Evening bells
Vetsherni zvon,
vetsherni zvon,
kak mnoga dum
navodit on ...
The evening sound,
the evening sound,
how many thoughts
it arouses ...
O yunýkh dnyakh
f krayu radnom,
gdye ya lubyil,
gdye otshi dom.
About the days of youth
at my home-place,
where I loved,
where my father's house is.
I kak ya, snim
navyek prastyas,
tam slýshal zvon
f pasledni ras.
And how I, from it
parting for ever,
heard this sound there
for the last time.
I skolkikh nyet
uzhe v zhivýkh,
tagda vesyolýkh
maladýkh.
And how many no longer
are among the living now,
who were happy then
and young.
I krepok ikh
magilný son,
nye slýshen im
vetsherni zvon.
Deep is their
sleep in their tombs,
inaudible is to them
the evening sound.
Words: I. Koslov
Music: Traditional tune
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.
Arrangement for balalaika, musical notation,
transcription and analogous translation: Kai Kracht
Comment:
Since Serge Yaroff and his Don Cossack Choir
has introduced the "Evening bells" into the western world
about fifty years ago,
this song is
– next to "Kalinka", the "Volga Boat Men" and
"Stenka Razin" –
one of our most popular Russian folksongs.
© Kai Kracht 2002