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Po ulitse mastavoi
shla dyevitsa za vadoi,
shla dyevitsa za vadoi,
za khalodnoi klutshevoi.
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Along the paved road
there went a girl to fetch water,
there went a girl to fetch water,
to fetch the cold spring-water.
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Za nyey parin maladoi
kritshit: "Dyevushka, pastoi!"
kritshit: "Dyevushka, pastoi!
Pabisyeduika sa mnoi!"
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Behind her a young lad
is shouting: "Lass, stand still!"
is shouting: "Lass, stand still!
Let's have a little talk!"
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Words and music: Russian folksong
Pronunciation:
a as in "bar", e as in "bed", i as in "bid", o as in "bore", u as in "blue"
y = as in "yellow" /
ý = dull i, as in "bill"
s = always voiceless, as in "son" / z = voiced, as in "zone"
sh = voiceless, as in "mesh" / zh = voiced, like the s in "measure"
kh = mostly rough, like the ch in Scotch "loch", but smooth when "e" or "i" follows
a, e, i, o, u, y
= the underlined vowel signifies the stressed syllable of a word.
Transcription and analogous translation: Kai Kracht
Comment:
It may sound funny but this little song has no end:
If it is played in A Major,
it should also end with the keynote A
or at least with an A Major chord
to dissolve the melody's tension
– but there is no doubt
that this song ends in E Major:
The tension is still there
and calls for the next verse
to be appended immediately.
This new verse begins in A Major
which may loosen the tension for a moment,
but at once the new verse develops a new tension
which again remains undissolved at the end
and asks for the next verse ...
So verse comes after verse, without a break,
as long as you want.
This kind of melody is typical for round dances,
and the Don Cossacks Choir of Serge Yaroff
accompanied their artistic cossack dance interludes
also with this song
–
the melody flows on and on,
until it is finished at last by a
single powerful A Major chord.
© Kai Kracht 2002
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