Albanian: Vetëm një natë

I met this song on 8/7/20 while googling "vetem". Basically, I had written vetëm in the Albanian translation here, and my advisor said it was vetem (note the second e having or missing the diaeresis), so I checked the internet, and among the google results for vetem was "Vetem nje nate", one of a few results where "vetem" (no diaeresis) was apparently due to constant lack of diaereses. I saved it "for later" that day, and today, 16/8/20, I want to try to crack it. So this is finally a "standard" post on this blog :). Let's first google the lyrics. Here we go, with translation to help us on our way. Yes, I sometimes draw from ready-made translations or Google translations in order to decipher some words. Lyrics and translation from there:

I tregova sot dikujt
Një Fshetsi që e kam rujt
Në zemër kon e kam pas
kurr skam mujt me dasht

# Isha plot dashuri
Zërin kur ja pata ndi
Doja që ta kisha ngat
Qoft edhe një nat

*A e shoh edhe një her
1 Tetori kur të vjen
Le ta din se nga aj qast
E pres që t`jemi bashk

*

@Le ta din se nga aj qast
E pres që t`jemi bashk

Jeta esht e padrejt
Mir jetoj po si kam krejt
Si të jem i lumtur un
Zemrën tjetër kund

#

*

*

@
I told/showed (something) to someone today
A secret that I hid
That I have had in my heart
I never have been able to keep

# I was full of love
When I heard your voice
I wanted you to be near me
Even for a night

* Could you see it even for one time
It comes at the first of October
Let everyone know
I am waiting for us to be together

*

@ Let everyone know that from that moment
I am waiting for us to be together

Life is unfair
I am having a life/I live but I don't have everything
How could I be happy
Without the other heart

#

*

*

@
OK, so let's see what we can do with Wiktionary. OK, it's impressive when the same site gives a video and lyrics that clearly don't match it. I have the non-matching lyrics. I tried to google for the right lyrics, and couldn't find anything but Romanian-Albanian mix, which only includes "unë dhe ti" as a line, the only thing I was able to make out in the video besides "po dashuri" and, of course, the title. I tried looking for a video of the song with the lyrics below, and failed. What the hell? Well, I guess I'll decipher tuneless lyrics then.

  1. Line 1:
    • I: masculine singular, either "of" (possessive particle) or an adjectival article (as in, i + adjective is masculine singular);
    • tregova: first-person singular aorist of tregoj, "to show" or "to tell";
    • sot: today;
    • dikujt: dative of dikush, "someone";
    so I 100% agree with the translation above for line 1;
  2. Line 2:
    • Një: "one" or "a", indeclinable AFAICT;
    • Fshetsi seems to not exist and be an error for fshehti, possibly a form of e fshehtë "secret", though I don't know what form;
    • që: which/that;
    • e: clitic third-person singular accusative pronoun;
    • kam: "I have";
    • rujt is undecodable; given kam is the present tense of the auxiliary, I'd expect a past participle here to form a compounde tense, but those end in -r usually; maybe it's an error for "rur", past participle of "ruj", alternate form of "ruaj", "to protect, to watch, to keep"; except ruaj has participle ruajtur, and the similar muj actually has mujt, so maybe rujt is the real participle, and my conjugator is giving me straight BS on this;
    so with a couple assumptions line 2 would be "A secret I have kept", not too far from the above translation;
  3. Line 3:
    • Në: preposition with accusative, "at/in/on";
    • zemër: accusative singular indefinite of zemër, "heart"; I'd expect a definite singular accusative zemrën, but what do I know;
    • kon… "cone"? Surely that's an error? "my" is "im" though, so that's a big error…
    • e: see above;
    • kam pas: "present perfect" of "to have";
    so "[that] I have had in cone heart", or whatever "kon" means;
  4. Line 4:
    • kurr seems to be an error for "kur", "when"; or it could be a schwa-dropping from kurrë, "never"; I assume Albanian has double negations?
    • skam should be s'kam, s' negative, kam see above;
    • mujt appears to be another corrupted past participle, this time from "muj", "can, be able to"; ah no, it's really mujt, it's irregular;
    • me: preposition with accusative, "with";
    • dasht is undecodable; it seems to be related to dua "want / love" and dashje "willingness", but I can't find a gloss for it;
    so "never have I been able with "dasht""; implying "to keep it", we get more or less the above translation for this line;
  5. Line 5:
    • Isha: imperfect indicative 1sg of "jam", "to be";
    • plot should be "i plotë", "full", perhaps dropping the schwa;
    • dashuri is presumably the accusative, since it seems plot takes the accusative (and it's a Google-seems, so a grain of salt is advised), "love";
    so "I was full of love";
  6. Line 6:
    • Zërin: definite singular accusative of zë "voice";
    • kur: when;
    • ja: from Albanian Wiktionary through Google Translate, this seems to means something like "lo and behold", which kinda doesn't really fit with a past perfect;
    • pata ndi: should be ndier and is the past perfect II of ndiej "sense, feel";
    so "When – lo – I had heard/sensed your voice"; I assume ndiej is a generic verb of perception that can be used for feel as well as hear and perhaps see etc.;
  7. Lnie 7:
    • Doja: imperfect indicative 1sg of dua "want";
    • që: that;
    • ta: based on the translation, this should be "të", clitic second singular accusative pronoun;
    • kisha: imperfect indicative 1sg of kam "have";
    • ngat is undecodable;
    so "I wanted to have "ngat"";
  8. Line 8:
    • Qoft edhe: this actually means "at least", as per the gloss "të paktën" given to the phrase on Albanian Wiktionary under "qoftë"; oh yes, qoft is qoftë, optative 3sg of jam "to be", and edhe is "even";
    • një nat, or rather një natë, is "one night";
    so "at least for a night";
  9. Line 9:
    • *A: Whether (or maybe one of the other meanings;
    • e: clitic 3sg accusative;
    • shoh: indicative present 1sg of shoh "see";
    • edhe: even;
    • një: one;
    • her should be herë "instant";
    So "Whether I see it even one instant"; the translation above is dead wrong, shoh isn't second person; and where is the "could"?
  10. Line 10:
    • 1: I assume it's pronounced parë and means first;
    • Tetori: definite singular (nominative?) of Tetor, "October";
    • kur: when;
    • të vjen seems to be wrong, it should be a subjunctive, so të vish 2sg or të vije 3sg; unless vij can be transitive meaning "come to", or të can be an "ethical dative" as in Italian "te ne vai/vieni";
    so "On Oct 1 when it comes / you come / it comes to you / you come"; I'd go with "you come"
  11. Line 11:
    • Le ta din should be le të dinë, optative present 3sg of di "know";
    • se: that;
    • nga: from (Glosbe, along with a bunch of other meanings);
    • aj should be ai "that";
    • qast should be çast "moment";
    so "May they know that from that moment"; perhaps even "le të dish", "may you know";
  12. Line 12:
    • E: clitic 3sg accusative;
    • pres: indicative 1sg present of pres "wait, expect";
    • që: that;
    • t`jemi: probably a contraction of të jemi, subjunctive present 1pl of jam "be";
    • bashk should be bashkë, together;
    so "I expect it that we be together";
  13. Lines 13-14 are identical to 11-12;
  14. Line 15:
    • Jeta: nom sg def of jetë "life";
    • esht should be është, indicative present 3sg of jam "to be";
    • e padrejt: feminine singular nominative of padrejt, pa- negative of drejt, which is something like "right, straight", or "fair, just";
    so "Life is unfair/unjust";
  15. Line 16:
    • Mir should be mirë "well";
    • jetoj: indicative present 1sg "live";
    • po: present continuous particle;
    • si: not;
    • kam: ind pres 1sg "have";
    • krejt: entirely, completely;
    so "I live, [but] I am not having [it=life] completely";
  16. Line 17:
    • Si: not;
    • të jem: subj pres 1sg of jam "be";
    • i lumtur: nominative singular "happy";
    • un should be unë "I";
    so I assume this is a dubitative subjunctive, hence "How could I be happy";
  17. Line 18:
    • Zemrën: def sg acc of zemër "heart";
    • tjetër: "other", I guess definite nouns don't require adjectival articles?
    • kund is apparently "somewhere" or "elsewhere";
    that accusative leaves me perplexed; this would seem to mean "the other heart [is] elsewhere", but why the accusative then? I'd expect a nominative; maybe the translation is right, and kund, or kundë, is a postposition meaning "without", though that is covered by the (pre?)position "pa" already…

