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by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938)

Kvartira tixa, kak bumaga —
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Kvartira tixa, kak bumaga —
Pustaya, bez vsyakix zatej, —
I sly'shno, kak bul`kaet vlaga
Po trubam vnutri batarej.

Imushhestvo v polnom poryadke,
Lyagushkoj zasty'l telefon,
Vidavshie vidy' manatki
Na uliczu prosyatsya von.

A steny' proklyaty'e tonki,
I nekuda bol`she bezhat`,
I ya kak durak na grebenke
Obyazan komu-to igrat`.

Naglej komsomol`skoj yachejki
I vuzovskoj pesni bojchej,
Prisevshix na shkol`noj skamejke
Uchit` shhebetat` palachej.

Kakoj-nibud` izobrazitel`,
Chesatel` kolxoznogo l`na,
Chernila i krovi smesitel`,
Dostoin takogo rozhna.

Kakoj-nibud` chestny'j predatel`,
Provarenny'j v chistkax, kak sol`,
Zheny' i detej soderzhatel`,
Takuyu uxlopaet mol`.

Pajkovy'e knigi chitayu,
Pen`kovy'e rechi lovlyu
I groznoe bayushki-bayu
Kolxoznomu bayu poyu.

I stol`ko muchitel`noj zlosti
Tait v sebe kazhdy'j namek,
Kak budto vkolachival gvozdi
Nekrasova zdes` molotok.

Davaj zhe s toboj, kak na plaxe,
Za sem`desyat let nachinat`,
Tebe, stariku i neryaxe,
Pora sapogami stuchat`.

I vmesto klyucha Ipokreny'
Davnishnego straxa struya
Vorvetsya v xalturny'e steny'
Moskovskogo zlogo zhil`ya.

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Text Authorship:

  • by Osip Emil'evich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938), no title, written 1933 [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 Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (b. 1932), "Квартира тиха, как бумага", 2002, published 2005 [ tenor, narrator and piano ], from Век мой, зверь мой = My Age, My Wild Beast = Meine Zeit, mein Raubtier, no. 6, Schott Music International & Co. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-01-14
Line count: 40
Word count: 151

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