Thread: Picture of my Russian Writing

Originally Posted by Lampada

I've never heard this one before, but the lyrics were surprisingly suggestive (for an old folk song, I mean!), and reminded me just a little bit of the Everly Brothers ditty "Wake Up, Little Susie"! ("Whatta we gonna tell your mama? / Whatta we gonna tell your pa? / Whatta we gonna tell our friends when they say 'Ooh-la-la'?")


Anyway, beginners won't recognize some of the words, so here's a transcription and my translation:

Русская народная песня "Шумел камыш"
Russian folk song "The cattails/water-reeds were rustling (lit. "making noise")"
Исполняет Надежда Кадышева
Performed by Nadezhda Kadysheva


Шумел камыш, The cattails were rustling
Деревья гнулись The trees were bending over
А ночка тёмная была And the night was dark.

Одна возлюбленная пара A certain couple in love
Всю ночь [Spent] the whole night
Гуляла до утра Strolling until morning.

А поутру они проснулись And in the morning they woke up
Кругом помятая трава Around [them in a circle], the grass was disheveled/crushed
Там не одна трава помята And not only the grass there was disheveled
Помята девячья краса The damsel's beauty was disheveled, [too].
(NB: Video seems to have a typo -- девячья should be "девичья", if I'm not mistaken!!!)

Иду домой, а дома спросят: I'm going home [she said] and at home they'll ask:
"Где ночь гуляла, с кем была?" "Where were you strolling [all] night, who were you with?"

А я скажу: "В саду гуляла, And I'll say: "I was strolling in the garden,
Домой тропинки не нашла." "And couldn't find the path home."

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

А поутру они проснулись And in the morning they woke up
Кругом помятая трава Around [them in a circle], the grass was disheveled/crushed
Там не одна трава помята And not only the grass there was disheveled
Помята девячья краса The damsel's beauty was disheveled, [too].
(NB: Video seems to have a typo -- девячья should be "девичья", if I'm not mistaken!!!)

Variation of a theme

Знает только ночь глубокая,
Как поладили они.
Распрямись ты, рожь высокая,
Тайну свято сохрани!

Only the deep night knows,
What they agreed upon.
Straighten up now, oh tall rye,
And keep their secret scrupulously!
Korobeiniki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

I've never heard this one before, but the lyrics were surprisingly suggestive (for an old folk song, I mean!),

Ещё эту песню можно назвать застольной. Её хорошо петь после застолья.

Originally Posted by Lampada

Ещё эту песню можно назвать застольной. Её хорошо петь после застолья.

I was trying to figure out the best English translation for "застольная песня", so I did a YouTube search for the phrase. This famous number from La Traviata was one of the top hits:



(В ролике, украинский театр оперы исполняет "Травиату". В начале видео, показывается на экране за певцами русский перевод итальянского текста!)

Thus, although застолье means "banquet" or "feast," the phrase застольная песня should probably be translated as "a drinking song".

-- "Либьямо, либьямо, не льети каличи..."

Originally Posted by Lampada

Ещё эту песню можно назвать застольной. Её хорошо петь после застолья.

Застольная песня потому и застольная, что её поют не после, а во время застолья.

Originally Posted by Alex_krsk

Застольная песня потому и застольная, что её поют не после, а во время застолья.

Тогда после того, как выпьют.

Originally Posted by Lampada

Тогда после того, как выпьют.

Пить тоже не обязательно, нужно только сидеть за столом, когда поешь

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

I've never heard this one before, but the lyrics were surprisingly suggestive (for an old folk song, I mean!), and reminded me just a little bit of the Everly Brothers ditty "Wake Up, Little Susie"! ("Whatta we gonna tell your mama? / Whatta we gonna tell your pa? / Whatta we gonna tell our friends when they say 'Ooh-la-la'?"

Nice catch with the Everly Bros. I was wondering about that song being risque too, but you nailed it.

Also people can note the way Lampada wrote her lowercase т, just one stem with the crossbar. I always write it that way, ever since high school (back when the Everly Bros were in vogue).