Running out of steam

Hello and welcome to another edition of SoundCzech, in which you can learn Czech expressions through song lyrics. Today, we feature a song by one of the most popular Czech bands of ‘90s, Lucie. It’s called L’aura and is all about running out of energy, or spirit, or gas. The words to look out for are došly mi síly.

The song is all about a main protagonist who quite simple is at his rope’s end, and as a result it is full of imagery of loss and defeat. Došly mi síly means to run out of strength and it can be both physical and spiritual. It means to burn out. You might tell your boss you couldn’t get an assignment done simply because you were out of steam – došly mi síly. You ran out of energy, you were completely knackered. In sport, specifically in cycling, they used to say when you ran out of strength you hit the wall. It doesn’t matter when, it can be mere metres before the finish. In the song Lucie sing došly mi síly najednou– I ran out of strength suddenly. My strength drained away fast.

Elsewhere the singer says možná je to naposled co na cestu svítim, maybe it’s the last time I will shine a light on this path – the general mood and imagery goes from climbing a high mountain to crossing a wild river, falling into a deep ravine, suggest weariness and a Sisyphus-like task, as if the protagonist were stumbling punch-drunk across a desert. The final lyrics are break my wings, I will not fly away.

Another way of expressing extreme exhaustion in Czech would be to say unavený k smrti– tired to death. Or, you might say simply Já na to už nemám– I just haven’t got what it takes anymore. You could also say you were vyřízený– completely finished. When you say it about others, it doesn’t mean they are just momentarily tired, either, but worse: that they’re completely washed up.

L’Aura is a beautiful song by Lucie but one of anguish: bosý nohy na kameni– bare feet on rock are words sung and you know there’s not much hope for the protagonist as he moves on. He’s run the course, he seems deathly tired, and he’s just about done.