So:

I tregova sot dikujt
Një fshehtë që e kam rujt(?)
Në zemër kon(??) e kam pas
kurrë s'kam mujt me dasht

# Isha i plotë dashuri
Zërin kur ja pata ndier
Doja që të kisha ngat
Qoftë edhe një natë

*A e shoh edhe një herë
1 Tetori kur të vish
Le të dinë se nga ai çast
E pres që t'jemi bashkë

*

@Le të dinë se nga ai çast
E pres që t'jemi bashkë

Jeta është e padrejt
Mirë jetoj po si kam krejt
Si të jem i lumtur unë
Zemrën tjetër kund

#

*

*

@
I told/showed (something) to someone today
A secret that I have kept
[That] I have had in "kon" heart
Never have I been able with "dasht"

# I was full of love
When – lo – I heard the (=your?) voice
I wanted to have (you?) "ngat"
At least for a night

* I probably see it at least for one moment
On the first of October when you come
May they know from that moment
I expect us to be together

*

@ Let everyone know that from that moment
I am waiting for us to be together

Life is unfair
I live but am not having it[=life] completely
How could I be happy
The other heart [is] elsewhere(?)

#

*

*

@


I also tried to transcribe the video's lyrics, here's my best shot. Note that the singer seems to be dropping a lot of final schwas, which have been marked as apostrophes.

Alida:
U ndam' pa fjal'
U ndam' pa fjal',
Ësht', unë hesht,
†I† edhe †koa† u ndal(a)
U ndal(a) (e)dhe †koa†
Për nja prekje
Unë dhe ti
Ishim †turië†
Dhe nuk dinim
Për dashurin'
Për dashurin'
Që na përkistë
Na †li kë më
Mo ga maj më
Tanxhu sonein†
Të(?) them †gjivë fjar'
Të tle dhë toj
Ash su ezhur
Të lingëdë†
Ti dhe †ku
Timië të stime
Zemë më fë†
Fal' më mua
Që të lash' vetëm

#Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
†I tem† kujtime
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
E(?) majm'(?) premtime
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Ne syt' t' ikur
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat'
Zemër u ndal ty prap'
*U ndal ty prap', mm,
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat',
U ndal ty prap'
Zemër u ndal ty prap', ooo
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Jej je, jej je, jej je

GBMC:
@You be missin' me,
I be missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You be missin' me,
I be missin' you,
†Fati onl'† i gjith'
†Shtash† kam en' dry †shu†
I be missin' you,
I be missin' you,
Shumë gjen edhe(?)
Ty †g(j)ishadru†
I be missin' you,
I be missin' you,
†Veshti† nat' bashk'
Jeme kalu(?)

Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
E(?) ndam' kujtime,
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
E(?) majm'(?) premtime
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Ne syt' t' ikur
Vetëm një nat'
U ndal ty prap',
U ndal ty prap',
Zemër u ndal ty prap'

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin' onwards
Aches in paper (?)
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)
Alida:
We parted without words
We parted without words,
It's [so], I [was] silent,
†I† I even quit †koa†
I quit even †koa†
For a touch
I and you
Were †turië†
And didn't know
For the love
For the love
That belonged(?) to us
To us †li kë më
Mo ga maj më
Tanxhu sonein†
I tell you †gjivë fjar'
Të tle dhë toj
Ash su ezhur
Të lingëdë†
You and †ku
Timië të stime
Zemë më fë†
Thanks to me myself (?)
Who left you alone

Only a night
Only a night
†I tem† memories
Only a night
Only a night
Of fat promises
Only a night
Only a night
In the crazy eyes
Only a night
Only a night,
Only a night
A heart stops(?) to you again
Stops(?) to you again, mm,
Only a night,
Only a night,
You broke again
A heart stops(?) to you again, ooo
Only a night
Only a night,
Yay yay, yay yay, yay yay

GBMC:
You be missin' me,
I be missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You be missin' me,
I be missin' you,
†Fati onl'† whole
†Shtash† I also have a lock †shu†
I be missin' you,
I be missin' you,
Many things even
To you †g(j)ishadru†
I be missin' you,
I be missin' you,
†Veshti† night together
We were walking/ed by (?)

