В Сионской Горнице — In Zion's Upper Room

Песнь Возрождения #868

Song Revival #868

В Сионской горнице убранной

V Sionskoy gornitse ubrannoy

In Zion's upper room

Христос трапезу совершал.

Khristos trapezu sovershal.

Christ [the] meal made

И перед тем, как был преданный,

I pered tem, kak byl predannyy,

And before [he] was betrayed

перед тем, как -- implies no short interval between

Он смерть Свою им возвещал.

On smert' Svoyu im vozveshchal.

He death [of] His [to] them revealed/announced.

Последний раз, друзья,

Posledniy raz, druz'ya,

Last time, friends,

Я с вами, Я Пасху эту совершу,

YA s vami, YA Paskhu etu sovershu,

I [am] with y'all, I Passover this will do

И с вами, верными друзьями,

I s vami, vernymi druz'yami,

And with y'all, true friends,

Завет Мой новый заключу.

Zavet Moy novyy zaklyuchu.

Covenant [of] Mine new [I] will make.

Завет Мой новый заключаю

Zavet Moy novyy zaklyuchu

Covenant [of] Mine new [I] make

Любить друг друга, как себя,

Lyubit' drug druga, kak sebya,

Love each other, as yourself,

И всё во всём Я вам прощаю,

I vso vo vsom YA vam proshchayu,

And all in all I y'all forgive,

(ie, all around)

И вы прощайте всем всегда.

I vy proshchayte vsem vsegda

And y'all forgive all always.

Вкушайте также Мое тело

Vkushayte takzhe Moye telo

Partake / eat also My body

И пейте также Мою кровь

I peyte takzhe Moyu krov'

And drink also My blood

И вы берите Мое дело

I vy berite Moye delo

And y'all take My acts/works/business

И проповедуйте любовь.

I propoveduyte lyubov'.

And preach love.

И не в преданьи становитесь,

I ne v predan'i stanovites',

And not in traditions stand/grow

Чтоб только совершать обряд,

Chtob tol'ko sovershat' obryad,

Just in order to perform ceremony,

Но каждого из вас наставьте,

No kazhdogo iz vas nastav'te,

But each among y'all instruct (imperative)

Чтоб был на деле каждый брат.

Chtob byl na dele kazhdyy brat.

That was in deed every brother.

Вставайте, братья, и пойдемте

Vstavayte, brat'ya, i poydemte

Arise, brothers, and let's go

На то же место, где нас ждут.

Na to zhe mesto, gde nas zhdut.

At that same place, where [for] us [they] wait.

И бодры будьте, в вере стойте,

I bodry bud'te, v vere stoyte,

And cheerful [y'all] be, in faith stand,

Когда Меня от вас возьмут.

Kogda Menya ot vas voz'mut.

When Me from y'all [they] take.

Another version of this hymn:

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Come Autumn Wind

Come Autumn Wind

A loving tribute to Grandpa Ray—

This was written in January of 1980 when Grandpa was nearly eighty-eight years old, two and a half years before he passed away. It was part reflection and part tribute to a man who was sixty-nine when I was born. There is a bit of nostalgia coupled with bittersweet memories of things gone that cannot be any more. It is told mostly in the present tense because Grandpa was still alive when I wrote this.

---------------------------

He is a tired old man, having live beyond his peers and most of his family. He was old when I first met him more than eighteen years ago. He is beyond age now, even though he prides himself for being an octogenarian for over eight years. But beneath that shriveling shell is my Grandpa.

He has often told me that there used to be a time that he could do the things that he wanted to do: play baseball, as well as going hunting and fishing. He still fishes occasionally, even though it is all that he can do to start the boat or bait the hook. Years ago when he and Grandma were living in Arbuckle, he took us fishing on the Sacramento River. The sun was hidden behind the trees along the river bank and a playful breeze tugged at our caps. Grandpa caught a couple salmon, my Mom and Dad each caught one, and I caught some river moss with my bamboo cane and lead sinker.

After my grandparents moved to their present home near Vacaville almost fifteen years ago, Grandpa tried to teach me how to play baseball. He seldom said that I swung the bat right or threw the ball correctly. (According to him, I threw it like a “sissy.”) We had many such sessions, and often he became disgusted at me and took the ball from my Dad's hands. Dad had been lobbing easy pitches over home plate. He stepped aside as Grandpa tried to pitch it to me but then cursed his hands and apologized to me for his arthritis. We went back inside shortly after that, and the ever present wind slammed the door hard behind me.

