{"id":4939,"date":"2013-11-29T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-11-29T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=4939"},"modified":"2014-07-17T19:39:21","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T19:39:21","slug":"is-this-the-most-popular-russian-song-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/is-this-the-most-popular-russian-song-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Is This the Most Popular Russian Song Ever?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Here\u2019s a trivia question for you. What Russian song has been translated into at least 15 languages with the English-language version getting to #1 spot in the UK Singles Chart? What is this song that has been covered by such artists as Bing Crosby and Dolly Parton and its melody was sampled by 50Cent?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Of course, it\u2019s <strong>\u0414\u043e\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u043e\u0439 \u0434\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e<\/strong> (Along the long road) known in the West as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-9JOmU2jFUo\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Those Were the Days<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u0439 \u041b\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0440\u0435\u0432 - \u0414\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0439 \u0434\u043b\u0438\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e (\u041f\u0440\u0438\u0437\u0440\u0430\u043a \u043e\u043f\u0435\u0440\u044b-2011.10.01)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CmRynue6_MA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The modern day version, the lyrics to which follow, are somewhat different from the original one popularized by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RjodrgH-gZA\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\u0422\u0430\u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0430 \u0426\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mMaz70bOd7w\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/strong><\/a> almost a century ago. You will also notice that the English text of Those Were the Days has nothing to do with the original Russian version.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Since the song is still popular and the tune is so catchy, let\u2019s learn the Russian words to it. First, a few key words you need to know:<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0422\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> &#8211; in its most general meaning, <strong>\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> means a set of three. There are quite a few times you might come across this word in the famous works of Russian literature. One example is the famous line <strong>\u201c\u0422\u0440\u043e\u0439\u043a\u0430\u2026 \u0421\u0435\u043c\u0451\u0440\u043a\u0430\u2026 \u0422\u0443\u0437\u2026\u201d<\/strong> (A three\u2026 a seven\u2026 an ace\u2026) from <strong>\u041f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f \u0414<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0430<\/strong> (The Queen of Spades) by none other than Alexander Pushkin (he is everywhere!) Here <strong>\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> is just a three card from a card deck. Another famous <strong>\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> is, of course, <strong>\u043f\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0430-\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> from Nikolai Gogol\u2019s <strong>\u041c\u0451\u0440\u0442\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0438<\/strong> (The Dead Souls). In this case <strong>\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> is a carriage drawn by a team of three horses. The third example would be infamous bureaucratic triumvirate from <strong>\u0421\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0430 \u043e \u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0435<\/strong> (Tale of the Troika) by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. The iconic image of the three horses also appears on the Moscow\u2019s <strong>\u0422\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/strong> card that is similar to MetroCard.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0411\u0443\u0431\u0435\u043d\u0446<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044b<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; jingle bells. If you want to listen to the Russian-language version of the classic Jingle Bells song, search for <strong>\u0411\u0443\u0431\u0435\u043d\u0446<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044b<\/span><\/strong>. A troika is incomplete without these bells.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u0443\u0448<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; soul. It is one of the must-know words if you want to get past the superficiality of 7-day \u201cHighlights of Russia\u201d-type tours. Fortunately, there is an old <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/russian-phraseology-the-%D0%A0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F-%D0%94%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0\/\" target=\"_blank\">post on this blog<\/a> that can help you understand both this word&#8217;s cultural importance and the nuances of grammar.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0422\u043e\u0441\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; a feeling of a melancholic yearning heavily spiked with regret and hopelessness. The feeling seems to be the hallmark of virtually every major work of Russian literature. Do not confuse<strong> \u0442\u043e\u0441\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span><\/strong> with another very Russian emotion, <strong>\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u044f<\/strong> (nostalgia) which is similar, except for the hopelessness part.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0421\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u0430\u044f<\/strong> &#8211; literally it means <em>seven-stringed<\/em>. <strong>\u0421\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0433\u0438\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0430<\/strong> is also known as <strong>\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0433\u0438\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0430<\/strong> (Russian guitar), but also <strong>\u0446\u044b\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0433\u0438\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0430<\/strong> (Gypsy guitar). It was much more popular than the classical 6-string guitar until the beginning of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0417\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043c<\/strong> &#8211; for free. You will not see this word on any giveaway or promotional items. A more proper word <strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043c<\/strong> (free of charge, as a gift) or<strong> \u0432 \u043f\u043e\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043a<\/strong> (as a gift) would be used. But you might hear it in a conversation as in <strong>\u0434\u0430 \u043c\u043d\u0435 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e \u0438 \u0437\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043c \u043d\u0435 \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043e<\/strong> (I don\u2019t need this even if it were free). However, in this song, <strong>\u0437\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043c<\/strong> is synonymous with <strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u043e<\/strong> (in vain). Note that <strong>\u043f\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u0443<\/strong>, a form of <strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u043e<\/strong>, appears in the very next line.