Only a night
Only a night
And(?) we broke memories,
Only a night
Only a night
Of fat promises
Only a night
Only a night
In the crazy eyes
Only a night
Stops(?) to you again,
Stops(?) to you again,
A heart stops(?) to you again

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin' onwards
Aches in paper (?)
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)



I asked about these on Quora, then Googled some more and found a video of the song I analyzed. With that:

  • I found out this song is also a schwa-dropper;
  • There are also a few dropped h's here and there;
  • Thanks to Glosbe, we now know what fshetsi is: it’s fsheht’si;
  • Kon could be koh’n, maybe with an implication of time… mm, “In a heart for the time I have had”, not really sensible… assuming kohën is definite accusative, and I don’t have an inflection table; but maybe it’s like “in cuore” in Italian, which explains the indefinite “zemër”; still wondering why the definite “kohën” though… or maybe “I’ve had the time in my heart”;
  • Dasht seems to be dashtë “will”, so “Never have I been able [even] with will”, I wonder to do what;
  • I asked about ngat here, and it seems to be a Gheg word for "near" which takes the ablative case.
So I revise my text and translation:

I tregova sot dikujt
Një fsheht'si që e kam rujt(?)
Në zemër koh'n(?) e kam pas
kurr' s'kam mujt me dasht'

# Isha plot' dashuri
Zërin kur ja pata ndi(?)
Doja që të kisha ngat
Qoft' edhe një nat'

*A e shoh edhe një her'
Një Tetori kur të vjen
Le ta(=të?) din' se nga ai çast
E pres që t'jemi bashk'

*

@Le ta(=të?) din' se nga ai çast
E pres që t'jemi bashk'

Jeta 'sht' e padrejt
Mir' jetoj po si kam krejt
Si të jem i lumtur un'
Zemrën tjetër kund

#

*

*

@
I told/showed (something) to someone today
A secret that I have kept
[That] I have had in [my] heart for the time (=for a long time?)
Never have I been able [even] with willingness

# I was full of love
When – lo – I heard [your] voice
I wanted to have [you] near [me]
At least for a night

* I probably see it at least for one moment
On the first of October when you come
May they know from that moment
I['ll?] wait for us to be together

*

@ May they know from that moment
I['ll?] wait for us to be together

Life is unfair
I live but am not having it[=life] completely
How could I be happy
The other heart [is] elsewhere(?)

#

*

*

@


Someone finally provided the lyrics of the song I actually found, so let me update the lyrics and translation, and then do my analysis.

Alida:
U ndam' pa fjal'
U ndam' pa fjal',
Ashtu në heshtje
Dhe koha u ndal,
U ndal dhe koha
Për një prekje
Un' edhe ti
Ishim të ri
Edhe nuk dinim
Për dashurin'
Për dashurin'
Që na përkiste(~përkistë)
Malli m’ ka marr',
Më ka marr' malli
Me ta n’gju zânin,
Ta them një fjal'
Të t' ledhatoj
Ashtu e heshtur,
Dal' e ngadal'.
Ti i dhe kuptimi
Jetës time,
Zemrën(~Zemë) më fal'
Fal' ma mua
Që të lash' vetëm

#Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i kthejm' kujtime(t)
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i mbajm' premtime(t)
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Dhe si dikur(~tikur)
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'
*Un' dhe ti prap', mm,
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat',
Un' dhe ti prap'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap', ooo
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Jej je, jej je, jej je

GBMC:
@You be(en) missin' me,
I be(en) missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You be(en) missin' me,
I be(en) missin' you,
Fati jon' i keq
Tash ka me ndryshu
I be(en) missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Shum' ma kona për ty,
Veç (me/m'?) and'rru,
I be(en) missin' you,
I be(en) missin' you,
Veç një nat' bashk'
Ne me e kalu

Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i ndajm' kujtimet̚,
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i mbajm' premtimet̚
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Dhe si dikur
Vetëm një nat'
Un' dhe ti prap',
Un' dhe ti prap',
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin'
Always sensin' paper
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)
Alida:
We parted without words
We parted without words,
Like that, silence,
Even time stops
Even time stops
For a touch
I and you
Were young
And didn't know
For the love
For the love
That belonged(?) to us
I missed
I missed
(??)
I tell you one word
[May I]/To caress you
Like that, silent,
Leaving slowly
You are also the meaning
Of my life
Darling, forgive me
Forgive me myself (?)
Who left you only

Only a night
Only a night
To bring back (the) memories
Only a night
Only a night
To change (the) promises
Only a night
Only a night
And [it's?] like before
Only a night
Only a night,
Only a night
Darling, I and you again
I and you again, mm,
Only a night,
Only a night,
I and you again
Darling, I and you again, ooo
Only a night
Only a night,
Yay yay, yay yay, yay yay

GBMC:
You be(en) missin' me,
I be(en) missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You be(en) missin' me,
I be(en) missin' you,
Our bad luck
Has now changed (me=??)
I be(en) missin' you,
I been missin' you,
A lot (I owe you?)
Only (in) dreaming
I be(en) missin' you,
I be(en) missin' you,
Only one night together
We it (have?) passed

Only a night
Only a night
To split (the) memories,
Only a night
Only a night
To change (the) promises
Only a night
Only a night
And [it's?] like before
Only a night
I and you again,
I and you again,
Darling, I and you again

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin',
Always sensin' paper
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)



