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by Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (1892 - 1941)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Нет, бил барабан перед смутным полком
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG FRE
Нет, бил барабан перед смутным полком,
Когда мы вождя хоронили:
То зубы царёвы над мёртвым певцом
Почётную дробь выводили.

Такой уж почёт, что ближайшим друзьям —
Нет места. В изглавьи, в изножьи,
И справа, и слева — ручищи по швам —
Жандармские груди и рожи.

Не диво ли — и на тишайшем из лож
Пребыть поднадзорным мальчишкой?
На что-то, на что-то, на что-то похож
Почёт сей, почётно — да слишком!

Гляди, мол, страна, как, молве вопреки,
Монарх о поэте печётся!
Почётно — почётно — почётно — архи-
почётно, — почётно — до чёрту!

Кого ж это так — точно воры вора
Пристреленного — выносили?
Изменника? Нет. С проходного двора —
Умнейшего мужа России.

About the headline (FAQ)

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (1892 - 1941), no title, written 1931 [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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Нет, бил барабан", op. 143a no. 5, from Шесть стихотворении Марини Цветаевой = Shest' stikhotvorenii Marini Cvetajevoj, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Dann Mitton) , "No, there was a drumbeat", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sergey Rybin) , "No, the drum was drumming", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Non, le tambour bat devant les troupes inquiètes", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: John Versmoren

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 113

Non, le tambour bat devant les troupes inquiètes
Language: French (Français)  after the Russian (Русский) 
Non, le tambour bat devant les troupes inquiètes,
Quand nous enterrions un chef :
Comme les dents du tsar, au-dessus du poète mort,
Exécutant le roulement d'honneur.

Un si grand honneur que même pour ses plus proches amis -- 
Il n'y a pas de place. À sa tête, à ses pieds,
À droite et à gauche -- les armes aux côtés --
Que des gendarmes, leurs poitrines et leurs trognes.

N'est-ce pas étrange -- même sur le plus paisible des lits
D'être traité comme un petit garçon sous surveillance ?
Avec quoi, avec quoi, avec quoi surpasser
cet honneur, honneur -- oui trop !

Regarde, pays, comment, contrairement à la rumeur,
Le monarque prend soin du poète !
Honneur, honneur, honneur, suprême,
honneur, honneur, au diable !

Qui était, emporté comme un voleur,
qui a été fusillé par des voleurs ?
Un traitre ? Non. De la cour --
L'homme le plus sage de Russie.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) to French (Français) copyright © 2008 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (1892 - 1941), no title, written 1931
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2008-05-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 142

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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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