I bless you forests

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by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875)

Translation © by Malcolm Wren

Благословляю вас, леса

(Sung text for setting by P. Tchaikovsky)

See original

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Благословляю вас, леса,
Долины, нивы, горы, воды!
Благословляю я свободу
И голубые небеса!
И посох мой благословляю,
И эту бедную суму,
И степь от краю и до краю,
И солнца свет, и ночи тьму,
И одинокую тропинку,
По коей, нищий, я иду,
И в поле каждую былинку,
И в небе каждую звезду!
О, если б мог всю жизнь смешать я,
Всю душу вместе с вами слить!
О, если б мог в свои объятья
Я вас, враги, друзья и братья,
И всю природу в мои объятья заключить!
 ...

Note: the text above is taken from lines 1-17 of the original text.

Note for line 7 ("до краю") - this is an archaic form; the modern version would have "до края"

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Note on Transliterations

Composition:

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Text Authorship:

by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, appears in Иоанн Дамаскин = Ioann Damaskin (John of Damascus), no. 2, first published 1859

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (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: 78
Word count: 360

I bless you forests

(Sung text translation for setting by P. Tchaikovsky)

See original

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

I bless you forests, 
valleys, fields of corn, hills, rivers,
I bless you freedom 
and the blue sky!
And I also bless my walking stick 
and this poor bag,
And the steppe going off into the distance,
And the light of the sun, 
and the darkness of the night,
and the lonely path, along which I walk as a beggar,
And every blade of grass in the field,
And every star in the sky!
Oh, if only I could mix up my whole life
And fuse all of my soul with yours,
Oh, if only I could embrace
You, enemies, friends and brothers,
And take in the whole of nature in my embrace!
 ...

Note: the text above is taken from lines 1-17 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2017 by Malcolm Wren, (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 Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, appears in Иоанн Дамаскин = Ioann Damaskin (John of Damascus), no. 2, first published 1859
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This text was added to the website: 2017-12-17
Line count: 78
Word count: 113