Analysis time!
  1. Line 1: U ndam' pa fjal';
    • U: reflexive particle, in this case reciprocal, I'd say;
    • Ndamë: aorist 1pl of ndaj "part, leave";
    • pa: without (takes accusative);
    • Fjalë: indefinite nom/acc sing/plur, here I'd go for accusative plural, "words";
    So "We parted without words", just as I'd always known;
  2. L. 2 is the same;
  3. L. 3: Ashtu në heshtje;
    • Ashtu: "so", "like that";
    • "in/on/at/to", takes accusative;
    • Heshtje: silence;
    So "Like that, in silence";
  4. L. 4: Dhe koha u ndal;
    • Dhe: "and" or "also/even";
    • Koha: definite sing nom of kohë, "time";
    • u: reflexive;
    • Ndal (or ndalë): indicative present singular (ndalë is 2sg/3sg, 1sg ndali, ndal works for all of these) of ndal, "stop";
    So "Even time stopps"; note that it's literally "the time" because apparently Albanian, like Italian, does that;
  5. L. 5: U ndal dhe koha, cfr. analysis above, there's just a word order change; I also wonder if ndal is supposed to be a variant of the aorist ndali;
  6. L. 6: Për një prekje;
    • Për: for (takes accusative);
    • Një: one, a;
    • Prekje: touch (either action of touching or contact – as in "in touch");
    So "For a touch";
  7. L. 7: Un' edhe ti;
    • Unë: I (nom sg);
    • Dhe: And/also;
    • Ti: You (nom sg);
    So "I and you";
  8. L. 8: Ishim të ri;
    • Ishim: imperfect of jam "be";
    • të: adjectival plural masc article;
    • ri: young;
    So "Were young";
  9. L. 9: Edhe nuk dinim;
    • Edhe: and/also;
    • Nuk: not;
    • Dinim: imperfect of di "know", 1pl;
    So "And didn't know";
  10. L. 10: Për dashurin';
    • Për: see above;
    • Dashurinë: acc sg def of dashuri "love"; now, the lyrics on Quora give dashuri, the indefinite form, but I'm pretty sure I can hear that n;
    So "For (the) love";
  11. L. 11: Për dashurin', same as above;
  12. L. 12: Që na përkiste;
    • Që: relative pronoun;
    • Na: dative of në "we";
    • Përkiste (which I hear as përkistë) seems to be the imperfect 3sg of përkas "belong", though I can't say for sure because an inflection table for this verb is not found online;
    So "Which belonged(?) to us";
  13. L. 13: Malli m’ ka marr': this seems to be an idiom which takes a dative X-dat and a për+accusative giving "malli X-dat ka marrë për Y-acc" meaning "X missed/misses Y", in this case "I miss", with the Y being probably a few lines below; literally "It took away goods from me";
  14. L. 14: Më ka marr' malli, same as above, word order change;
  15. L. 15: Me ta n’gju zânin: I can't crack this; zânin appears to be the Gheg form of zërin, acc def sg of zë "voice", gju means "knee", and I can't make sense of this;
  16. L. 16: Ta them një fjal';
    • Ta: alternate form of të, dative of ti, "you" (sg.);
    • Them: ind pres 1sg "say, tell";
    • Një: one;
    • Fjalë: word;
    So "I gell you one word";
  17. L. 17: Të t' ledhatoj;
    • Të ledhatoj: subj pres 1sg of ledhatoj "caress";
    • The other të is dat/acc (here prob. acc) sg of ti "you";
    So "May I caress you" or "To caress you";
  18. L. 18: Ashtu e heshtur;
    • Ashtu: so, like that;
    • E heshtur: fem sg adjectival article + "silent";
    So "Like that, silent";
  19. L. 19: Dal' e ngadal';
    • Dalë: present participle of dal "leave";
    • e: adjectival article fem sg;
    • Ngadalë: slowly, an adverb after an adjectival article, hmmm…;
    So "Leaving slowly";
  20. L. 20: Ti i dhe kuptimi;
    • Ti: nom sg "you";
    • I: masc sg, either adjectival article or "of", I think it's used here as a copula of some kind;
    • Dhe: also;
    • Kuptimi: I doubt the accusative definite kuptimin given by the Quora, and take this nom sg def, of kuptim "meaning, understanding";
    So "You are also the meaning";
  21. L. 21: Jetës time;
    • Jetës: gen sg def of jetë "life";
    • Time: appropriate form of "my";
    So "Of my life", with the definite just like in Italian;
  22. L. 22: Zemrën më fal;
    • Zemrën (which I hear zemë): acc def sg of zemër "heart", also used as "darling, honey";
    • Më: acc sg "me";
    • Falë: I suspect this is an imperative of fal "forgve"; how I previously got "thanks to" I have no clue;
    So "Darling, forgive me";
  23. L. 23: Fal' ma mua;
    • Fal': see above;
    • Ma mua: I think this is just an overemphatic acc sg "me";
    So "Forgive me", or "forgive me myself" for emphasis;
  24. L. 24: Që të lash' vetëm;
    • Që: relative;
    • të: acc sg "you";
    • lash: Possibly the Gheg form of lësh, from lëshoj "leave", but what form? It seems to be (from Glosbe) some sort of 1sg past;
    • Vetëm: only – "leave alone" in the previous translation was Google;
    So "Who left(?) you only";
  25. L. 25: Vetëm një nat';
    • Vetëm: only;
    • Një: one/a;
    • Natë: night;
    So "Only a night";
  26. L. 26 is the same;
  27. L. 27: T'i kthejm' kujtime(t);
    • T'i seems to just be a variant of të, subjunctive marker;
    • Kthejmë: subj 1pl of kthej "turn over" or "change the attitude of", or perhaps just "change"; Google gives "bring back", but I can't support that; actually, Glosbe supports that with at least one example;
    • Kujtime(t): nom/acc pl def(-t)/indef(no -t) of kujtim "memory";
    So "To bring back (the) memories"; I cannot hear that final t, but it could be unreleased and superimposed with the following line;
  28. L. 28 is L. 24;
  29. And so is l. 29;
  30. L. 30: T'i mbajm' premtime(t): same as before, except with "hold" (mbaj) instead of "bring back" and "promises" instead of "memories";
  31. L. 31 = L. 24;
  32. L. 32 = L. 24;
  33. L. 33: Dhe si dikur;
    • Dhe: and/also;
    • Si: like, as;
    • Dikur: once, formerly (Google+Glosbe);
    So "And like before";
  34. Vetëm një nat'
  35. Vetëm një nat',
  36. Vetëm një nat'
  37. L. 37: Zemër un' dhe ti prap';
    • Zemër: "darling" (cfr. above);
    • Un' = I nom sg;
    • Dhe: also/and;
    • Ti: nom sg "you";
    • Prapë: again;
    So "Darling, I and you again";
  38. Un' dhe ti prap', mm,
  39. Vetëm një nat',
  40. Vetëm një nat',
  41. Un' dhe ti prap'
  42. Zemër un' dhe ti prap', ooo
  43. Vetëm një nat'
  44. Vetëm një nat',
  45. Jej je, jej je, jej je
  46. You be(en) missin' me: I can't always hear the n's in the "been"s;
  47. I be(en) missin' you,
  48. Tell me what to do,
  49. Tell me what to do,
  50. You be(en) missin' me,
  51. I be(en) missin' you,
  52. L. 52: Fati jon' i keq;
    • Fati: def nom sg of fat "fate, luck";
    • jonë: Why the heck is this "our" adjective feminine when fat is masculine?;
    • i: m sg adjectival article;
    • keq: bad;
    So "Our bad fate/luck";
  53. L. 53: Tash ka me ndryshu;
    • Tash: now;
    • Ka […] ndryshu: possibly a Gheg variant of ka ndryshuar, indicative perfect 3sg of ndryshoj "change";
    • me: No idea;
    So "Now has changed (me=??)";
  54. I be(en) missin' you,
  55. I been missin' you,
  56. L. 56: Shum' ma kona për ty: shumë is a lot, or really, but the rest is a mystery; Google gives "You owe me a lot", but I can't substantiate that;
  57. L. 57: Veç (me/m'?) and'rru;
    • Veç has a couple uses, one of which is as a synonym of vetëm "only";
    • me: with (accusative);
    • andërru: possibly Gheg for "ëndërruar", participle of ëndërroj "dream";
    So possibly "Only with dreaming", "Only by dreaming";
  58. I be(en) missin' you,
  59. I be(en) missin' you,
  60. L. 60: Veç një nat' bashk': Only one night together (word by word);
  61. L. 61: Ne me e kalu: We ?? it (passed=kaluar?)
  62. The rest is either English or repetitions, except for the change kthejm'->ndajm', bring back -> split; whatever "split memories" means.

