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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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Злая смерть
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Злая смерть,
как коршун хищный,
впилась Вам в сердце и убила;
и убила;
Палач от бытия веков проклятый,
она похитила и Вас!
О, если-бы могли постигнуть
Вашу душу все те,
Кому, я знаю, дик
мой вопль безумный!
О, если-б Вам внимали...
В беседе, в жарком споре,
Мечтой, быть может смелой,
я начертал-бы людям
Ваш образ светлый,
любовью правды озаренный,
Ваш ум пытливый,
спокойно на людей взиравший.
Вы во-время порвали
с блеском света
связь привычки,
Расстались с ним без гнева
И думой неустанной познали
жизнь иную.

Когда кончиной матери любимой,
всякою житейскою невзгодой
Отброшенный от очага родного,
разбитый, злой, измученный,
Я робко, тревожно,
как пуганный ребёнок,
в Вашу святую душу постучался...
Искал спасенья...

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881) [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 Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881), "Злая смерть", subtitle: "Надгробное Письмо", 1875, published 1912. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

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

  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "Evil Death (Epitaph)", copyright ©
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Mort cruelle", copyright © 2015, (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: 32
Word count: 112

Mort cruelle
Language: French (Français)  after the Russian (Русский) 
La mort cruelle,
Comme un vautour rapace,
A creusé dans votre cœur et vous a tuée,
Tuée ;
Le bourreau maudit de tous les siècles
A emporté même vous !
Oh, si seulement ils pouvaient comprendre
Votre âme, tous ceux
Pour qui, je le sais, mon sauvage
Cri est folie !
Oh, si seulement ils pouvaient vous entendre
Dans une conversation, dans une querelle,
Par un rêve, peut-être audacieux,
Je dessinerais pour tous
Votre image brillante,
Illuminée par l'amour de la vérité,
Votre intelligence curieuse,
Regardant tranquillement les gens,
À un moment vous avez rompu
Avec le monde brillant
Le lien habituel,
Vous l'avez quitté sans colère,
Et à travers des pensées sans relâche vous avez connu
Une autre vie.

Quand ma mère bien-aimée mourut,
Toutes sortes de malheurs de la vie me frappèrent,
Rejeté du foyer de mon enfance,
Repoussé, aigri, épuisé,
Intimidé, anxieux,
Comme un enfant effrayé
J'ai frappé à votre âme sainte...
J'ai cherché refuge...

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 Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2015-09-14
Line count: 32
Word count: 155

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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