On a wagon bound and helpless - Lies a calf, who is doomed to die. - High above him flies a swallow - soaring gaily through the sky. - The wind laughs in the cornfield - Laughs with all his might - Laughs and laughs the whole day through - And half way through the night -Dona, dona, dona... - Now the calf is softly crying - "Tell me wind, why do you laugh?" - Why can’t I fly like the swallow - Why did I have to be a calf?