by Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966)
Translation by Lyn Coffin (b. 1943)
А я иду, где ничего не надо
Language: Russian (Русский)
А я иду, где ничего не надо, Где самый милый спутник — только тень, И веет ветер из глухого сада, А под ногой могильная ступень.
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Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966), written 1964 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Lyn Coffin (b. 1943) , "Where Nothing Is Needed" ; composed by Sheena Phillips.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-07-04
Line count: 4
Word count: 25
Where nothing is needed
Language: English after the Russian (Русский)
Where nothing is needed, I walk like a child, My shadow serves as the friend I crave. The wind breezes out of a grove gone wild, And my foot is on the edge of the grave.
Text Authorship:
- by Lyn Coffin (b. 1943), "Where Nothing Is Needed" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966), written 1964
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Sheena Phillips (b. 1958), "Where nothing is needed", 2000 [ women's chorus ], from Two Settings of Anna Akhmatova, no. 1
Publisher: Sheena Phillips [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-07-04
Line count: 4
Word count: 36