Songs

V mladenchestve moym ona menya lyubila
She loved me from my childhood on,
I semistvolnuyu tsevnitsu mne vruchila;
Presenting me with a seven-reed pipe;
Ona vnimala mne s ulybkoi – i slegka
She harkened to me with a smile – and timidly,
Po zvonkim skvazhinam pustogo trostnika
Along the sonorous openings of the hollow reed,
Uzhe naigryval ya slabymi perstami,
I began to play with untutored fingers,
I gimny vazhnye, vnushyonnye bogami,
Both solemn hymns inspired by the gods,
I pesni mirnye frigiiskikh pastukhov.
And peaceful sings of Phrygian shepherds.
S utra do vechera v nemoi teni dubov
From dawn to dusk in the silent shade of oak trees
Prilezhno ya vnimal urokam devy tainoi;
I harkened keenly to the lessons of the mysterious maiden;
I raduya menya nagradoyu sluchainoi,
And gladdening me with occasional reward,
Otkinuv lokony ot milogo chela,
And tossing her locks from her lovely brow,
Sama iz ruk moikh svirel ona brala.
She would take the pipe from my hands.
Trostnik byl ozhivlyon bozhestvennym dykhanyem
The reed would come alive with divine breath,
I serdtse napolnyal svyatym ocharovanyem.
Filling my heart with sacred enchantment.