English-Gypsy Songs: In Rommany, with Metrical English Translations

First published in the late 19th century, English-Gypsy Songs by Charles G. Leland is a rare and lyrical collection preserving the oral poetry and songs of the Romani people, presented in their original Rommany language alongside metrical English translations. A folklorist, linguist, and traveler, Leland devoted his life to recording the voices and traditions of marginalized cultures, and this volume remains one of his most intimate and poetic achievements.

Through these songs—by turns mystical, mournful, and defiant—Leland reveals the soul of the Romani people, their wandering life, loves, and laments. Each verse carries the rhythms of the road and the echoes of an ancient freedom, blending folklore with fragments of magical belief, nature worship, and ancestral memory.

A cornerstone of Romani literature and comparative folklore, English-Gypsy Songs stands as both a linguistic record and a cultural testament, preserving a vanishing world of song, spirit, and speech.

Complete edition of Charles G. Leland’s bilingual collection of Romani songs

Includes original Rommany lyrics with English verse translations

A landmark in folklore, ethnography, and linguistic preservation

Essential for readers of Romani studies, poetry, and cultural history