Evening Bell (Вечерний звон) is a popular Russian song written in 1828 by Ivan Kozlov and Alexander Alyabyev. The lyrics are adapted from a Russian-themed verse by Thomas Moore. (Some more background by Wikipedia)Transliteration (not pronunciation!)
ВЕЧЕРНИЙ ЗВОН (Russian)
Вечерний звон, вечерний звон!
Как много дум наводит он
О юных днях в краю родном,
Где я любил, где отчий дом,
И как я, с ним навек простясь,
Там слушал звон в последний раз!
Уже не зреть мне светлых дней
Весны обманчивой моей!
И сколько нет теперь в живых
Тогда веселых, молодых!
И крепок их могильный сон;
Не слышен им вечерний звон.
Лежать и мне в земле сырой!
Напев унывный надо мной
В долине ветер разнесет;
Другой певец по ней пройдет,
И уж не я, а будет он
В раздумье петь вечерний звон!EVENING BELLS
Evening bells, evening bells,
How many memories they bring me back
Of my youth in my native land,
Where I was in love, where there's my house.
I remember how, leaving it forever,
I was hearing evening bells for the last time.
Now I can't bring back those days
Of my illusory youth.
And how many of my friends are dead already,
They who were merry and young at that time!
They are in a deep deathly sleep,
They don't hear evening bells anymore.
One day I also shall be in the cold ground.
A sad melody above me
The wind will spread it throughout the valley,
Other singer will pass it.
And it's not me, it's him
Who will sing with evening bells.
vecherniy zvon, vecherniy zvon!
kak mnogo dum navodit on
o yunykh dnyakh v krayu rodnom,
gde ya lyubil, gde otchiy dom,
i kak ya, s nim navek prostyas',
tam slushal zvon v posledniy raz!
uzhe ne zret' mne svetlykh dney
vesny obmanchivoy moyey!
i skol'ko net teper' v zhivykh
togda veselykh, molodykh!
i krepok ikh mogil'nyy son;
ne slyshen im vecherniy zvon.
lezhat' i mne v zemle syroy!
napev unyvnyy nado mnoy
v doline veter razneset;
drugoy pevets po ney proydet,
i uzh ne ya, a budet on
v razdum'ye pet' vecherniy zvon!
Translation borrowed from Natalia Chernega website where you can listen to a rendition by the Sretensky Monastery Choir
Some renditions:
1st verse only: Ivan Rebroff , Red Army Choir, soloist: Борис Дьяков (Boris Dyakov), Сергей Захаров (Sergey Zakharov)
A rendition of the full set of lyrics by Юлия Зиганшина (Yulia Ziganshina.) (totally different!).
And if you want to have a look at some paintings while you listen to the Patriarchal Choir, Moscow or at some photos while you listen to soloist Гедда Николай (Nicolai Gedda), here you are!
Two scores and lyrics (Russian site), Lyrics and chords (Russian book from Google)
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