Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya

Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya (Russian: По диким степям Забайкалья) translated By the wild steppes of the Transbaikalye is a Russian folk song. The song is also known as Brodyaga (Russian: Бродяга) - The wanderer. It was composed by convicts in Siberia. At the beginning of the 20th century it was published and recorded. It has since become part of the repertoire of various Russian and foreign artists.

History

The song Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya was composed by convicts in Siberia towards the end of the 19th century. According to Ivan Petrovich Belokonsky, the song was known in Siberia in the 1880s, with no indication of the author of the lyrics.[1]

Ivan Abramovich Nazarov indicates Ivan Kuzmich Kondratyev as author of the lyrics,[2] although the poem is not included in the latter's last published volume of poems: Under the noise of the Oak Groves. In 1906, Swedish composer Wilhelm Harteveld also collected the song during his trip to Siberia and published it in 1908 [3]

At the beginning of the 20th century, several recordings of the song were made in Russia:

The records indicate Ivan Kondratyev as author of the lyrics.[4]

Lyrics

There are several versions, which differ slightly in words or expressions. Most musicians omit some verses. The following is the most common version. (The verses in italics are those most often omitted):

Russian Transliteration English translation
1
По диким степям Забайкалья,
Где золото роют в горах,
Бродяга, судьбу проклиная,
Тащился с сумой на плечах.
2
Идёт он густою тайгою,
Где пташки одни лишь поют,
Котел его сбоку тревожит,
Сухие коты ноги бьют.
3
На нем рубашонка худая,
И множество разных заплат,
Шапчонка на нем арестанта
И серый тюремный халат.
4
Бежал из тюрьмы тёмной ночью,
В тюрьме он за правду страдал.
Идти дальше нет уже мочи –
Пред ним расстилался Байкал.
5
Бродяга к Байкалу подходит,
Рыбацкую лодку берёт
И грустную песню заводит,
Про Родину что-то поёт.
6
"Оставил жену молодую
И малых оставил детей,
Теперь я иду наудачу,
Бог знает, увижусь ли с ней!"
7
Бродяга Байкал переехал,
Навстречу - родимая мать.
"Ах, здравствуй, ах, здравствуй, мамаша,
Здоров ли отец мой да брат?"
8
"Отец твой давно уж в могиле,
Землею сырою лежит,
А брат твой давно уж в Сибири,
Давно кандалами гремит".
9
"Пойдём же, пойдём, мой сыночек,
Пойдём же в курень наш родной,
Жена там по мужу скучает,
И плачут детишки гурьбой".
1
Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya,
Gde zoloto royut v gorakh,
Brodyaga, sudbu proklinaya,
Tashilsya s sumoi na plechakh.
2
Idyot on gustoyu taigoyu,
Gde ptashki odni lish poyut,
Kotel ego sboku trevozhit,
Sukhie koty nogi byut
3
Na niom rubashonka khudaya,
I monzhestvo rasnykh zaplat,
Shapchonka na nem arestsanta
И seryi tyuremnyi khalat.
4
Bezhal iz tyurmy tyomnoi nochyu,
V tyurme on za pravdu stradal.
Idti dalshe net uzhe mochi –
Pred nim rasstilalsya Baikal.
5
Brodyaga k Baikalu podkhodit,
Rybatzkuyu lodky beryot
I grustnuyu pesnyu zavodit
Pro Rodinu chto-to poyot.
6
"Оstavil zhenu moloduyu
I malykh ostavil detei,
Teper ya idu naudachu,
Bog znayet, uvizhus li s nei!"
7
Brodyaga Baikal pereyekhal,
Navstrechu - rodimaya mat.
"Аkh, zdravstvuy, аkh zdravstvuy, mamasha,
Zdorov li otets moi i brat?"

8

"Otets tvoi davno uzh v mogile
Zemlioyu syroyu lezhit
А brat tvoi davno uzh v Sibiri,
Davno kandalami gremit".
9
"Poidyom zhe, poidyom, moi synochek
Poidyom zhe kuren nash rodnoi
Zhena tam po muzhu skuchayet,
Plachut detishki gurboi".
1
On the wild steppes of Transbaikalia,
Where people dig for gold in the mountains,
A vagrant, bemoaning his fate,
Is wandering with a bag on his back.
2
He walks through the thick taiga,
Where only a few birds sing,
He carries a tin can on his side,
His feet are strapped in dry skins.
3
He wears only a thin shirt,
And set of different patches.
The cap on his head is a convict’s cap
And he wears a grey convict’s uniform.
4
He escaped from prison during a dark night
Where he was imprisoned for defending the truth.
But he could not go any further
In front of him was Lake Baikal.
5
The vagrant walks to the shore
And climbs in to a fisherman's boat.
He starts to sing a sad song
Telling something about his native land.
6
"I left my wife when she was young
And left her with my small children,
Now I wander aimlessly,
God knows, whether I shall meet her again!"
7
He crosses the lake,
His mother comes to meet him.
”O my dear mother let me embrace you,
Are my father and my brother well?”
8
"Your father has been dead for a long time;
He now rests in the damp earth.
And your brother is serving his sentence,
Wearing chains, somewhere in Siberia."
9
"Let's go, let’s go, my son,
Let's go home to our house,
Where your wife misses her husband,
And all your little children are crying."

Recent performances

The song remains in the repertoire of various Russian artists. The best known performances include those by:

Performance abroad

The first recording outside the USSR was by Electrecord in Bucharest, Romania in 1945 and released as "Brodyaga". It was performed by Pyotr Leshchenko, a Russian singer who had emigrated to Romania.

The song has also been performed by foreign artists, including:

Films

The song was featured in the Russian movie Ballad of Siberia (Russian: Сказание о земле Сибирской), performed by actor Vladimir Druzhnikov, being a secondary theme song.[5]

Spinoffs

A parody of the song called "On the wild steppes of Arizona" (Russian: По диким степям Аризоны), with lyrics by Viktor Baranov performed by Artur Gladyshev. The song was released in 1997 in the album "Red America" (Russian: Квасная Америка) .[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ По Диким Степям Забайкалья
  2. ↑ Иван Абрамович Назаров, Встречи и письма, Vladimir, 1957.
  3. ↑ Кондратьев Иван Кузьмич Стихотворения
  4. ↑ Очи черные: Старинный русский романс. – Эксмо, Moscow 2004
  5. ↑ The wanderer (Russian)
  6. ↑ По Диким Степям Аризоны...
  7. ↑ Неуловимый Арчи (Артур Гладышев) - Квасная Америка (1997)

External links

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