So remaining questions, with their answers as collected in this Quora self-answer of mine:
  1. What form of what verb is “përkiste”? Is it the aorist ("koha e kryer e thjeshtë") third person singular of "përkas"?
    – Yes 3sg, no not aorist (that’d be përkiti), it’s past simple/continuous.
  2. Is my understanding of "malli m'ka marrë" correct?
    Unanswered as of 22/11/20, though translations given to the whole line coincide with mine;
  3. What does "Me ta n'gju zanin" mean?
    – It’s n’gju, contraction of ndigju = ndigjue, equivalent of dëgjuar, “listening”, and ta = ty e = “to you it” (you dat + 3sg acc), so “Më ka marrë malli me ta n’gju zânin” = “I miss listening to your voice” (or hearing?). Apparently it’s not just për that goes with the ka marrë idiom.
  4. Did I get "Dal' e ngadal'" right?
    – As per the replies to this, it's dalëngadal', "slowly";
  5. What is the "i" doing in "Ti i dhe kuptimi"?
    – Spanish «Tu le deste un sentido a mi vida», i = le, dhe = simple past (aka aorist); should be “kuptim”, indefinite. TL;DR Object pronoun, dhe being the aorist of "give".
  6. Could the “Zemrën” in “Zemrën më fal”, which I hear as “Zemë”, actually be “Zemër”?
    Not directly answered, but the replies to this don't object to it and rewrite it, so thus be it.
  7. Is my reading of "Fal' ma mua" right, or is "falma" one word? And in the latter case, what verb is it from, and what form is it?
    – Falma is an "emphatic form".
    I wonder if such forms can be made with other verbs?
  8. Lash is the aorist of lëshoj, right?
    – As per the replies to this, yup.
  9. Am I right that those "t'i"s are the same as të?
    – No, it's të + i, where i is again the object pronoun, just like in "i dhe kuptim". It tends to be used, perhaps especially in Gheg-ish stuff.
  10. Am I right in implying that “it’s” in “Dhe si dikur” = “And [it’s] like before”?
    – As per the replies to this… there wasn't really an answer, the translation those replies give simply ignore the "dhe" apparently.
  11. "Fati jonë i keq" has masculine fati and feminine jonë, how come?
    – Grammar mistake in lyrics.
  12. How does the phrase "ka me ndryshu" work grammatically? Is ndryshu a Gheg variant of ndryshuar, from the verb ndryshoj?
    – Ka me ndryshu = ka për të ndryshuar, future tense.
  13. How does the phrase "ma kona për ty" work grammatically?
    – «Shum' ma kona për ty veç and'rru» is a mistranscription of «Shum' aviona për ty kisha and'rru», «Many planes for you I-would-have changed» (that's an imperfect, that kisha).
  14. Did I get "veç m' and'rru" right?
    – See above.
  15. How does the phrase "Ne e me kalu" work grammatically? Is it "Ne e jeme kaluar", "We are passing it"?
    – Contrasting answers here. Two people say it's a wish in the imperfect subjunctive, "ne me e kalu" = "ne e kalonim". One answer gives a past perfect subjunctive, again a wish, so "ne e kishim kaluar". Another one says "me kalu" is a Gheg dialectal infinitive ~ "për të kaluar". In all cases, I guess "so that we might spend a night together" is the gist.
So let's sum up this mess with a final translation:

Alida:
U ndam' pa fjal'
U ndam' pa fjal',
Ashtu në heshtje
Dhe koha u ndalɨ,
U ndalɨ dhe koha
Për një prekje
Un' edhe ti
Ishim të ri
Edhe nuk dinim
Për dashurin'
Për dashurin'
Që na përkiste
Malli m’ ka marr',
Më ka marr' malli
Me ta n’gju zânin,
Ta them një fjal'
Të t' ledhatoj
Ashtu e heshtur,
Dalëngadal'.
Ti i dhe kuptim
Jetës time,
Zemër më fal'
Falma mua
Që të lash' vetëm

#Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i kthejm' kujtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i mbajm' premtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Dhe si dikur
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'
*Un' dhe ti prap', mm,
Vetëm një nat',
Vetëm një nat',
Un' dhe ti prap'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap', ooo
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat',
Jej je, jej je, jej je

GBMC:
@You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Fati jon' i keq
Tash ka me ndryshu
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Shum' aviona
Për ty kisha nd'rru,
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Veç një nat' bashk'
Ne me e kalu

Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i ndajm' kujtimet,
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T'i mbajm' premtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Dhe si dikur
Vetëm një nat'
Un' dhe ti prap',
Un' dhe ti prap',
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin'
Always sensin' papers
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)
Alida:
We parted without words
We parted without words,
Like that, in silence,
Even time stopped
Even time stopped
For a touch
I and you
Were young
And didn't know
For the love
For the love
That belonged to us
I miss
I miss
Hearing your voice
I tell you one word
To caress you
Like that, silent,
Slowly
You gave a meaning
To my life
Darling, forgive me
Forgive me
Who left you only

Only a night
Only a night
To bring back the memories
Only a night
Only a night
To change the promises
Only a night
Only a night
And like before
Only a night
Only a night,
Only a night
Darling, I and you again
I and you again, mm,
Only a night,
Only a night,
I and you again
Darling, I and you again, ooo
Only a night
Only a night,
Yay yay, yay yay, yay yay

GBMC:
You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Our bad luck
Is now going to change
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
A lot of planes
For you I would have changed
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Only one night together
For us to spend

Only a night
Only a night
To split the memories,
Only a night
Only a night
To change the promises
Only a night
Only a night
And like before
Only a night
I and you again,
I and you again,
Darling, I and you again

We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin',
Always sensin' papers
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

Alida:
#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)

So yeah, you essentially get two posts here. The original post is kind of a mess because I was a total noob to Albanian and knew exactly zero about dialect elements. Now that I've done my fair share of Albanian, I can remake this to be much more correct. So on 18/8/21, I set out on this task. This post is about two songs, both titled "Vetëm një nat'", "Only one night". This title is transliterated word for word into English, so once I say nat' (natë) is probably an accusative of time, I don't need to analyze it all the times it shows up in the lyrics. That said, the story goes that I found song 1, by Alida Duka and GBMC, while looking for examples of vetëm vs. vetem, then looked for lyrics and found the lyrics to song 2 associated with the video of song 1, then I set out to analyze the lyrics and realized the association error. I have since gotten my hand on the correct lyrics and translated the song, and in fact merged into those lyrics an extra verse from another version of song 1. Anyway, I'll give below my texts and translations (well, song 2 is translated by Gavagai on Lyricstranslate), and the analysis will serve to motivate those translations.


