"May There Always Be Sunshine" (russian: "Пусть всегда будет солнце!" or ) is a popular

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

children's song created in 1962. The music was composed by

Arkady Ostrovsky Arkady (Avraam) Il'ich Ostrovsky (also spelled Ostrovskij, Ostrovskyj russian: Аркадий (Авраам) Ильич Островский) (February 25 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._February_12.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_d ...

and the lyrics written by Lev Oshanin.

Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...

, a writer and immensely popular children's poet, later wrote that the inspiration for the song had been the four lines of the refrain, which were composed in 1928 by the four-year-old boy Kostya Barannikov. The song was first performed in the ''Good Morning!'' (russian: С добрым утром!) radio show in July 1962 by

Maya Kristalinskaya Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya (russian: Ма́йя Влади́мировна Кристали́нская, links=no; 24 February 1932, Moscow – 19 June 1985, Moscow) was a Soviet-Russian singer. In 1957 she performed at the 6th World Festiv ...

. Performed in 1963 at the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in So ...

Tamara Miansarova Tamara Grigoryevna Miansarova (née Remnyova, russian: Тамара Григорьевна Миансарова, links=no; 5 March 1931 – 12 July 2017) was a Soviet Ukrainian lyric soprano, pop singer and professor of Russian Academy of Theatre ...

, the song earned her first prize there and immediately became popular throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and in other countries too. It was frequently sung by Young Pioneers at their

camps Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia *Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...

and school meetings, as well as by

Little Octobrists Little Octobrists (russian: октября́та, translit=oktyabryata ; singular, russian: октябрёнок, translit=oktyabryonok) is a Soviet term that first appeared in 1923–1924, and at that time referred to children born in 1917, the ...

in primary schools, and even by pre-school children. The song was widely regarded in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

as expressing the people's desire for peace.

Lyrics

The song expresses the yearning for lasting peace by millions of people, young and old. In war, the lyrics say, there are no winners. For our sake, and especially for our children's sake, we must achieve peace and remove the dark clouds that now cover the sun.

International versions

The song was translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Tom Botting. The song (or at least its chorus) has been sung in English by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, and is featured on the live album ''Together in Concert'' recorded in 1975 with

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gut ...

. The song was translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

by Ilse and Hans Naumilkat and Manfred Streubel (as "Immer lebe die Sonne") and was popular among Ernst Thälmann Pioneers. The song was also very popular among

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

Pioneers as "Paistaa aurinko aina". It was also used by the Estonian Pioneers, the

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

translation being "Olgu jääv meile päike" by Heljo Mänd. The most popular recording of it, is by the popular singer

Georg Ots Georg Ots (21 March 1920 – 5 September 1975) was an Estonian singer, actor and People's Artist of the USSR (1960). Biography Before studying singing with the Estonian baritone Aleksander Rahnel in Yaroslavl in the rear of the Eastern Fron ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

lyrics were written for the song by composer Gidi Koren. It was recorded (Hebrew title: אלוהים שמור על אמא) and made popular by his

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i folk group,

The Brothers and the Sisters The Brothers & the Sisters ( he, האחים והאחיות, ''Ha'Achim Veha'Achayot'') is a group of four Israeli singers, two men and two women, that was active between 1971 and 1983, and made a comeback in 2003. The group sang mostly pop-folk song ...

In popular culture

The tune was used in the song "Gabrielle" by the

Hootenanny Singers The Hootenanny Singers were a popular folk group from Sweden, founded in 1961. The group included Björn Ulvaeus, who later became a member of ABBA. Other band members were Johan Karlberg (b. Karl Johan Hilding Karlberg, 14 April 1943, Vimme ...

, led by

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

. When this version became a hit in 1964, the lyrics were translated and performed by the group in Swedish, German, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, and English.

Charlotte Diamond Charlotte Diamond, (born July 31, 1945), is a Canadian musician, best known for her children's music. Biography Charlotte Diamond was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She graduated from North Delta Secondary School in 1963, a ...

, the Canadian children's musician included the song in her 1985 album ''10 Carrot Diamond''. The chorus is sung in English, Russian, French, Spanish, German, and Cantonese with the instrumental accompaniment changing musical styles for each culture.

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

sang the original chorus and translations into English, Spanish and French on his album ''Let's Play''. There is also an instrumental outro of the other song's title after this song.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
This song was included in a medley during the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

References

External links

* * * * Eintrag im Songlexiko

{{DEFAULTSORT:May There Always Be Sunshine Russian children's songs 1962 songs 1962 in the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization Pioneer movement Soviet songs Anti-war songs