"The Cossack Lullaby" () is a cradle song that Russian writer

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

wrote in 1838 during his exile in

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Background

In 1837, Alexandr Pushkin had a duel with Georges d'Anthes and two days later died.

, who had adored Pushkin, wrote a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

entitled the ''

Death of the Poet "Death of the Poet" (russian: Смерть Поэта) is an 1837 poem by Mikhail Lermontov, written in reaction to the death of Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin was mortally wounded in a duel on January 27, 1837, and died on the 29th. Lermontov began ...

'' and lamented that he fell as a victim of the aristocracy surrounding the

Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

. He was immediately exiled to the

. While in Caucasus, he heard an old Terek Cossack woman sing a cradle song, which he transcribed as the Cossack Lullaby. At that time, the Terek Cossacks defended Russia's southern border against the

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...

. Lermontov is said to have actually put the song in music in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

on his way to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The song was later sent to Saint Petersburg and Moscow and became popular.

Words and translation

The song has six stanzas, of which two are described below with a direct English translation.Казачья Колыбельная Песня / Cossack Lullaby
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References

{{Authority control Songs in Russian Russian songs Russian children's songs Mikhail Lermontov Lullabies

Background

Words and translation

See also

References