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Ай, ай, ай, ай, мама, милая мама! Побежала я за зонтиком, мама, очень ведь жарко, шарила в комоде и в столе искала: нет, как нарочно! Я второпях к окну подбежала, может быть зонтик там позабыла. . . Вдруг вижу, на окне-то, кот наш Матрос, забравшись на клетку, скребёт! Снегирь дрожит, забился в угол, пищит. Зло меня взяло! ,,Э, брат, до птичек ты лаком! Нет, постой, попался. Вишь-ты, кот!`` Как ни в чём не бывало стою я, смотрю в сторонку, Только глазом одним подмечаю: странно что-то! Кот спокойно в глаза мне смотрит, А сам уж лапу в клетку заносит: Только что думал схватить снегиря, а я его хлоп! Мама, какая твёрдая клетка! Пальцам так больно, мама! Мама! вот в самых кончиках, вот тут, Так ноет, ноет так... Нет! каков кот-то, мама, а?
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Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881)
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), "Кот Матрос", 1868-72, published 1883, from Детская = Detskaja (The nursery), no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "“Sailor” the Cat", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le chat Marin", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Hans Schmidt) , "Kater Prinz"
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Katinas Matrosas (Jūreivis)", copyright © 2023, (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: 23
Word count: 131
Hey, hey, hey, hey, Mama, dear Mama! I was going to find [my] parasol, Mama, it’s very hot, I dug around in the chest and looked in the table: no, on purpose! I quickly ran to the window, maybe the parasol had been forgotten out there... Suddenly I see it, on the windowsill, our cat “Sailor,” climbing on the birdcage, scratching [at it]! The bullfinch trembles, hides in the corner, peeps. I was furious! “Hey, brother, before you polish off the little bird! No, wait, you’re caught. I see you, cat!” As if nothing had happened, I stand still, look to the side, Only keeping one eye on him: what a strange creature! The cat calmly looks me in the eye, And his paw reaches into the cage anyway: only thinking about grabbing the bullfinch, so I slapped him! Mama, how hard the cage [was]! My fingers hurt so much, Mama! Mama! Right on the tips, right here, it’s aching, it aches right here... No! What a bad cat, Mama, right?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Stanfield Prichard, (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 Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881)
This text was added to the website: 2016-06-16
Line count: 23
Word count: 171