Skaži, o čëm v teni vetvej, kogda priroda otdychaet, poët vesennij solovej i čto on pesnej vyražaet? Čto tajno vsem volnuet krov'? Skaži, skaži, kakoe slovo znakomo vsem i večno novo? Ljubov'! Skaži, o čëm naedine v razdum'e devuška gadaet, čto tajnym trepetom vo sne ej strach i radost' obeščaet? Nedug tot strannyj nazovi, v kotorom svetlaja otrada. Čego ej ždat'? Čego ej nado? Ljubvi! [Kogda]1 ot žiznennoj toski ty, utomlennyj, iznyvaeš' i, zloj pečali vopreki, chot' prizrak sčast'ja prizyvaeš' čto uslaždaet grud' tvoju? Ne te li zvuki nezemnye, kogda uslyšal ty vpervye -- [Ljublju?!]2
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View original text (without footnotes)Note (provided by Laura Prichard): This text first appears in a one-act “comedy-vaudeville” titled Trouble from a Tender Heart by Count Vladimir Alexandrovich Sollogub (1813-1882) Tchaikovsky knew this text as a young man in St. Petersburg, since he acted in a production of the play in 1860-1861. Much later, he wrote incidental music (now lost) for the same play to be produced at his sister’s estate in Kamenka (Ukraine), and his song for soprano may date from that period.
1 Tchaikovsky: "Скажи! Когда"2 Tchaikovsky: "слова, слова любви!"
Tchaikovsky's version has different punctuation. It is below:
Скажи, о чём в тени ветвей, Когда природа отдыхает, Поёт весенний соловей, И что он песней выражает? Что тайно всем волнует кровь? Скажи, скажи, скажи, какое слово Знакомо всем и вечно ново? Любовь, любовь, любовь! Скажи, о чём наедине, В раздумье, девушка гадает, Что тайным трепетом во сне Ей страх и радость обещает? Недуг тот странный назови, В котором светлая отрада, Чего ей ждать, чего ей надо: Любви! любви! Скажи! когда от жизненной тоски Ты утомленный изнываешь, И злой печали вопреки Хоть призрак счастья призываешь! Что услаждает грудь твою? Не те ли звуки неземные, ||: Когда услышал ты впервые Слова, слова любви! :||
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Text Authorship:
- by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sollogub, Graf (Count) (1813 - 1882), no title, appears in Беда от нежного сердца = Beda ot nezhnogo serdca [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 Oskar Karlovich Klemm (1821 - 1891), "Скажи, о чём в тени ветвей" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sidorov (b. 1956), "Романс Марии" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Скажи, о чём в тени ветвей", op. 57 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances)) no. 1 (1884), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Feofil Matveyevich Tolstoy (1809 - 1881), "Скажи, о чём в тени ветвей" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sofya Aleksandrovna Zybina (d. 1897), "Скажи, о чём в тени ветвей" [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Schmidt (1854 - 1923) ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Lyle Neff) , "Tell me, in the shadow of the branches", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Dis-moi sous l'ombre des branches", copyright © 2014, (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: 24
Word count: 94