The wandering wind caressed me

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by Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont (1867 - 1942)

Translation © by Sergey Rybin

Ветер перелётный обласкал меня

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG ENG FRE

Ветер перелётный обласкал меня
И шепнул печально: «Ночь сильнее дня».
И закат померкнул. Тучи почернели.
Дрогнули, смутились пасмурные ели.

И над тёмным морем, где крутился вал,
Ветер перелётный зыбью пробежал.
Ночь царила в мире. А меж тем далёко,
За́ морем зажглося огненное око.

Новый распустился в небесах цветок,
Светом возрождённым заблистал Восток.
Ветер изменился, и пахнул мне в очи,
И шепнул с усмешкой: «День сильнее ночи».

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with К. Д. Бальмонт, Полное собрание стихов. Том первый. Издание четвертое, М.: Изд. Скорпион, 1914.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont (1867 - 1942), no title, appears in В безбрежности (V bezbrezhnosti), in 2. За пределы (Za predely), no. 26 [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 Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko (1896 - c1938), "Ветер перелётный", published 1952 [ voice and piano ], Kyiv [sung text not yet checked]
by Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Ветер перелётный", op. 34 (Четырнадцать романсов = Chetyrnadcat' romansov (Fourteen songs)) no. 4 (1912) [sung text checked 1 time]
by David Fyodorovich Saliman-Vladimirov (1903 - 1992), "Ветер перелётный", published 1976 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Jacob Wilde) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , 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: 12
Word count: 66

The wandering wind caressed me

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

The wandering wind caressed me
And whispered with sadness: “Night is stronger than day.”
The sunset faded. The clouds blackened.
The gloomy fir trees trembled and rustled.

And above the dark sea, where the wave was swirling,
The wandering wind ran across the ripples.
Night reigned in the world. But meanwhile, far away,
Beyond the sea, a fiery eye was kindled.

A new flower blossomed in the heavens,
With reborn light the East began to shine.
The wind changed, and breathed into my eyes,
And whispered with a smile: “Day is stronger than night.”

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Ветер перелётный" = "The wandering wind"

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 Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont (1867 - 1942), no title, appears in В безбрежности (V bezbrezhnosti), in 2. За пределы (Za predely), no. 26
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 94