Bye Bye Constanța

Once upon a time, long ago,
I can still feel the snow,
And how the cold made me happy,
I knew that as long as you are with me,
Together we’ll survive until tomorrow.

But Austria scared me,
Same when you enlisted in the Army,
The War was at every border,
Killing so many of our Soldiers.

The Danube River under us,
Crossing the Alps was dangerous,
There, I became your bride,
The day the World died.

Now, Bye bye my beautiful Constanța,
Took the train to France but France isn’t Romania,
And together in the car we were drinking Whiskey and Țuică,
Far away from Siberia,
From the Danube to the Volga.

Did you read the book by Richard Condon* ?
On our way to England, to London,
I know, the train stopped in Germany,
It was time for us, together, to flee,
My autumn was your winter,
And our dream was bigger.

And now, I know that we love each other,
The Halloween Witch and the Winter Soldier,
We both danced on the Black Sea,
Feeling the slow creeping of the Century.

We were young and foolish,
Speaking Romanian and gibberish,
One morning, celebrating Yuletide,
I know I had to stay by your side,
The day the World died.

Now, Bye bye my lovely Romania,
Took the train to Paris but Paris isn’t Constanța,
And together in the car we were drinking Whiskey and Țuică,
Far away from Siberia,
Passing through bad Vienna.

Months later, we received our assignment,
Shipping out to the Italian front,
Azzano was a fiery Hell,
Before being thrown in a cell,
In Kreischberg, they flew the Nazi flags,
And read your name on your dog tags.

While our enemies were looking away,
I used my Magic and I won the day,
I freed you from the creepy Bunker,
What did they do to my Soldier ?
Everything turned from red to black,
And the place was invaded by Cossacks,
So we fought with our pack,
And then, I cried,
The day the World died.

Yeah, bye bye to our old country,
Farewell dear comrades in the army,
Going on, a thousand miles away,
Still on a train, on Monday,
Running to a hiding place on an island,
Here we go, welcomed in Ireland.

You’re my Sergeant, stay with me,
We are dancing on the Irish Sea,
Growing old under the Irish Sky,
Singing : ‘Bye bye, Miss American pie’

Yes, Bye bye my beautiful Constanța,
Took the train to France but France isn’t Romania,
And together in the car we were drinking Whiskey and Țuică,
Far away from Siberia,
From Bucharest to Drogheda…

THE END

Meaning :
The story takes place in 1943, in Constanța (Romania). One lovely couple lived there, close to the Black Sea, until War World II struck the country. The man enlisted in the Army. So did the woman (Using her Magic). But then, the ‘World died’ (The Axis lost. Romania had initially been a member of the Axis powers but switched allegiance on August 23, 1944.) But, our couple wanted to fight with the Allies from the beginning. So they had to flee their own country by train. Crossing through all the war zones (Hungary, Austria, Germany & France) alongside the Danube River. They married each other on the train, while passing the Alps Mountains. At the front of Azzano (Italy) they fell into a trap made by the enemies and they became war prisoners. The Witch saved her Husband (Using her Magic again) and they fought with their Regiment against the Nazis. They couldn’t go back to Romania, so they took a train to the British Islands. And they are still staying, hidden, in Ireland.
Singing and dancing.
.
Inspiration : ‘American Pie’ – Don McLean.
* Richard Condon : ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ Book.
.
Poem written : 19.09.2021
Corrected by Dermot : 27.09.2021
Copyright © 2021 by Alisone DAVIES – All rights reserved.