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Lyr Req: cossack drinking song

02 Jun 04 - 10:03 AM (#1198501)
Subject: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: GUEST,Matt

Can anyone help me find the lyrics for this song.

If we drink we shall die if we don't drink we shall die.......

Cheers

02 Jun 04 - 10:07 AM (#1198504)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: GUEST

no luck on google.

02 Jun 04 - 11:16 AM (#1198568)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: GUEST

I think it appeared in the film Taras Bulba (Yul Brynner & Tony Curtis) - I know the song and can recall some of the words (may be able to post them later - not time at the mo)

06 Jun 04 - 09:36 PM (#1201614)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Jim Dixon

I found two albums that contain something called COSSACK SONG or COSSACK'S SONG: Crossing Borders by Kukuruza, and The Best of the Red Army Choir: The Definitive Collection. Unfortunately, the singing is in Russian, but at least you can listen to the sound samples and see if you recognize the tune.

07 Jun 04 - 12:42 AM (#1201678)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: DonMeixner

In a rare case I agree with The Guest, Taras Bulba starring Yul Brynner and Tonu Curtis, a favorite of mine when I was in highschool.

Don

13 Jun 04 - 06:11 PM (#1206445)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Blowzabella

Ok - I was the guest at 11.16 on 2nd June.

I think the chorus went....

If we drink we shall die, if we don't drink we shall die
So we might as well say what the hell and raise our glasses high
Whatever your name you'll be dying just the same
So you might as well say what the hell and join us in a drink - hey!

as for the verses...

Some men are lovers, they work under covers
As from ladies bed to ladies bed they leap
But the man I'll drink to, the man nobody drinks to
Is the man who only goes to bed to go to sleep...

...is all i can remember I'm afraid

25 Dec 08 - 11:50 AM (#2524432)
Subject: If We Drink We Will Die (Some Men, They Are)
From: GUEST

Retrieved from http://wychwood.wikidot.com/songbook-if-we-drink on 2008-12-25. This website/wiki is the product of the Oxford University Historical Re-enactment Society (something like the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)). I wonder what the tune is? Any clues?

If We Drink We Will Die (Some Men, They Are)

Some men they are sailors,
Mighty ocean whalers,
As from shore to icy shore they boldly sail.
But the man I drink to,
The man nobody drinks to,
Is the man who only goes to sea to drink the ale.

Chorus
If we drink we will die
If we don't drink we will die
So we might as well say "What the hell!"
And raise our glasses high
Whatever your name
You'll be dying just the same
So you might as well say, "What the hell!"
and join us in a drink
Hey!

Some men they are fighters,
Mighty warrior fighters,
As from battlefield to battlefield they run.
But the man I drink to,
The man nobody drinks to,
Is the man who only goes to war just for the rum.

Chorus

Some men they are lovers,
They work under covers,
As from lady's bed to lady's bed they creep.
But the man I drink to,
The man nobody drinks to,
Is the man who only goes to bed to go to sleep.

Chorus

Some men they are thinkers,
Other men are drinkers,
As from public bar to public bar they roam.
But the man I drink to,
The man nobody drinks to,
Is the man who only has one drink and then goes home.

Chorus

10 Jun 09 - 12:38 AM (#2652883)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: GUEST

I've heard it sung to the Korobuschka (sp?), although the lyrics I heard were slightly different.

The Chorus was:

If you drink you will die
And if you don't drink you will die
So as long as you'll die
It is better if you drink.
Whatever your name
You will die all the same
So as long as you'll die
It is better if you drink.

10 Jun 09 - 04:07 AM (#2652955)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Artful Codger

On a Russian site, there was a seemingly snubbing remark about how they were singing to "Kalinka(-Malinka)", the title of which is often confused with "Korobushka". The meter of the chorus given above doesn't fit "Korobushka", while it fits Kalinka's chorus if you force it a little. Of course, they may have been referring to another song in the movie. Other sites mention that much of the scoring borrowed from Ukrainian music, so it may be a Ukrainian song. Sadly, the soundtrack (reissued on CD) doesn't appear to include any songs from the film, nor do film databases mention them.

I'll scan my Russian copy of Gogol to see if there are any lyrics in the book that they might have used.

The translation reminds me of a well-known Russian song that is similar, but not close enough that I'd hazard it's the same one. It began in the 18th c. as a students' drinking song (as given below), although it has since morphed into military and "people's" versions.


Наша жизнь коротка

1. Наша жизнь коротка, все уносит с собой,
    Наша юность, друзья, пронесётся стрелой.

Припев:
Проведёмте-ж, друзья, эту ночь веселей,
Пусть студентов семья соберётся тесней.

2. Не любить – погубить значит жизнь молоду.
    В жизни pай – выбирай каждый деву младу.

3. От бессонных ночей голова не болит,
    А болит у того, кто без просыпа спит.

The verses are sung slowly, with a sort of mournful feel; the chorus is livelier, and in some versions expanded thus:

Припев:
Проведёмте-ж, друзья, эту ночь веселей,
И пусть наша семья соберётся тесней.
Налей, налей бокалы полней,
Налей, налей бокалы полней,
И пусть наша семья соберётся тесней.
И пусть наша семья соберётся тесней.

Here's a hasty stab at a translation:

1. Our life is short, everything is transitory [carries itself off]
Our youth, friends, passes by like an arrow.

Chorus:
Let's spend this night merrily, friends,
Let the family of students gather tightly.
[Pour, pour, fill the glasses,
And let our family gather tightly.]

2. Not to love means to destroy one's young life.
In life is paradise; select [take out?] every young lass.

3. Sleepless nights don't cause heads to ache,
Those whose ache are those who sleep all hours.

11 Jun 09 - 03:49 PM (#2654244)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Artful Codger

No verse at all in Gogol's story.

13 Jun 09 - 09:39 AM (#2655549)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Jim Dixon

Searching for "if we drink we will die" in Google Books, I found a reference to the book Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood's Russians: Biography of an Image by Harlow Robinson (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2007). However, the relevant page (166) is not viewable online. Click the link, however, and you might be able to locate a copy of the book in a library near you.

14 Jun 09 - 06:37 PM (#2656422)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: Artful Codger

Just confirmed: What they sing in Taras Bulba (about 50 minutes in) is indeed the song GUEST posted on 25 Dec 08 (with a few alterations), to the tune of "Kalinka":

[Chorus]
If we drink we will die,
If we don't drink we will die,
So we might as well say, "What the hell!"
And let our glasses clink.
Whatever your name
You'll be dying just the same,
So as long as we are gonna die
It's better if we drink.

[Second half of chorus repeated twice more]

[Verse: Solo by Yul]
Some men are lovers, they work under covers
And from lady's bed to lady's bed they leap,
But I want to drink to the man nobody drinks to:
The fellow who gets into bed and goes to sleep.

[Chorus]

When Yul sings the tune to the verse, he uses only the first and last lines of the original: 1 4 1 4. The text bears no relation to "Kalinka" whatever.

17 Sep 09 - 03:47 AM (#2725255)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: cossack drinking song
From: GUEST,nobodd

I found the scene on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_IE89RB_oc