Translation:
Shevardnadze¹ and Misha² Joke Song
Panduri,³ play! I am in the mood
Yesterday I broke my leg while turning over a girl
I walked through the country roads and picked peaches
I saw a woman outside, a cradle stood in the doorway
She was singing the child a lullaby with a cackling voice
I called to her and she answered "No -
There are plenty of lady’s men out there like you"
Yes, We will give you our voice, Shevardnadze
While our pants are falling down
You have brought this country to ruin
Hey - How can I vote for you?!
You white fox you, Shevardnadze!
No one will vote for you
You only think of yourself
While robbers and thieves attack us every night
Militia and the police are killing people in the middle of the streets
Hey – How can we vote for you?!
You white fox you, Shevardnadze!
You have ruined our crops
We are but skin and bones
Dogs hunt bones in the streets
Hey – How can we vote for you?!
You white fox you, Shevardnadze!
You f 'ed up Kitovani,4️⃣ then Jaba5️⃣
You f 'ed up Sigua,6️⃣too
I’ve got a good bridle to chain him
And will make him an animal’s feeding rack
If Sigua escapes, you’ll be in a bad situation
Georgia is no longer a suitable place, it is entirely spoiled
Our Georgian women now belong to the world
The world is a hen and we are together, everyone
We brought him back ourselves, our fox
No one can kill the fox
Don’t be persuaded, people
He'd rather kill himself
If he finds himself ensnared
Nanuli77️⃣will find love again
Shevardnadze escaped from us,
He wiggled through like a fox
They said that Burjanadze8️⃣ is just like you
She is a good flirt
She is a good son of a bitch too,
She knows holes everywhere
You shout Misha, Misha, – Well what can he do?
There is no one for us, all of them are robbers
This Misha of ours, what satisfies him?
He is a hungry wolf.
What can our Misha do? He played a role.
Aslan9 escaped and a dog remained
He was sent by airplane, taken down to Dad
When Aslan9️⃣ heard about this, he laughed
What a good man he was,
Who brought me here to Pashmata
Now let’s ask Pashmata what he complains of to Dad
He left him without a guardian, someone else’s
And again Misha left him without a master,
Sent to his father
¹Eduard Shevardnadze (1928-2014) was a Georgian diplomat and politician. He served as the First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (1972-1985) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (1985-1991). After the fall of the Soviet Union, he was the President of Georgia from 1992-2003 until the Rose Revolution.
²Mikheil Saakashvili served two terms as the President of Georgia from 2004-2013.
³A three-stringed, fretted lute common in all regions of northeastern Georgia. The instrument is most frequently used to accompany ballad singing. Read more about the panduri here.
4️⃣Tengiz Kitovani (1938 - ) commanded the National Guard of Georgia in the Civil War of the early 1990’s and served as Defense Minister under Eduard Shevardnadze.
5️⃣Jaba Ioseliani (1926-2003) was the founder and leader of the parliamentary group and political organization, the Mkhedrioni, (or knights), which began in 1989 as Georgia sought independence from the Soviet Union. They gained a bad reputation as violent thugs, and by 1991, they had many more members than the National Guard.
6️⃣Tengiz Sigua (1934 - ) was the Prime Minister of Georgia under Zviad Gamsakhurida until he resigned and became, alongside Tengiz Kotivani and Jaba Ioseliani, the leader of another controversial opposition which launched a violet coup against the government that led to its fall. He later became Eduard Shevardnadze’s Prime Minister.
7️⃣Nanuli Tsagareishvili Shevardnadze (1929-2004) was a Soviet and Georgian journalist and activist, married to the leader of post-Soviet Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze.
8️⃣Nino Burjanadze (1964 – present) served as the head of state twice in Georgia, once during the Rose Revolution and then again wen Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down in 2007-2008 to rerun in early presidential elections. In 2008 she became the leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia, and candidate for presidency in 2013.
9️⃣Aslan Abashidze (1938 – present) was the leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic from 1991-2004.
Gia Gigauri