Song 1 with extra verse

Alida:
U ndam' pa fjal',
U ndam' pa fjal',
Ashtu në heshtje
Dhe koha u ndal,
U ndal dhe koha
Për një prekje.
Un' edhe ti
Ishim të ri
Edhe nuk dinim
Për dashurin',
Për dashurin'
Që na përkiste.
Malli m' ka marr',
Më ka marr' malli
MePër të ta n’gjudëgjuar zâninzërin,
Ta them një fjal'
Të t' ledhatoj
Ashtu e heshtur,
Dalëngadal'.
Ti i dhe kuptim
Jetës time,
Zemër më fal'
Fal'-ma mua
Që të lash' vetëm

#Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T' i kthejm' kujtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një natnatë
T' i mbajm' premtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Ne si dikur
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'
*Un' dhe ti prap', mm,
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Un' dhe ti prap'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Jej je, jej je, jej je

GBMC:
@You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Fati jon'ynë i keq
Tash ka me ndryshupër të ndryshuar
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Shum' aviona
Për ty kisha nd'rrundërruar,
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
VeçVetëm një nat' bashk'
Ne me e kaluta kalojmë

Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T' i ndajm' kujtimet,
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
T' i mbajm' premtimet
Vetëm një nat'
Vetëm një nat'
Ne si dikur
Vetëm një nat'
Un' dhe ti prap'
Un' dhe ti prap'
Zemër un' dhe ti prap'

Alida:
Zemër, të kam,
Zemër, të kam
Akoma në mendjen,
Edhe pse u ndam',
Për ty e kam
K'të dedikim,
Për ty e kam.
Ti je gjithçka
Që unë dua,
Ti je gjithçka,
Edhe më shum'
Nga dashuria e jote
Dua të marr,
Në çdo sekond'
Të jetës tënde
I joti un' jam,
I joti un' jam,
Zëmrën ma more,
I joti un' jam,
Ti e pushtove
Qenien time.
Zemër më fal'
Fal'-ma mua
Që të lash' vetëm

#
*

GBMC:
We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin'
Always sensin' papers
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

#

Alida *, GBMC @ – je!)



Song 2

I tregova sot dikujt
Një fsheht'si që e kam rujt'ruajtur Në zemër koncilin/kënd e kam pas'pasur Kurr' s'kam mujt'mundur m' e dasht'ta dua
@ Isha plot' dashuri
Zërin kur ja pata ndidëgjuar
Doja që ta kisha ngat'
Qoft' edhe një nat'

# A e shoh edhe një her'
1 Tetori kur të vjen
Le ta din' se nga ai çast
E pres që t' jemi bashk'

#

Le ta din' se nga ai çast
E pres që t' jemi bashk'

Jeta ësht' e padrejt'
Mir' jetoj po s'i kam krejt
Si të jem i lumtur un'
Zemrën tjetërkund

@

#

#

Le ta din' se nga ai çast
E pres që t' jemi bashk'
Song 1 with extra verse

Alida:
We broke up without words,
We broke up without words,
This way, in silence,
Even time stopped,
Even time stopped,
For a touch.
Me and you
We were young
And didn't know
For the love,
For the love
That belonged to us.
I long,
I long
To hear your voice,
I tell you one word:
May I caress you
Thus silently,
Slowly..
You gave a meaning
To my life,
Darling forgive me
Forgive this to me
That I left you alone

#Only a night
Only a night
To change the memories
Only a night
Only a night
To keep the promises
Only a night
Only a night
Us like before
Only a night
Only a night
Only a night
Darling me and you again
*Me and you again, mm,
Only a night
Only a night
Me and you again
Darling me and you again
Only a night
Only a night
Yay yay, yay yay, yay yay

GBMC:
@You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Tell me what to do,
Tell me what to do,
You been missin' me,
I been missin' you,
Our bad fate
Will now change
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Many planes
I had changed for you,,
I been missin' you,
I been missin' you,
Only a night together
For us to pass

Only a night
Only a night
To split the memories
Only a night
Only a night
To keep the promises
Only a night
Only a night
Us like before
Only a night
U Me and you again
Me and you again
Darling me and you again

Alida:
Darling, I have you,
Darling, I have you
Still in my mind,
Even though we broke up,
For you I have
This dedication,
For you I have it.
You are everything
That I want,
You are everything,
And more
Of your love
I want to get,
In every second
Of your life,
Yours I am,
Yours I am,
You took my heart,
Yours I am,
You conquered
My being.
Darling forgive me
Forgive this to me
That I left you alone

#
*

GBMC:
We are money makers
We are money makers
You know the mad thing
They call us undertakers
We are money makers
We are money makers
Never stop lovin'
Always sensin' papers
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,
Pick up the phone girl,
I wanna see you
Later, later, yay,

#

Alida *, GBMC @ – yay!)



Song 2

I told someone today
A secret that I kept hidden
The one I've had in my heart
I never had the chance to love

@ I was full of love
When I heard her voice
I wanted to have her near
Even for one night

# Am I seeing her [?] again?
When the 1st of October comes
Let them know that from that moment
I await for us to be together

#

Let them know that from that moment
I await for us to be together

Life is unfair
I have a good life, but I don't have everything
How can I be happy
When my heart is elsewhere

