"A Canary" song by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
For graphical representation of Russian sounds switch the English subtitles on.
The Russian text is in the Russian subtitles.
TRANSLATION:
The sultan's wife says to a canary:
"Bird, is it better to chirp and sing to Zuleika here in the palace,
than to fly far in the west?
Sing, do sing to me about those lands beyond the sea, oh, canary!
Sing, do sing to me about the west, you, little fidget!
Is there a sky like we have here, little bird?
Is there a harem like this one and such a cage?
Has anyone as many roses?
Has anyone among the shahs owned such a one as Zuleika?
And can she raise her veil the way I do?"
The chirping canary replies:
“Don’t ask foreign songs of me.
Don't wake my anguish without a reason.
Your harem is too small for our songs,
and the words in them are obscure to the odalisques…
You blossomed in a lazy slumber,
like the nature around you,
and you do not know, haven’t even heard,
that a song has a sister - freedom."
16 янв 2021
