Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Ходит Спесь надуваючись, С боку на бок переваливаясь. Ростом-то Спесь аршин с четвертью, Шапка-то на нём во целу сажень, [Пузо-то его всё в жемчуге, Сзади-то у него раззолочено.]1 А и [зашёл]2 бы Спесь к отцу, к матери, Да ворота некрашены! А и помолился б Спесь во церкви Божией, Да пол не метён! [Идёт]3 Спесь, видит: на небе радуга; Повернул Спесь во другую сторону: Не пригоже-де мне нагибатися!
M. Musorgsky sets lines 1-4, 7-13
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Borodin: "Пузо-то у Спеси в жемчуге, / Сзади-то у Спеси раззолочено." ("Puzo-to u Spesi v zhemchuge, / Szadi-to u Spesi razzolocheno.")
2 Borodin: "пошёл" ("poshjol")
3 Borodin: "Ходит" ("Khodit")
Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1856 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Aleksandr Porfir'yevich Borodin (1833 - 1887), "Спесь", 1884/5?, published 1890 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Viktor Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (1870 - 1927), "Ходит Спесь надуваючись" [ chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitry Vitalyevich Morozov (1882 - 1942), "Спесь" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881), "Спесь", 1877, published 1882, lines 1-4,7-13 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov (1872 - 1964), "Спесь", op. 31 no. 7 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], Moscow, Leipzig: Jurgenson [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Hans Schmidt) , "Der Dünkel"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 70
La vanité se promène toute bouffie, Se balançant à droite et à gauche, La vanité mesure quatre archines de haut, Mais son chapeau sur sa tête en fait sept. Son ventre est recouvert de perles, Derrière il y a des taches. La vanité rendrait bien visite à son père et à sa mère, Mais leur porte n'est pas peinte ! La vanité irait prié Dieu dans l'église, Mais le sol n'a pas été balayé : La vanité se promenait et voit un arc-en-ciel dans le ciel, La vanité fait demi-tour : Je ne vais pas me baisser pour passer dessous !
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Спесь" = "La vanité"
Note: this is a translation of Musorgsky's version.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1856
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-13
Line count: 13
Word count: 97