In America, we sing songs to babies to calm them down, to get them to go to sleep, and to make them feel safe and loved. This is not the case in Russia. In Russia, women sing songs to their babies to warn them of death, starvation, and wolves. And this is sung in a mildly soothing and pacifying voice, one that has been carried through generations of Russian Suffering. In my mom’s case, it was also Russian Jewish suffering.
I’m not kidding. Strangely enough, these songs were the highlight of my youth and something I plan to sing to my children when they are born (which will not be at least for another two years, no matter how many times my mom tells me that she’s not getting any younger and will most likely die next week without seeing her grandchildren.)
In America, we have lullabys like this:
“May you wake when the day chases darkness away.” Something about lilies and gently sleeping. This could be a Serta mattress ad. So peaceful and calm and happy.
In Russia, this is the song I was sung when I was little:
Here are the lyrics, not kidding:
Oh, such an evening, such an evening.
I slept little last night
I slept little last night,
And in my dream, a vision came to me:
In my dream, a vision came to me:
As if my black steed,
Played and danced and went wild,
And bucked under me,
Played and danced and went wild,
And bucked under me
And Esau the prophet (as in, he predicts the future),
He deciphered my dream
Oh, he said, your wild and untamed head will fall (as in someone will decapitate you),
Then the wild, untamed winds came upon me
From the Eastern side
And they tore the black hat from my wild and unruly head
And they tore the black hat from my wild and unruly head
Oh, such an evening, such an evening.
I slept little last night
I slept little last night,
And in my dream, a vision came to me:
That’s right. It’s a song about how a guy, Stenka Razin, a famous Russian folk hero, has a dream that his horse will throw him and the wind will take his hat, which his seer interprets to mean that he will get his head cut off in battle. It’s a pretty good reason to have insomnia. It’s a GREAT song to sing to a 3-year-old.
Here is another gem that my mom sung to me when I was little:
Why do you stand, swaying
Oh slender birch tree
With your head bent
To your very stem?
But across the road
Across a wide river
Similarly lonely
Stands a tall oak tree.
How can I, birch tree,
Clamber over to the oak tree?
I wouldn’t bend and sway then as I do now,
I wouldn’t bend and sway then as I do now,
With my slender branches,
I would lean against him
And with his foliage
I would whisper day and night.
BUT THE SONG ENDS. AND THE BIRCH TREE IS STILL ALL ALONE. What kind of sick person would sing this song to their children? My mother, that’s who. Keeper of Top 40 Songs of Grief and Sorrow. Basically, all the songs on the Top 40 are Russian national folk songs.
But just so you don’t think my mom crushed my spirit early, it was pretty much everyone in Russia that sang these songs to their kids. There are worse ones. And there’s a reason I’ll sing them to mine, aside from the fact that I would also like my children to become cynical about life at an early age. EVEN THE FREAKING BIRCH TREE CAN’T GET ANY LOVING.
I remember, one lonely winter night sophomore year in college, at Penn State. I was doing my homework in the computer lab, listening to Russian radio on my headphones. It was cold and dark and miserable outside, and all my friends were somewhere else. My roommate at the time, who I hated, was also not around. It was just me, and I was feeling a little bit homesick. And then, the first song “Oi to ne vecher,” about Stenka Razin, came on the radio. I think I hadn’t heard that song for about 12 years or so. And suddenly, I felt extremely sad, as if someone had plucked a single chord inside of me, like a harp and the sadness resonated inside, near my heart.
I ran to my dorm room and started bawling. And I didn’t even know why. I just bawled for about half an hour with that song in my head. And then I remembered it was because my mom had sung that song to me when I was little and that I missed her. That’s when I started going home more on weekends from college and spending more time with my parents.
That’s the kind of thing I want to instill in my children. That, and the sense that at any moment, they could die.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
FANTASTIC!
u know..not all songs are that bad, u just plucked up a couple, some are really great, and about the winters kindness, songs of happyness, and of lonly crikets finding shelter by ur chimney keeping u company, not every thing is about death, and a child doesnt enturprete the meenings until later on in life, and even if they did, it would prepare them for the hard times ahead *mabey thats y the russain culture is strong and wise* we start early, plus american songs arent that geat eather ie. rock a by baby, who in the right mind leaves a baby in a tree and lets it fall because a slight breeze blew on it…child crualty
I like that Russian songs prepare me for death. It’s comforting, and this way I’ve been thinking about death since age 5.
i agrea wit him…russain songs are full of joy and happyness, and only some prepare you for the futer, which they should
well some jewish/yddish lullabies are sad too one is a sad fairytale about King(who dies later) Queen(who is left alone) and veinyard(that is later dead as well) and the other one is called Oyfyn weg shteyt a boym and it’s about a tree which is deserted by brids in winter. A boy wants to turn into a bird so he can sing a song to this tree and keep it company. His mother cries and says that that he’ll freez. She gives him: cap,scarf,shoes and coat to keep him warm but these clothes are too heavy for him and he can’t fly. And the song ends as it started, tree is alone and bending in cold winter wind…
The Jews are another cheerful people.
These are not children’s songs per se, they are just sad songs (called “romances”). Your mother probably chose them because they are really melodious and soft, so that they helped you fall asleep. There are good Russian nursery rhymes and children’s songs that are jolly and happy.
I wish she’d sang me those instead.
i would like to say that not all american lullabies are nice. I mean, Rock-a-bye baby is about a baby in a tree. the wind blows and it FALLS. what kind of lullaby is that?
True, true. I should have put that one in there as well.
Your blog is so great, and can i buy some ad from you blog? If so, just email me and tell me the ad type and charge? Thanks so much.
I agree, those are NOT baby songs. We do have nice, happy songs for babies. Those are very popular for adults to sing during parties. They are lovely, though.
Haha, AWESOME! I wish you’d posted “Baiu baiushki baiu ne lojisya a krayu…” or else the wolf will grab you and drag you under a cranberry bush. I always slept by the wall, yes ma’am!
Holy hell I still have nightmares from that.