О дитя, под окошком твоим 
Я тебе пропою серенаду...
Убаюкана пеньем моим,
Ты найдёшь в сновидеьях отраду;
Пусть твой сон и покой
В час безмолвный, ночной
Нежных звуков лелеют лобзанья!

Много горестей, много невзгод
[В дольнем мире тебя]1;
Спи же сладко, пока нет забот,
[И душа огорчений]2 не знает,
Спи во мраке ночном 
Безмятежным ты сном,
Спи, не зная земного страданья.

Пусть твой ангел-хранитель святой,
Милый друг, над тобою летает
И, лелея сон девственный твой,
[Песню рая тебе]3 напевает.
[Это]4 песни святой
Отголосок живой 
[Да дарует тебе]5 упованье.

Спи же, милая, спи, почивай
Под аккорды моей серенады!
Пусть приснится тебе светлый рай,
Преисполненный вечной отрады;
Пусть твой сон и покой
В час безмолвный, ночной
Нежных звуков лелеют лобзанья!

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Tchaikovsky: "Тебя в жизни, дитя, ожидаёт" ("Tebja v zhizni, ditja, ozhidajot")
² Tchaikovsky: "Пока сердце тревоги" ("Poka serdce trevogi")
³ Tchaikovsky: "Тебе райскую песнь" ("Tebe rajskuju pesn'")
⁴ Tchaikovsky: "Пусть той" ("Pust' toj")
⁵ Tchaikovsky: "Тебе в душу вселит" ("Tebe v dushu vselit")

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

• by Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia (1858 - 1915) [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 César Antonovich Cui (1835 - 1918), "Серенада", op. 46 no. 2 (1893), published 1893 [ chorus a cappella ], St. Petersburg: Bessel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Серенада", op. 63 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances) = Sechs Romanzen) no. 6 (1887), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

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

• ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Serenade", 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: 28
Word count: 118

О child, below your balcony
I’ll sing you a serenade…
Calmed by my singing,
You’ll find peace in dreams;
Let yourself sleep, and rest
In the silent hour of night,
Be filled with the delicate sound of cherished kisses!

Many sorrows, many hardships exist
[In the world below you]1;
Just sleep sweetly, until you have no worries
[And your grieving soul won’t know]2,
Sleep your serene sleep
In the darkness of the night,
Sleep, ignorant of earthly strife.

Let your holy guardian angel,
Dear friend, who hovers over you
And, lulling your childlike slumber,
Sing [you a song of paradise]3.
[This]4 divine song's
Living echo:
[oh yes, may it]5 give you hope.

Sleep well, my dear, sleep, rest
Beneath the harmonies of my serenade!
May you dream of a bright paradise,
Filled with everlasting joy;
Let yourself sleep, and rest
In the silent hour of night,
Be filled with the delicate sound of cherished kisses!