@

#

#

Let them know that from that moment
I await for us to be together



I will do all I can to make writing this as short as possible: not even mention repetitions, skip the title altogether, not put the translation in here when it's identical to what is given above, and whatever else I can think up.
  • L. 1 and 2 «U ndam' pa fjal'»:
    • U ndam' = u ndamë: "we broke up", mediopassive ind. aor. 1pl. of ndaj "divide, separate";
    • pa: without, takes accusative;
    • fjal' = fjalë: acc. sg. indef. of fjalë "word";
  • L. 3 «Ashtu në heshtje», word by word, is «Thus, in silence», where heshtje is acc. sg. indef.
  • L. 4 «Dhe koha u ndal» and l. 5 «U ndal dhe koha»:
    • Dhe: and; in l. 5, it means "even"; it could mean "even" even here;
    • koha: nom. sg. def. of kohë "time";
    • u ndal: verb ndal "stop", mediopassive indicative 3sg., that looks like a present, so "stops", but I feel this doesn't make sense in context, so I chose to assume this is an elided aorist, which would be u ndali;
  • L. 6 «Për një prekje» is translated word for word in the above translation, prekje being acc. sg. indef.;
  • L. 7 «Un' edhe ti», word by word, is «I and you», two nominative pronouns;
  • L. 8 «Ishim të ri»:
    • Ishim: ind. impf. 1pl. of "jam", "to be";
    • të ri: this should probably be «të rinj», as that's the m.pl. form of ri "young" with appropriate adjectival article të; I guess using ri for m.pl. is a dialect thing, or maybe the -nj is just not audible;
  • L. 8 «Edhe nuk dinim» is, word by word, «And not knew», dinim being the imperfect ind. 1pl. of di "know";
  • L. 9 and 10 «Për dashurin'» is translated as literally as can be, dashurin' = dashurinë being acc. sg. def. of dashuri "love";
  • L. 10 «Që na përkiste» is «That belonged to us», na being dat. of ne "we", and përkiste is from përkas "belong", ind. 3sg. for sure, not sure if aorist (expecting përkite for that since the 1sg. is përkita) or impf. (based on how pres > priste);
  • L. 11 «Malli m' ka marr'» and l. 12 «Më ka marr' malli»:
    • Malli: nom. sg. def. of mall "longing";
    • m': më, acc. sg. of unë "I";
    • ka marr': has taken, compound past of marr "take";
    So literally «The longing has taken me», and less literally «I long»; longing for takes the preposition për;
  • L. 13 «Me ta n’gju zânin»:
    • Me … n'gju: Gheg infinitive of n'gjoj, Gheg form of dëgjoj "listen";
    • ta: të + e, të dat. of ty "you", e object pronoun, acc. sg. pointing to the accusative further on;
    • zânin = zërin: acc. sg. def. of zë "voice";
    So literally… can't really do that; it's a construction that works in in Italian (ascoltartela la voce) and in Spanish (escuchartela la voz), though they wouldn't have the equivalents of "e" (-la), but not in English; it means «to listen to your voice»;
  • L. 14 «Ta them një fjal'», «I tell it to you one word», "it" (e) calls unto the object further on, which is obviously in accusative, ta = të (to you) + e, and them is ind. pres. 1sg.;
  • L. 15 «Të t' ledhatoj», «May I caress you», të ledhatoj is the subj. pres. 1sg. of ledhatoj "to caress" and t' = të is "you", clitic acc. sg. of ti;
  • L. 16 «Ashtu e heshtur», «Thus, quiet», with "quiet" taking the fem. sg. adjectival article because the singer is Alida Duka, a woman;
  • L. 17 «Dalëngadal'» means slowly;
  • L. 18 «Ti i dhe kuptim»:
    • Ti: nom. sg. "you";
    • i: dat. sg. of ai "he/it", clitic pronoun calling unto the dative in the next line;
    • dhe: ind. aor. 2sg. of jap "give"; OMG the irregularity :);
    • kuptim: meaning;
  • L. 19 «Jetës time», «To my life», dat. sg. fem. def. of jetë and im;
  • L. 20 «Zemër më fal» and l. 21 «Fal-ma mua»:
    • Zemër: lit. "heart", nom. sg. indef., here used as a term of endearment, so "darling", "honey";
    • më: dat. sg. clitic of unë "I";
    • fal': imp. 2sg. of fal "forgive";
    • fal'-ma is fal' from above + ma = më e, më like above and e object pronoun calling to the që clause of the next line;
    • mua: dat. sg. nonclitic of unë, reinforcing the më from -ma;
  • L. 21 «Që të lash' vetëm», «That I left you alone», të=you, lash' is the ind. aor. 2sg. of lë "leave";
  • The chorus is a bunch of repetitions, so I have the following lines: «T' i kthejm' kujtimet […] T' i mbajm' premtimet», two with the same structure, then «Ne si dikur» which is literally «We like before/once», then «Zemër un' dhe ti prap'» and various repetitions, this is literally «Darling I and you again» with un' and ti being nom. sg., so let's analyse the two with the same structure:
    • T'i: të for subjunctive, i acc. pl. clitic of ai "he/it", calling unto the two objects that end the two lines;
    • T' … kthejm'/mbajm': subj. pres. 1pl. of kthej and mbaj resp., meaning "turn, turn over, change" and "hold, keep" resp.;
  • First Albanian line of GBMC's first section «Fati jon' i keq»: that's ungrammatical because jon' is feminine and fati is masc., the correct form is fati ynë, nom. def. sg. of fat yn "our chance", and i keq is "bad" with appropriate adjectival article;
  • Second Albanian line there «Tash ka me ndryshu», «Now will change», tash=now, ka me ndryshu = ka për të ndryshuar is one possible future of ndryshoj "change", ind. fut. 3sg.;
  • Third Alb. line there «Shum' aviona», «Many planes», I presume aviona is the acc. pl. indef. of an unfindable avion=plane;
  • Fourth such line «Për ty kisha nd'rru»:
    • Për: for, takes acc.;
    • Ty: acc. of ti "you", nonclitic;
    • kisha nd'rru = kisha ndërruar: had changed, kisha begin the ind. impf. 1sg. of kam "have" used as an auxiliary;
  • Fifth such line «Veç një nat' bashk'», word for word «Just one night together», where the night is in acc. sg. indef.;
  • Sixth and last such line «Ne me e kalu» has ne=we (nom.), e = it (obj. pronoun, acc. sg. clitic), and me kalu, Gheg infinitive of kaloj "to pass, to spend";
  • GBMC's chorus changes the kujtimet line to «T' i ndajm' kujtimet», where ndajm' is the usual form, but from the verb ndaj "to divide, to separate";
  • L. 1 and 2 of extra verse «Zemër, të kam», zemër is the endearing term from above, të cam means I have you, të acc. sg. clitic of ti, kam ind. pres. 1sg.;
  • L. 3 of it «Akoma në mendjen» lit. «Still in the mind», still means yet, and mendjen is acc. sg. def. of mendje "mind";
  • L. 4 of it «Edhe pse u ndam'», u ndam' is like in l. 1 of the song, and edhe pse means even if;
  • L. 5 and 7 therein «Për ty e kam», «For you I have it», ty acc. sg. nonclitic of ti "you" and e is the usual object pronoun;
  • L. 6 therein «K'të dedikim» «This dedication», acc. sg. indef. masc. of ky dedikim;
  • L. 8 and 10 therein «Ti je gjithçka», «You are everything», ind. pres. 3sg of jam "to be";
  • L. 9 therein «Që unë dua» «That I want/love», unë nom. sg., dua ind. pres. 1sg.;
  • L. 11 «Edhe më shum'», «And more», më forms comparatives and shum' = shumë means much;
  • L. 12, «Nga dashuria e jote», «From your love», dashuria is nom. sg. def. of dashuri "love" and e is the appropriate adjectival article;
  • L. 13 «Dua të marr» «I want to get», të marr is subj. pres. 1sg., that's how "I want" works in Albanian, it takes the subjunctive, conjugated to agree with the subject of "want"; "I want that I get", literally; just like in Modern Greek;
  • L. 14 «Në çdo sekond'» «In every second», acc. sg. indef.;
  • L. 15 «Të jetës tënde» «Of your life», jetës tënde is gen. sg. def. of jetë jote, të is the adjectival article agreeing with sekond' from the previous line;
  • L. 16 17 19 «I joti un' jam» «Yours I am», i joti has the adj. article in the masculine because the singer here is Olti Marku from the other video, not Alida Duka, and un'=unë=I, jam=I am;
  • L. 18 «Zëmrën ma more» «The heart from me it you took», ma = më e as usual, zemrën acc. sg. def. of zemër;
  • L. 20 «Ti e pushtove» «You conquered it», e object pronounc, pushtove ind. aor. 2sg. of pushtoj "conquer";
  • L. 21 «Qenien time» «My being», acc. sg. def. of qenie im;
  • The rest is all repetitions, so I stop here.



