Berceuse | Mon fils est le plus beau de tous sur la terre

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by Vera Klavdiyevna Zvyagintseva (1894 - 1972)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Колыбельная

Language: Russian (Русский) after the Yiddish (יידיש)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Мой сынок всех краше в мире -
Огонёк во тьме.
Твой отец в цепях в Сибири,
Держит царь его в тюрьме!
Спи, лю-лю, лю-лю!

Колыбель твою качая,
Мама слёзы льёт.
Сам поймёшь ты подрастая,
Что ей сердце жжёт.

Твой отец в Сибири дальней,
Я нужду терплю.
Спи покуда беспечально, а,
Лю-лю, лю-лю, лю-лю!

Скорбь моя чернее ночи,
Спи, а я не сплю.
Спи, хороший, спи, сыночек, спи,
Лю-лю, лю-лю, лю-лю.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Note: input from a monograph by Prof. Joachim Braun.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Vera Klavdiyevna Zvyagintseva (1894 - 1972) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Yiddish (יידיש) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Shlof mayn kind, mayn kind, mayn sheyner", Jewish folk poetry.
- 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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Колыбельная", op. 79 no. 3 (1948), first performed 1955 [ alto and piano ], from Из Еврейской Народной Поэзии = Iz Jevrejskoj Narodnoj Po`ezii (From Jewish Folk Poetry), no. 3, note: orchestrated as op. 79a [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English [singable] (Michael P Rosewall) , "Lullaby", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Berceuse", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: John Burke

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 17
Word count: 69

Berceuse

Language: French (Français) after the Russian (Русский)

Mon fils est le plus beau de tous sur la terre --
une petite flamme dans l'obscurité.
Ton père est enchaîné en Sibérie,
emprisonné par le tsar,
Dors, dodo, dodo !

En te berçant dans ton berceau,
maman verse des larmes.
Tu sauras, quand tu seras grand,
ce qui tourmente son cœur.

Ton père est loin en Sibérie ;
je souffre dans le besoin.
Dors maintenant sans souci,
dodo, dodo, dodo !

Mon chagrin est plus noir que la nuit-
dors, et moi je ne peux pas.
Dors, mon chéri, dors, mon fils,
dodo, dodo, dodo.

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 Vera Klavdiyevna Zvyagintseva (1894 - 1972)
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Yiddish (יידיש) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Shlof mayn kind, mayn kind, mayn sheyner", Jewish folk poetry.
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-02
Line count: 17
Word count: 92