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Nov. 30, 2008 The Song of the Volga Boatmen is a Russian folksong that was first collected and published by the famous Russian composer, Milij Balakirev (1837-1910), but it probably dates from a much earlier era. Of course, this song is known throughout the world, probably the most familiar of all Russian songs. This is the chant of the barge-haulers, who pulled ships over the portages in the Volga River, by tugging on shrouds and pushing on spars, back-breaking work. I have created a page at my website, with the sheet music and the lyrics in the original Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet, but the page does not appear on my navigation bar. So just click here or type the URL into your computer: www.mecnita.com/Volga.htm My source was the Russian Music and Dance Association of America: http://www.rmda.us/music.htm The melody can be heard here: http://www.ingeb.org/songs/volgaboa.mid Below I have provided a transcription into English letters. I have used J for the sound we usually write with Y. I have used Y for a vowel, not occurring in English, that is midway between U in PUT and I in PIT. An apostrophe denotes palatalization of the consonant to which it is attached. This is somewhat like the MY sound in MUSIC, as if we wrote M'UZIK. KH is like German CH or Spanish J. In several cases, I have substituted one vowel for another, attempting to represent the real pronunciation. Thus SHYROKÁ (wide) is actually pronounced SHYRAKÁ, and I have selected this spelling. Polysyllables are accented where accent marks appear over the vowels, but the acccent marks are my addition; they do not occur in written Russian. Jei Úkhn’im Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. Razavjóm my b’ir’ózu. Razavjóm my kudr’ávu. Áida da áida. Áida da áida. Razavjóm my kudr’ávu. Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. My pa b’ér’ishku id’óm. P’ésn’u sólnyshku pajóm. Áida da áida. Áida da áida. P’ésn’u sólnyshku pajóm. Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. Jei úkhn’im. Jei úkhn’im. Jishchó raz’ík. Jishchó ras. Ekh ty, Vólga, mat’ r’iká, Shyraká i glubaká. Áida da áida. Áida da áida. Shyraká i glubaká. Here is my own translation: Hey, let's heave! Hey, let's heave! One more little time! Once more! Hey, let's heave! Hey let's heave! One more little time! Once more! Let's bend the birch apart! Let's bend apart the new growth! Aida da aida. Aida da aida. Let's bend apart the new growth! Hey, let's heave! Hey, let's heave! One more little time! Once more! Hey, let's heave! Hey let's heave! One more little time! Once more! We're walking along the bank. We're singing a song to the little sun. Aida da aida. Aida da aida. We're singing a song to the little sun. Hey, let's heave! Hey, let's heave! One more little time! Once more! Hey, let's heave! Hey let's heave! One more little time! Once more! Oh, you Volga, mother river! Wide and deep! Aida da aida. Aida da aida. Wide and deep! ------------ 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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