by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

Tak chto zhe?
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Tvoj obraz svetly'j, angel`skij
I denno i noshno so mnoj;
I slyozy', i gryozy', 
I zhutkie, strashny'e sny',
Ty' vsyo napolnyaesh` soboj!
Ty' vsyo napolnyaesh` soboj!
Tak chto zhe? Chto zhe? Chto zhe?
Xot`` much`, da lyubi!

YA tajnu strasti pagubnoj
Gluboko xoronyu;
A ty' korish`, sty'dom yazvish`!
Ty' tol`ko terzaesh` menya
Bezzhalostnoj, gruboj nasmeshkoj,
Bezzhalostnoj, gruboj nasmeshkoj!
Tak chto zhe? chto zhe? chto zhe?
Terzaj, da lyubi!

Tebe do groba veren ya,
No ty' kazhdy'j den`, kazhdy'j chas
Izmenoyu yad v serdce l`yosh`
Ty' zhizn` otravlyaesh` moyu!
Net, ya ne snesu e`toj muki!
Net zhalosti v serdce tvoyom!
Tak chto zhe? chto zhe? chto zhe?
Ubej, no lyubi!

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Show untransliterated (original) text

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 (Emily Ezust) , "So what is it?", copyright © 2022
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Pourquoi donc ?", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bruno Tutenberg) , "Warum nur?"


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: 109