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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

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by Nestor Vasil'yevich Kukol'nik (1809 - 1868)
Translation © by A. D. P. Briggs

Болеро
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG
О дева чудная моя,
Твоей любовью счастлив я!
Припав челом к моей груди
В немом восторге таешь ты.

Так много пламени в очах!
Так много неги на устах!
Трепещет грудь, ты вся дрожишь.
Без слов ты клятвы мне даришь.

Лобзанье длится без речей.
Я пью восторг любви твоей
В невозмутимой тишине.
Но если ты изменишь мне...

О дева бедная моя!
И дик и мрачен буду я,
И бурю смерти подыму
Тебе и другу твоему!

Дымится кровь, несётся крик,
А я к устам твоим приник,
Я рву последний звук речей,
Последний взор твоих очей.

Любви крылатые мечты,
Надежды, счастье - всё прости;
Я видел вас в коварном сне,
Но нет - ты не изменишь мне.

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Nestor Vasil'yevich Kukol'nik (1809 - 1868) [author's text not yet checked 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 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804 - 1857), "Болеро", 1840, from Proshchanije S. Peterburgom, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (A. D. P. Briggs) , "Bolero", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Jacob Wilde) , "Bolero", copyright © 2023, (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: 24
Word count: 112

Bolero
Language: English  after the Russian (Русский) 
 Oh wonderful girl of mine,
 How happy is my love for you!
 Your brow lies on my breast
 Sinking in silent ecstasy.
 
 Oh, the burning in your eyes!
 	Oh, the passion on your lips!
 Your trembling breast... all aquiver.
 You need no words as you give me your caresses.
 
 Our lingering kiss is beyond words.
 I devour your loving delight
 In silence and stillness.
 But if you are ever unfaithful...
 
 Oh, wretched girl of mine!
 My dark rage
 Shall deal death
 To you and him together.
 
 In streaming blood and screaming,
 Pressing upon your lips,
 I'll strip from them your last sound,
 And tear the last glance from your eyes.
 
 All of these are airy dreams
 Of hope and happiness; You must forgive me
 I have dreamt of you in blood.
 But no, you'll never be unfaithful.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © by A. D. P. Briggs, (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 Nestor Vasil'yevich Kukol'nik (1809 - 1868)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 138

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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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