Moving on to song 2.
  1. L. 1 «I tregova sot dikujt»:
    • I: dat. sg. clitic of ai/ajo "he/she/it";
    • tregova: ind. aor. 1sg. of tregoj "show" or "tell";
    • sot: today;
    • dikujt: dat. sg. of dikush "someone";
  2. L. 2 «Një fsheht'si që e kam rujt'»:
    • Një: one, a;
    • fsheht'si: secret, acc. sg. indef.;
    • që: that, relative pron.;
    • e: object pron., acc. sg. clitic of ai/ajo;
    • kam rujt' = kam ruajtur: ind. compound past 1sg. of ruaj "to watch over, to maintain", or in this case "to keep" (for secrets);
  3. L. 3 «Në zemër kon e kam pas'»:
    • Në: in, takes accusative;
    • zemër: heart, acc. sg. indef.; surprised it's not def.;
    • kon = cilin: relative acc. sg.; my suspicion is it's a dialectal form of kënd, from kush, though that's apparently interrogative or indefinite; maybe "someone", and then put an "e" in the next line?
    • e: usual clitic object pronoun;
    • kam pas' = kam pasur: ind. compound past 1sg. of kam "have", so "I have had";
    So «The one I've had in my heart», or possibly «Whom I have had in my heart», implying an "and"/"but" in the next line;
  4. L. 4 «Kurr' s'kam mujt' m' e dasht'»:
    • Kurr': never;
    • s': negation; Albanian is strong on double negations;
    • kam mujt' = kam mundur: I have been able to, ind. compound past 1sg. of mund "can";
    • m' … dasht' = për të dashur (= të dua): Gheg infinitive of dua (well. it's du in Gheg) "love/want";
    • e: clitic object pronoun as usual;
  5. L. 5 «Isha plot' dashuri» «I was full of love», isha being ind. impf. 1sg. and dashuri being acc. sg. indef.;
  6. L. 6 «Zërin kur ja pata ndi»:
    • Zërin: the voice, acc. sg. def. of zë;
    • kur: when;
    • ja: lo and behold;
    • pata ndi = pata dëgjuarndier: admirative compound past 1sg. for sure, either from ndëgjoj/ndigoj = dëgjoj "listen, hear" or from ni = ndiej "feel";
  7. L. 7 «Doja që ta kisha ngat'»:
    • Doja: ind. impf. 1sg. of dua "want";
    • që: that;
    • ta kisha: subj. impf. 1sg. of kam is të kisha, ta = të e with the usual clitic object pronoun, referring to the voice I suppose;
    • ngat': near;
  8. L. 8 «Qoft' edhe një nat'»:
    • Qoft' edhe: even if;
    • një: one, a;
    • nat': night, acc. sg. indef. of time;
  9. L. 9 «A e shoh edhe një her'»:
    • A: interrogative particle;
    • e: clitic object pronoun, referring presumably to the owner of the voice;
    • shoh: I see, ind. pres. 1sg.;
    • edhe: even, also, so essentially again;
    • një: one, a;
    • her': time; so një her' = once;
  10. L. 10 «1 Tetori kur të vjen»:
    • 1 Tetori: October 1st;
    • kur: when;
    • të vjen: subj. pres. 3sg. of vjen "come", so "when she comes" with a subjunctive;
  11. L. 11 «Le ta din' se nga ai çast»:
    • Le ta din': ta = të e as usual, e clitic object pronoun referring to the që clause right afterwards, and le ta din' is the jussive present of di… 3sg. or 3pl.? The form din' seems to be from dinë, 3pl. subjunctive, but who is this "they"? What if this were din, the 3sg. dialectal form? Well, the subjunctive in 3sg. would be dijë, but what if the dialect used din for the subjunctive too? I think 3sg. would make more sense here, referring to the loved one;
    • që: that;
    • nga: from, takes nom.;
    • ai: this, nom. sg.;
    • çast: time, nom. sg. indef.;
  12. L. 12 «E pres që t' jemi bashk'»:
    • E: clitic object pronoun, referring to the që clause;
    • pres: ind. pres. 1sg. of pres "wait, expect";
    • që: that;
    • t' jemi: subj. pres. 1pl. of jam "be";
    • bashk': together;
  13. L. 1 of last nonrepeated part «Jeta ësht' e padrejt'» «The life is unfair», with jeta nom. sg. def. of jetë, ësht' ind. pres. 3sg. of jam "be", and e the adjectival article;
  14. L. 2 therein «Mir' jetoj po s'i kam krejt»:
    • Mir': well, adverb;
    • jetoj: ind. pres. 1sg. of jetoj "live";
    • po: but;
    • s'i kam krejt: I don't have everything; this is an idiom; kam = I have, krejt = all, but I wonder what "i" is: dat. sg. or acc. pl.?
  15. L. 3 therein «Si të jem i lumtur un'»:
    • Si: How;
    • të jem: subj. pres. 1sg. of jam "be";
    • i lumtur: happy, with appropriate adjectival article;
    • un': I, nom. sg.;
  16. L. 4 therein «Zemrën tjetërkund»:
    • (Me) zemrën: (With) [my] heart, zemrën acc. sg. def. of zemër "heart";
    • tjetërkund: elsewhere.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blog index

Lingála: Sáleláká Mokonzi, or the most deformed song in the whole web

Xhosa: Nguqongqothwane