This is for all our dozen or so (?) Russian-speaking readers — minus those who are already very familiar with this.
For reasons that entirely elude me, I found myself thinking of a Russian song that I had heard when I was small, an entirely adult (not meaning dirty) song by Novella Matveyeva called “You didn’t need to fear my love, I don’t love you so awfully much” (“Любви моей ты боялся зря, не так я страшно люблю”). [UPDATE: There's also something of a play on words there, because "страшно люблю" means "love you frighteningly" as well as being -- more commonly -- an intensifier that in context means "love you a very great deal."]
The official title is apparently “The Girl from the Diner” (“Девушка из харчевни”), but I’d wager that most Russians know it by the first line, which is what I first quoted. I don’t know why I thought of it again, especially since I’m not suffering from any romantic loss, but there it is.
In any case, I found the lyrics and relearned them, and think it’s fantastic; so if you don’t yet know it, but know enough Russian to understand it, check it out. The audio of Matveeva’s original version is here.
Lyric Crytic says:
Is Monday now Russian song lyric day?
August 30, 2010, 6:53 pmDebrah says:
Ok, Throbert.
This post is calling your name!
August 30, 2010, 6:55 pmMeredith M. says:
I studied abroad in St. Petersburg in college, and I really appreciate little pieces of culture like this. Keep ‘em coming!
I found it interesting that the first part of the video says the song is Scottish (шотладская песня), if I translated that correctly.
August 30, 2010, 7:12 pmLarisa says:
Another Russian speaking reader here. I’d guess there’s more than a dozen of us. Pretty song.
August 30, 2010, 7:45 pmIlya Gerner says:
You underestimate the size of your Russian-speaking audience! I’m neither an attorney nor a libertarian/conservative and I’m still a loyal reader.
August 30, 2010, 7:50 pmDevan Bennett says:
I’m with Meredith—this is great! Of course, I’m going to spend the next hour listening to the entire youtube channel instead of working, so it has its downsides too.
August 30, 2010, 7:59 pmDick Leed says:
A delight! Thanks.
August 30, 2010, 8:14 pmeyesay says:
Was this composed with the intent of being in a Scottish style? I hear it as more English than Scottish, with echoes of Greensleeves.
August 30, 2010, 9:20 pmAlex Korotkin says:
There are a few of us Russian speakers here. Perhaps you should mention Vladimir Vysotsky next. I still listen to his songs.
August 30, 2010, 9:29 pmCathy says:
How about Yuri Shevchuk? I hardly speak any Russian at all but I’ve become a huge fan of his music.
August 30, 2010, 11:38 pmMichael Barclay says:
This is my favorite Russian folk song.
August 31, 2010, 12:08 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5tnux7xxY8
Scipio says:
Now that’s depressing. Makes Katiusha seem positively joyous.
August 31, 2010, 11:27 amKaa says:
I don’t think your translation into English — “You didn’t need to fear my love, I don’t love you so awfully much” — is accurate. It really should be “You didn’t need to fear my love, my love isn’t that terrible”.
[EV: Interesting point, thanks; I've updated the post to note the play on words, though I still think that in context the dominant meaning is "I don't love you so awfully much." The rest of the song supports that I think, and of course "страшно" in such a context is a common intensifier that does mean "awfully much" (more or less).]
August 31, 2010, 4:59 pmDebrah says:
Either way the last phrase is translated, it’s not exactly a romantic winner.
August 31, 2010, 7:19 pmJames Fulford says:
How does “I don’t love you so frightfully much” work as a translation?
September 4, 2010, 10:48 pmAnna Novikova says:
Found this gem while catching up on my Google Reader backlog. I, too think you underestimate your Russian-speaking audience.
I’d pitch Nikitini, great Soviet bards who, luckily enough, are still writing and performing.
September 14, 2010, 3:29 pm