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Грохочет битва, блешут брони, Орудья жадные ревут, Бегут полки, несутся кони И реки красные текут. Пылает полдень, люди бьются; Склонилось солнце, бой сильней; Закат бледнеет, но дерутся Враги все яростней и злей. И пала ночь на поле брани. Дружины в мраке разошлись... Всё стихло, и в ночном тумане Стенанья к небу поднялись. Тогда, озарена луною, На боевом своём коне, Костей сверкая белизною, Явилась смерть; и в тишине, Внимая вопли и молитвы, Довольства гордого полна, Как полководец место битвы Кругом объехала она. На холм поднявшись, оглянулась, Остановилась, улыбнулась... И над равниной боевой Раздался голос роковой: ,,Кончена битва! я всех победила! Все предо мной вы смирились, бойцы! Жизнь вас поссорила, я помирила! Дружно вставайте на смотр, мертвецы! Маршем торжественным мимо пройдите, Войско моё я хочу сосчитать; В землю потом свои кости сложите, Сладко от жизни в земле отдыхать! Годы незримо пройдут за годами, В людях исчезнет и память о вас. Я не забуду и громко над вами Пир буду править в полуночный час! Пляской тяжёлою землю сырую Я притопчу, чтобы сень гробовую Кости покинуть вовек не могли, Чтоб никогда вам не встать из земли!``
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Note on TransliterationsAuthorship:
- by Arseny Arkad'yevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1848 - 1913) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881), "Полководец", 1875-7, from Песни и пляски смерти = Pesni i pljaski smerti, no. 4, note: The theme is taken from a Polish revolutionary march called Z dymen pozarow.  [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sergey Rybin) , "Field marshal", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le général", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Hans Schmidt) , "Der Feldherr"
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 182
The battle is thundering, the armour is shining, Copper cannons are roaring, The troops are running, the horses are rushing And red rivers are flowing. The midday is blazing -- people are fighting, The sun is declining -- the fight is stronger, The sunset is fading away -- but the enemies Are still battling more fierce and hateful. And night has fallen on the battlefield. The armies have parted in the darkness... Everything has fallen quiet, and in the night's mist The groans have risen to the heavens. Then, illuminated by moonlight, On her battle horse, Shining with the whiteness of her bones, Appeared Death; and in the silence, Taking in moans and prayers, Full of proud satisfaction, Like a field marshal she circled around The place of battle, And having ridden to the top on the hill, looked around, stopped, smiled.... And above the battlefield Roared her fateful voice: "The battle is finished! I won over everyone! You all submitted before me, soldiers! Life has made you quarrel, I have reconciled you! Stand up as one for the parade, corpses! Pass in front of me in a pompous march, I want to count my troops; Then deposit your bones into the earth, It is sweet to rest from life in the ground! Year after year will pass, And even the memory of you will disappear. I will not forget and loudly above you Will hold a feast at the midnight hour! With a heavy dance I'll trample The raw earth, so that the realm of the grave Your bones will never be able to leave, So that you'll never rise from the ground!"
Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2011 by Sergey Rybin, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Arseny Arkad'yevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1848 - 1913)
This text was added to the website: 2011-05-20
Line count: 40
Word count: 271