Music is something that connects people. It is not otherwise in Russia, neither. There are a few songs that all Russians have heard a thousand times already, and that make them sing out loud at any time and any place, if they hear the familiar melodies. In this article, we will look at some of the songs that street musicians love to play at the streets of any Russian city, translate them to English and learn some useful vocabulary and grammar based on them. Knowing these songs will definitely amaze all your Russian friends and acquaintances.
The first song we will look at is Пачка Сигарет by Кино. This song is the symbol of the post-soviet punk movement spearheaded by Viktor Tsoi. If you want to find out more about Tsoi and Kino, read this article on our blog.
The original lyrics:
Я сижу и смотрю в чужое небо из чужого окна
И не вижу ни одной знакомой звезды.
Я ходил по всем дорогам и туда, и сюда,
Обернулся – и не смог разглядеть следы.Припев:
Но если есть в кармане пачка сигарет,
Значит все не так уж плохо на сегодняшний день.
И билет на самолет с серебристым крылом,
Что, взлетая, оставляет земле лишь тень.И никто не хотел быть виноватым без вина,
И никто не хотел руками жар загребать,
А без музыки на миру смерть не красна,
А без музыки не хочется пропадать.
And here’s the translation:
Kino: A pack of cigarettes
I’m sitting and looking at a foreign sky out of a foreign window
And i don’t see any familiar stars.
I roamed on all roads back and forth,
And turning around, I cannot make out any footprints.Chorus:
But if there’s a pack of cigarettes in my pockets,
It means that things are not that bad at all for today.
And a ticket for the airplane with silver wings,
That taking off, only leaves it’s shade on the ground.And no one wanted to be a sinner without wine,
And no one wanted to reap the fruits of someone else’s work.
And without music on this world death is not that beautiful,
And without music I would not like to disappear.
Vocabulary:
оборачиваться/ обернуться – to turn around
разглядеть – to make out / find
след – footprint, trace
карман – pocket
пачка – pack
серебристый – silver
взлетать / взлететь – to take off
оставлять / оставить – leave
лишь – only, just, merely
тень – shadow
виноватый – guilty
руками жар загребать – to bank the fire with someone else’s hands (idiom)
смерть – death
пропадать – to disappear
In retrospective, Vladimir Vysockiy is considered the 70’s most important cultural figure. He was an actor, poet, singer-songwriter and the spearhead figure of Russia’s bard movement. He’s hard to ignore, if someone is interested in Russian culture. This song is not one of his most famous ones, but in my humble opinion, one of his best ones. Let’s see!
Here’s the original text:
Ну вот, исчезла дрожь в руках,
Теперь – наверх!
Ну вот, сорвался в пропасть страх –
Навек, навек.
Для остановки нет причин –
Иду, скользя,
И в мире нет таких вершин,
Что взять нельзя.Среди нехоженых путей
Один – пусть мой.
Среди невзятых рубежей
Один – за мной.
А имена тех, кто здесь лег,
Снега таят.
Среди непройденных дорог
Одна – моя.Здесь голубым сияньем льдов
Весь склон облит,
И тайну чьих-нибудь следов
Гранит хранит,
И я гляжу в свою мечту
Поверх голов
И свято верю в чистоту
Снегов и слов.И пусть пройдет немалый срок –
Мне не забыть,
Как здесь сомнения я смог
В себе убить.
В тот день шептала мне вода:
“Удач всегда…”
А день… какой был день тогда?
Ах да – среда!
Mountainside Lyrical
So here, the shaking of my hands is gone,
Right now – upwards!
So here, fear has fallen into the precipice –
Forever, forever.
There is no reason to stop –
I’m going up, climbing,
And there are no peaks in the world,
That can not be reached.Among untrodden tracks
There’s one – let it be mine.
Among unreached milestones
There’s one – behind me.
And the names of those who lay here –
The melting snow.
Among not traversed tracks
One is mine.Here the whole slope is glazing
In the light blue shining of the ice,
And the secret of someone’s footsteps
Is kept in granite,
And I’m looking at my dream
There, above our heads
And I firmly believe in the cleanness
Of words and snow.And let’s wait for some time to pass –
So that I won’t forget,
How I managed here
To kill doubt in myself.
On that day water whispered to me:
“Good luck forever…”
And the day? What day it was that time?
Oh, yes – Wednesday!
Vocabulary:
исчезать / исчезнуть – to disappear
дрожь – shiver, trembling
срываться / сорваться – to fall down, break, fall to the ground, go wrong
пропасть – precipice
навек – forever
вершина – peak
нехоженый – untrodden
рубеж – boundary, frontier
таять / растаять – to melt
сияние – shine, halo
склон – slope
обливать / облить – to flood, soak, pour over
тайна – secret
хранить – to keep
свято – piously
сомнение – doubt
шептать / шепнуть – to whisper
удача – luck
This song was recorded and released in 1987, in the heyday of synth-pop. In the years following it’s release, it stayed relatively unnoticed in the mainstream. The song become extremely popular following the release of multiple cover versions of the original song, the latest being recorded by Monetochka in 2019. Following it’s revival, the song also become popular among English speaking viewers thanks to the song’s popularity on Youtube
Here’s the original text:
Ровный бег моей судьбы,
Ночь, печаль и блеск души,
Лунный свет и майский дождь
В небесах.Долгий век моей звезды,
Сонный блеск земной росы,
Громкий смех и райский мед
В небесах.На заре голоса зовут меня.
На заре голоса зовут меня.Солнца свет и сердца звук,
Робкий взгляд и сила рук,
Звездный час моей мечты
В небесах.На заре голоса зовут меня.
На заре голоса зовут меня.
And here’s the translation:
Alianz – At dawn
A smooth run of my fate,
Night, sadness and glitter of the soul.
Moonlight and rain of May in the skies.Long lifetime of my star,
Sleepy glitter of earthly dew,
Loud laughter and heavenly mead in the skies.At dawn, voices are calling for me.At dawn, voices are calling for me.Light of the Sun and beating of a heart,Timid look and strength of arms,Time for my dream to shine in the skies.
At dawn, voices are calling for me.At dawn, voices are calling for me.
Posted by Krisztian Egervari
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