Songs
V pervyi i v poslednii raz 'For the First and Last Time'
by Dmitri Shostakovich From Six romances on texts by Japanese poets Op. 21a
Text & Translation
V pervyi i v poslednii raz 'For the First and Last Time'
Russian source:
Anon. trans. Aleksandr Nikolayevich Brandt
Ya prizhal tebya k serdtsu,
K serdtsu, i slilsya s toboi.
Kogda noch otletela,
Ya uvidel, shto tebya so mnoyu bolshe net.
Ostalas lish bol, lish bol.
Mnogo yeshchyo budet u tebya tsvetov,
Blagoukhannykh i divnykh,
No moyo vremya rvat tsvety proshlo,
I v tyomnoi nochi net u menya miloi.
Ostalas lish bol, lish bol...
For the First and Last Time
English translation ©
Philip Ross Bullock
I pressed you to my heart,
To my heart, and became one with you.
When night was over,
I saw you were no longer with me.
Only pain remained, only pain.
You will have many flowers still,
Fragrant and wondrous,
But my time for plucking flowers is passed,
And my darling is no longer with me in the dark night.
Only pain remains, only pain …
V pervyi i v poslednii raz 'For the First and Last Time'
Russian source:
Anon. trans. Aleksandr Nikolayevich Brandt
For the First and Last Time
English source:
Philip Ross Bullock
Ya sorval tvoi tsvetok, ty moya.
I plucked your flower – you are mine.
Ya prizhal tebya k serdtsu,
I pressed you to my heart,
K serdtsu, i slilsya s toboi.
To my heart, and became one with you.
Kogda noch otletela,
When night was over,
Ya uvidel, shto tebya so mnoyu bolshe net.
I saw you were no longer with me.
Ostalas lish bol, lish bol.
Only pain remained, only pain.
Mnogo yeshchyo budet u tebya tsvetov,
You will have many flowers still,
Blagoukhannykh i divnykh,
Fragrant and wondrous,
No moyo vremya rvat tsvety proshlo,
But my time for plucking flowers is passed,
I v tyomnoi nochi net u menya miloi.
And my darling is no longer with me in the dark night.
Ostalas lish bol, lish bol...
Only pain remains, only pain …
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…
