Дорогой длинною
Dorogoy Dlinnoyu
(This Russian folk song had its tune swiped for the pop song "Those Were the Days". Here are the original
Russian lyrics, and my loose translation of them into English. These days, many different versions can be
found on the Internet.)
Дорогой длинною
ехали на тройке с бубенцами,
А вдали мелькали огоньки…
Эх, когда бы мне теперь за вами,
Душу бы развеять от тоски!
Дорогой длинною, погодой лунною,
Да с песней той, что в даль летит звеня,
Да со старинною, да с семиструнною,
Что по ночам так мучила меня.
Да, выходит, пели мы задаром,
Понапрасну ночь за ночью жгли.
если мы покончили со старым,
Так и ночи эти отошли!
В даль родную новыми путями
Нам отныне ехать суждено!
…ехали на тройке с бубенцами,
Да теперь проехали давно!
In a sleigh with sleighbells we were riding;
Far off we could see the lights of town.
Dear, I know that if I could be with you,
I'd no longer find myself so sad.
(Chorus: sing twice)
The road ahead is long,
The moon is shining bright,
The song we sang in darkness disappears.
The score is ended now,
And with it broken now
Those sad guitars that tortured me at night.
Yes, it seems that we sang to no purpose;
Aimlessly we lived from night to night.
But if we had thought to do the right thing,
I know I would those sweet nights not recall.
(Chorus: two more times)
—San Diego
12/15/1971
Copyright © 1971 by Green Sky Press. All rights reserved.
Backgrounds and images are copyright by their respective authors, who retain all rights.
This background is "g3sf13.gif" from "Background City", which doesn't seem to exist any more.