by Modest Petrovich Musorgsky (1839 - 1881)
Translation © by Laura Prichard

С няней
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE LIT
Расскажи мне, нянюшка, расскажи мне, милая,
Про того про буку страшного:
Как тот бука по лесам бродил,
Как тот бука в лес детей носил
И как грыз он их белые косточки,
И как дети те кричали, плакали!
Нянюшка! Ведь зато их, детей-то, бука съел,
Что обидели няню старую,
Папу с мамой не послушали.
Ведь зато он съел их, нянюшка?

Или вот что: Расскажи мне лучше про царя с царицей,
Что за морем жили в терему богатом.
Ещё царь всё на ногу хромал,
Как споткнётся, так гриб вырастет,
У царицы то всё насморк был,
Как чихнёт, стекла в дребезги!
Знаешь, нянюшка:
Ты про буку то уж не рассказывай! Бог с ним, с букой!
Расскажи мне, няня, ты, смешную-то!

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Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "With Nanny ", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Avec la nounou", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Hans Schmidt) , "Mit der Njanja"
  • LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Su aukle", 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: 19
Word count: 117

With Nanny 
Language: English  after the Russian (Русский) 
Tell me, Nanny, tell me, [my] dear,
About that terrible wolf:
How that wolf wandered in the woods,
How that wolf carried children into the woods
And how he gnawed on their white bones,
And how the children screamed, cried!
Nanny! So [was it the case that], those children the wolf ate,
They offended their old nurses,
Not [even] listening to their Papa and Mama?
So [is that why] he ate them, Nanny?

Or [how about] this: Tell me instead about the Tsar and Tsarina,
Who lived by the sea in a fine palace.
The same Tsar who walked with a limp,
How [whenever] he stumbled, a mushroom would spring up,
About the Tsarina who had such a runny nose
That she sneezed the window glass into smithereens!
You know, Nanny:
Don’t tell me any more about the wolf! God bless him, [peace be] with the wolf!
Tell me [another story], nurse, something funny!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura 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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This text was added to the website: 2016-06-16
Line count: 19
Word count: 154