Songs
Kolybelnaya 'Lullaby'
by Dmitri Shostakovich From Four Songs to Words by Evgeny Dolmatovsky (1951) Op. 86
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Translation
Lullaby
English translation ©
Philip Ross Bullock
Sleep, my beautiful one, sleep my dear one,
You came into my life in the spring so green.
Those born after the war
Dream only the most peaceful of dreams.
Sleep, my beautiful one, and with my tender love
I will defend you from all adversity.
Peace-loving people keep watch over you,
They will never allow anybody to touch you.
Sleep, my beautiful one, day and night,
Whilst nearby building sites resound.
Let their thundering be heard –
They frighten neither children nor adults.
You came into my life in the spring so green.
Those born after the war
Dream only the most peaceful of dreams.
Sleep, my beautiful one, and with my tender love
I will defend you from all adversity.
Peace-loving people keep watch over you,
They will never allow anybody to touch you.
Sleep, my beautiful one, day and night,
Whilst nearby building sites resound.
Let their thundering be heard –
They frighten neither children nor adults.
Composer
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer and pianist. He achieved fame in the Soviet Union, although later developed a more complex and difficult relationship with the government. As a composer, he combined a variety of different musical…