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0416\u0435\u0447\u044c<\/strong> &#8211; to burn. Again with the classical literature here &#8211; you might come across a phrase <strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0438\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0436\u0438\u0437\u043d\u044c<\/strong> (to waste one\u2019s life; lit: to burn through life). <strong>\u041f\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0438\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> is to burn through. One can <strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0436<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u044c \u0436\u0438\u0437\u043d\u044c<\/strong> by leading an aimless, ungrounded, or chaotic life. It is also something that is associated with youth, particularly with <strong>\u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044e<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (tumultuous youth) and young men.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And here\u2019s the interesting grammatical tidbit about the song. By switching from first person singular to first person plural pronouns, the song successfully avoids identifying the singer as either a man or a woman and thus can be performed by either. \u00a0And now, the song along with its almost literal translation (I did take some liberties with it, but tried to stay as close to the Russian text as possible):<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0415<\/span>\u0445\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0435 \u0441 \u0431\u0443\u0431\u0435\u043d\u0446<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0438,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(They were riding troika with bells jingling,)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0410 \u0432\u0434\u0430\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span> \u043c\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0438 \u043e\u0433\u043e\u043d\u044c\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(Far away were glimmering the lights)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u042d\u0445, \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span> \u0431\u044b \u043c\u043d\u0435 \u0442\u0435\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u044c \u0437\u0430 \u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0438,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(How I wish that I could simply follow,)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0443 \u0431\u044b \u0440\u0430\u0437\u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u044f\u0442\u044c \u043e\u0442 \u0442\u043e\u0441\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(To lift the heavy sadness from my life\u2026)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u043e\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u043e\u0439 \u0434\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e, \u0434\u0430 \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u044c\u044e \u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(Along this long-long road and by the moonlit night,)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u0430 \u0441 \u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u0435\u0439 \u0442\u043e\u0439, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0432 \u0434\u0430\u043b\u044c \u043b\u0435\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u0442 \u0437\u0432\u0435\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044f<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(And with the song so crisp that it takes flight)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0418 \u0441 \u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e, \u0434\u0430 \u0441 \u0441\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(And with that ancient one, the seven-string guitar,)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0427\u0442\u043e \u043f\u043e \u043d\u043e\u0447<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c \u0442\u0430\u043a \u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u043b\u0430 \u043c\u0435\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044f<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(That I obsessed with every single night.)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u0430, \u0432\u044b\u0445<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442 \u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438 \u043c\u044b \u0437\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043c.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(It turns out that our songs did not last)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u041f\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u0443 \u043d\u043e\u0447\u044c \u0437\u0430 \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u044c\u044e \u0436\u0433\u043b\u0438.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(And we burned through our nights in vain)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0415<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0438 \u043c\u044b \u043f\u043e\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0447\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0441\u043e \u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u043c,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(If we lay to rest all that is our past,)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0422\u0430\u043a \u0438 \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0438 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u044d<\/span>\u0442\u0438 \u043e\u0442\u043e\u0448\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u0438<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">(Then those nights would also go away.)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0439 \u0434\u043b\u0438\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e, \u0434\u0430 \u043d\u043e\u0447\u044c\u044e \u043b\u0443\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0414\u0430 \u0441 \u043f\u0435\u0441\u043d\u0435\u0439 \u0442\u043e\u0439, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0432 \u0434\u0430\u043b\u044c \u043b\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0442 \u0437\u0432\u0435\u043d\u044f.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0418 \u0441 \u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u0440\u0438\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e, \u0434\u0430 \u0441 \u0441\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0443\u043d\u043d\u043e\u044e,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>\u0427\u0442\u043e \u043f\u043e \u043d\u043e\u0447\u0430\u043c \u0442\u0430\u043a \u043c\u0443\u0447\u0438\u043b\u0430 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SpFaeR2wht0\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SpFaeR2wht0<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Now that you&#8217;ve practiced, try singing it karaoke-style with \u041d\u0430\u043d\u0438 \u0411\u0440\u0435\u0433\u0432\u0430\u0434\u0437\u0435.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And please, do suggest better ways of translating this wonderful song!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2013\/11\/troika-350x219.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2013\/11\/troika-350x219.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2013\/11\/troika-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2013\/11\/troika-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2013\/11\/troika.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Here\u2019s a trivia question for you. What Russian song has been translated into at least 15 languages with the English-language version getting to #1 spot in the UK Singles Chart? What is this song that has been covered by such artists as Bing Crosby and Dolly Parton and its melody was sampled by 50Cent? Of&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/is-this-the-most-popular-russian-song-ever\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":4940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4939","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4939"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6603,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions\/6603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}