Skip to main content

Songs

Oxford Lieder Live Online

Songs

Ya bil u ney (1894) Op. 14 no.4

Ya bil u ney

Aleksey Vasil'yevich Kol'tsov

Ya by'l u nej; ona skazala:
,,Lyublyu tebya, moj mily'j drug!``
No e`tu tajnu ot podrug
xranit` mne strogo zaveshhala.
Ya by'l u nej, na prelest` zlata
Klyalas` menya ne promenyat`;
Ko mne lish` strastiyu py'lat`,
Menya lyubit`, lyubit`, kak brata.
Ya by'l u nej; ya vechno budu
S eyo dushoj dushoyu zhit`.
Puskaj ona mne izmenit`,
No ya izmennikom ne budu.

I came to her

English Translation © Philip Ross Bullock

I came to her, and she said:
‘I love you, my dear friend!’
But she bad me solemnly
To keep this secret from her girlfriends.
I came to her, and she vowed
Never to forsake me for love of gold;
To burn with passion for me alone,
To love me, love me as a brother.
I came to her, and I will live for ever,
My soul deep in hers.
She may betray me if she will,
But I will never be a traitor.

If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.

Composer

Sergei Rachmaninov

Sergei Rachmaninov was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor of the late Romantic period.


See Full Entry

Poet

Aleksey Vasil'yevich Kol'tsov

See Full Entry

Sorry, no further description available.

Mailing List