Lullaby | My sweet child, so handsome, dear boy

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Vera Klavdiyevna Zvyagintseva (1894 - 1972)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

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.

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

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

Lullaby

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

My sweet child, so handsome, dear boy;
One small light where darkness reigns.
Father jailed in cruel Siberia,
Where the Tsar holds him in chains.
Sleep - lullay, lullay.

As I gently rock your cradle,
Mama weeps for you.
And you'll learn as you grow older
All she has been through.

Papa gone in far Siberia
While I suffer here;
Yet, now slumber without worry.
Ah - lullay, lullay, lullay.

My despair, more black than nighttime -
Sleep, though no sleep comes for me.
Sleep, darling. Sleep, my dear one.
Sleep - lullay, lullay, lullay.

Text Authorship:

Singable translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2025 by Michael P Rosewall, (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: 2025-06-05
Line count: 17
Word count: 91