by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875)
Kaby' znala ya
Language: Russian (Русский)
Our translations: ENG
Kaby' znala ya, kaby' vedala, Ne smotrela by' iz okoshechka YA na molodcza razudalogo, Kak on exal po nashej ulice. Nabekren` zalomivshi murmolku, Kak lixogo konya bulanogo, Zvonkonogogo, dolgogrivogo Suprotiv okon na dy'by' vzdy'mal! Kaby' znala ya, kaby' vedala, Dlya nego by' ya ne ryadilasya, S zolotoj kajmoj lentu aluyu V kosu dlinnuyu ne vpletala by', Rano do svetu ne vstavala by', Za okoliczu ne speshila by', V rose nozhen`ki ne mochila by', Na prosyolok tot ne glyadela by', Ne proedet li tem prosyolkom on, Na ruke derzha pyostra sokola? Kaby' znala ya, kaby' vedala, Ne sidela by' pozdnim vecherom, Prigoryunivshis` na zavaline, Na zavaline, bliz kolodezya, Podzhidayuchi, da gadayuchi, Ne pridyot li on, nenaglyadny'j moj! Napoit` konya studenoj vodoj!
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Text Authorship:
- by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875) [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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Кабы знала я", op. 47 (Семь романсов = Sem' romansov (Seven romances)) no. 1 (1880) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "If only I'd known better", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 120