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Dec. 1, 2008 Uznik (The Prisoner) is a song written by the distinguished Russian classical composer, Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914). Lyadov was the associate of such famous Russian composers as Tchaikovsky, Rimski-Korsakov and Musorgski. Here is his biography from Wikipedia, where, however, this particular song is not listed among the catalog of his compositions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Lyadov I have known this song since around 1985, when I was in a Russian glee club in New York City. This is one of about 20 songs we sang. It is a very plaintive and beautiful song, if sung right. I have added the Cyrillic (Russian) lyrics to the Volga page at my website, below the dotted line, for anyone interested in the authentic text: www.mecnita.com/Volga.htm The melody can be heard at this URL: http://www.falaleiro.homepage.t-online.de/HomepageClassic01/uznik.mid Below I have written out a transcription into English letters, which takes a little explaining. ZH is like French J, KH is like German CH or Spanish J, J is like English Y, and Y is a vowel midway between the U of PUT and the I of PIT. Otherwise, vowels are as in Spanish. An apostrophe denotes palatalization of the preceding consonant, which amounts to a suppressed Y sound, as in the English word M'USIC. I have added accent marks, which do not appear in Russian writing, but must be observed nonetheless. In several cases I have substituted one vowel for another, or one consonant for another, to reflect real pronunciation. One thing is certain, and that is that Russian pronunciation is very difficult: Úzn’ik S’izhú za r’ishótkoi ft’imn’ítse cyrói. Fskarml’ónnij vn’ivól’e ar`´ol maladój, Moj grúsnyj tavár’ishch, makháya krylóm, Kravávuju p’íshchu kl’ujót pad aknóm. Kl’ujót i brasájit i cmótr’it vaknó, Kag bútta sa mnóju zadúmal adnó. Zav’ót m’in’á vzgl’ádam i kr’íkam svajím I výmalv’it’ khóchit, “Davái ul’et’ím. My vól’nyje pt’ítsy. Pará, brat’, pará, Tudá gd’e za túchij b’il’éjit gará, Tudá gd’e c’in’éjit marsk’íje krajá, Tudá gd’e gul’ájim l’ish v’ét’ir da ya.” My own translation, in which I have not attempted to fit words to the melody or to wax artistic, follows, as a matter of information: The Prisoner I sit behind the bars in my damp cell. A young eagle, fed unwillingly, My sad comrade, flapping his wings, Tears his bloody food beneath my window. He tears and he tosses and looks in the window, As if he were thinking in unison with me. He calls me with his glance and his cry, And wants to exclaim, "Come on, let's fly. We're free birds. Now is the time, brother, now, There behind the clouds, where the mountain shines white, There where the shores of the ocean shine blue, There where only the wind and I go. Someone online has suggested that the word "vn'ivól'e" in the second line, which doesn't make much sense, should perhaps read "na vól'e". Then the second line, which now translates, A young eagle, fed unwillingly, would instead translate: A young eagle, fed (while) in liberty, I was wondering myself, and this seems to be the answer. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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