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by Lev Aleksandrovich Mey (1822 - 1862)
Translation © by Sergey Rybin

Спросили они: ,,Как в летучих челнах
Language: Russian (Русский)  after the French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Спросили они:  ,,Как в летучих челнах
Нам белою чайкой скользить на волнах,
Чтоб нас сторожа недогнали?``
,,Гребите!`` они отвечали.

Спросили они: ,,Как забыть, навсегда,
Что в мире юдольном есть бедность, беда,
Что есть в нём гроза и печали?``
,,Засните!`` они отвечали.

Спросили они: ,,Как красавиц привлечь
Без чары: чтоб сами на страстную речь
Они нам в объятия пали?``
,,Любите!`` они отвечали.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Lev Aleksandrovich Mey (1822 - 1862), no title, written 1862, first published 1862 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Autre guitare", appears in Les Rayons et les Ombres, no. 23, first published 1838
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov (1849 - 1927), 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Они отвечали", op. 21 (Двенадцать романсов = Dvenadcat' romansov (Twelve songs)) no. 4 (1902) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov (1872 - 1964), "Спросили они", op. 26 no. 2 [ men's chorus ], Leipzig, Jurgenson [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 61

They answered
Language: English  after the Russian (Русский) 
The men asked: “How, in our flying boats,
Might we glide like a white seagull on the waves,
So that the watchmen will not catch us?”
“Row!” — the women replied.

The men asked: “How can we forget forever
That in this earthly world there is poverty, sorrow,
That there are storms and griefs within it?”
“Sleep!” — the women replied.

The men asked: “How can we draw fair maidens,
Without magic, so that to our passionate words
They fall into our arms willingly?”
“Love!” — the women replied.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2026 by Sergey Rybin, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in Russian (Русский) by Lev Aleksandrovich Mey (1822 - 1862), no title, written 1862, first published 1862
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Autre guitare", appears in Les Rayons et les Ombres, no. 23, first published 1838
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 89

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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