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"Zaniechaj regała, kiedy na dudach zabeczeć nie możesz"

Also: "Zaniechaj regała jeżeli i na dudach zabeczeć nie umiesz"; Literally: "Give up the regal when you cannot heal the bagpipe"; Don’t do difficult things when you can’t even do easier jobs [?]; In this proverbial expression the term "regał" [regal] specifies the type of small organs popular in Poland especially in the 16th and 17th centuries; According to Kubik, numerous variations of this instrument were used in secular music, often accompanying dance, sometimes also found in church music.


Sources

Kubik, Józef: Przysłowia i wyrażenia przysłowiowe o instrumentach dętych (Proverbs and proverbial expressions about wind instruments). In: Polskie instrumenty ludowe… (1981), p.125 (»Krzyżanowski/Adalberg, III;24).

Web

Janosik.info (Karpackie Zbóje)