief, comes to hate life, and takes his own life; passers-by call him a fool. It ends with a tongue-in-cheek "moral": if you value your life, never fall in love. It is black comedy — a mock-tragic tale sung for grim humour, usually among older children and adults, not a tender nursery rhyme.
- Why include such a bleak song here?
- Because it was part of the imported collection, and this project aims to present the material honestly rather than quietly drop the darker corners. But it is flagged clearly for what it is: a macabre, satirical song about grief and suicide, best kept for older listeners and understood as gallows humour.
- Who wrote "Naš mucek"?
- No author is recorded; it belongs to the tradition of darkly comic, mock-tragic folk songs, carried down by ear.
