Take your legs on your shoulders

Hello and welcome to another edition of SoundCzech – Radio Prague’s Czech language series in which you can learn idioms through song lyrics. Today, we’ll be listening to a legendary 1969 song by Helena Vondráčková called Přejdi Jordán. The phrase to listen out for is “vezmi nohy na ramena”.

Photo: archive of ČRo 7 - Radio Prague

The title of the song, Přejdi Jordán, řeku všech nadějí means Cross the river Jordan, the river of all hopes and it refers to the Biblical legend, according to which Moses led the Jews out of Egypt across the river Jordan into the Promised Land of Canaan. The singer urges one of the refugees to leave his home and cross the river in order to find a new and safe home.

Tak jdi nebo běž nebo jeď - go or run or ride, says Helena Vondráčková in the opening line of the song. In other words, as she continues in the second verse, “vezmi nohy na ramena”. This phrase literally translates as “take your legs on your shoulders” but the proper English translation would be “take to your heels”. Listen to the phrase “vezmi nohy na ramena” once again:

The singer continues her urging in the second stanza, when she says jdi pryč, všeho nech, or go away, leave everything behind. And finally in the chorus she steps up the pressure by singing chvátej, chvátej or hurry up, hurry up. Have another listen:

Anyway, I hope you are safe where you are and you don’t have to take your legs to your shoulders. In case this lesson was too hasty, you can check it out on our website - that is at www.radio.cz. But that’s all for now. Thank you for listening and nashledanou!