Taking up the doina form, he lamented the imprisonment of Alexandru Roman, who had been sentenced by the Kingdom of Hungary for a series of offenses culminating with the publication of the Blaj Pronouncement.
It was while the popular priest was serving a prison sentence at Szeged that Gheorghe Bocu, a teacher from Șiștarovăț in the Banat, substituted “Lucaciu” for “Roman” in the original lyrics.
The resulting song gained currency shortly before Lucaciu was tried as a signatory of the Transylvanian Memorandum and sentenced to five years in prison.
[1][2] The original lyrics are as follows:[1] Cântă mierla prin păduri Robu-i Roman la Unguri Pentru sfânta libertate Din care noi n'avem parte.
Dar, nu fi mierlă supărată Nu-i robia ne'ncetată Vine-o dalbă primăvară Fi-va Roman liber iară.