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Старый муж, грозный муж, Режь меня, жги меня: Я тверда, не боюсь Ни нока, ни огня. Ненавижу тебя, Презираю тебя, Я другого люблю, Умираю любя. Режь меня, жги меня; Не зкажу ничего; Старый муж, грозный муж, Не узнаешь его. Он свежее весны Жарче летнего дня; Как он молод и [смел]1 Как он любит меня! Как ласкала его Я в ночной тишине! Как смеялись тогда Мы твоей седине!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Note: this is an excerpt from a much longer poem titled "Цыганы" [ru.wikisource.org, external website]
See also Pomey's very loose translation Désespoir.
1 Rachmaninov: "свеж" ("svezh")Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837), appears in Цыганы (Cygany), first published 1824 [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):
- by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Aliabev (1787 - 1851), "Старый муж, грозный муж", 1825>>, published 1860 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Konstantin Mikhailovich Galkovsky (1875 - 1963), "Цыганская песня" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vladimir Nikitich Kashperov (1826 - 1894), "Старый муж, грозный муж" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksandr Abramovich Kreyn (1883 - 1951), "Песня Земфиры", subtitle: "Режь меня, жги меня", published 1937 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Старый муж, грозный муж" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829 - 1894), "Старый муж, грозный муж", op. 78 (Zwölf Lieder aus dem Russischen von W. Osterwald (Twelve Russian Songs)) no. 12 (c1867), published 1868 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Senff, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Feofil Matveyevich Tolstoy (1809 - 1881), "Старый муж" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vasily Vasilyevich Vargin , "Песнь цыганки" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksei Nikolayevich Verstovsky (1799 - 1862), "Цыганская песня", published 1832 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Pauline Viardot-García (1821 - 1910), "Старый муж, грозный муж", VWV: 1116 [ voice and piano ], note: this song has also been linked to VWV 1138, "Désespoir"  [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mikhail Yur'yevich Viel'gorsky (1788 - 1856), "Старый муж, грозный муж", 1825 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Sofya Aleksandrovna Zybina (d. 1897), "Старый муж, грозный муж" [sung text not yet checked]
Set in a modified version by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887) ; composed by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sofia Peycheva) , "Old husband, terrible husband", copyright © 2016, (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: 20
Word count: 67
Vieux mari, mari terrible, Coupe-moi en morceaux, brûle-moi : Je suis forte et je n'ai pas peur Ni du couteau ni du feu. Je te hais, Je te méprise, J'en aime un autre, Je meurs d'amour pour lui. Coupe-moi en morceaux, brûle-moi ; Je ne dirai rien ; Vieux mari, mari terrible, Tu ne te le connaîtras pas. Il est plus frais que le printemps, Il est plus chaud qu'un jour d'été ; Comme il est jeune et hardi, Comme il m'aime ! Comme je le caressais Dans le silence de la nuit ! Comme nous riions De tes cheveux gris !
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 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.
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Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837), appears in Цыганы (Cygany), first published 1824
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-20
Line count: 20
Word count: 96