Grandpa had this old Polaroid camera that he used to bring out of his room to take “special pictures” of his grandchildren. On one such occasion he had Grandma take a picture of the three generations. Grandpa was at one end; my Dad was in the center, towering over both of us; and I was on the other end, wearing a plastic nose with phony, black plastic glasses. My Mom said that with the nose on me there was some faint resemblance between Grandpa and me. Grandma chuckled.

Grandpa and Grandma live in a Senior Citizen Community where there is a pool and recreation area in their Town Center. This was only for the residents and their guests. Grandma took us swimming nearly every time we visited in the summer. Grandpa came along only a few times—but never without his camera.

Most of his afternoons are now spent sleeping on top of the big double bed in his room. He sleeps alone at night because after an ear operation some years back, he found out that Grandma snores. His room exists as a relic of antiquity. It is well lit and brightly painted yellow. Yet I never enter it without thinking of an old photograph—yellow and fading, too brittle to touch. At the foot of the bed is Grandma's treadle sewing machine, still in nearly perfect condition. A small wicker basket stands between it and the door. A large dresser crouches in the corner by the window, resting on carved and curled feet. It too radiates a yellow glow. Above the dresser is a mirror that doubles the trophies and old portraits on its top. The wall behind the bed sports three pictures: a small photo of the inside of a log cabin; three dachshund puppies, momentarily stopped in their romping; and a flock of Canadian geese, lifting off from the catkins of a small lake—their bodies and those of the hunters in the boat are silhouetted against the first pinks and reds of an Autumn dawn. Between the door and the closet there are three small shelves upon which he keeps the mementos of a lifetime: one or two twenty-two shells; a key with scribbled writing on a disintegrating piece of paper hanging beside it; some loose change; fading pictures of vacation and fishing trips; a few worn books; a stack of poker chips; a Prince Albert tobacco can; a big, five battery flashlight, which my Dad said could double as a billy club; and a cigarette lighter.

When my family and I visited Grandma and Grandpa one day last Autumn, Grandma greeted us at the door with a hug and a kiss for each of us. My Dad went into Grandpa's room to wake him up. Dad walked out and Grandpa stumbled out later, his shirt unbuttoned over his muscle man undershirt, and his hair uncombed but very full and very white. Grandma tried to tidy him up but he brushed her aside and with slurred speech he went through the ritual of greeting us individually with a firm but unsteady handshake or a wobbly hug. He then walked over to his chair, sat down, and then tried to button his shirt. He didn't succeed so Grandma had to get up and help him, gently admonishing him that he should have let her help him in the first place.

I think that my favorite room in their house is the back porch which Grandpa enclosed about ten years ago. (Fathom that: In his late seventies, Grandpa laid cinder block, placed windows, and re-roofed the structure.) The room with the three outside walls studded with windows is big, expansive, and airy in spite of the stale cigarette smoke that lingers in the rug and the walls. He built a large cabinet next to the sliding glass door from the house. The cabinet contained odds and ends like a game of scrabble or the extra leaves to the dining room table. But on the four or five shelves screwed to the outside of it are his toys. For the past fifteen years or so, come birthday or Christmas, somebody almost always gave him a new wind-up or battery operated toy: Like the bartender that mixes a drink, drinks it, then turn red with smoke pouring out of his ears; or the dog that barks, walks, sits, and raises its leg on command; or the haggard old prune face that hangs on the wall and yodels when you pull its tie. Grandpa always got a kick out of watching his grandchildren play with his toy dog when it was new. His face lit up with a big smile and he nodded his head encouragingly when we looked over at him.

This particular evening, Grandma offered us cookies and milk; Grandpa offered us dinner. But the rest of the late afternoon was spent talking about relatives, old friends, or politics. Some time after five o'clock, we said our good-byes after insisting that we needed to get home before it grew completely dark. Grandpa stayed seated in his chair, saying some last minute advice to us and finishing an argument that had been forgotten in the course of the afternoon. We walked past the window where he sat facing the door. I caught his eye and he smiled. Just then the chilling breeze of Autumn rustled the dying leaves in the tree.

Grandpa & Grandma ten years before this essay.

Будь храброй, душа — Take Courage

Interesting song.  Nice words.  Since the lyrics runs side-by-side, I was intrigued by how different the Russian lyrics were from the English.  So I here give you the literal, word-for-word translation of the Russian.

Please note: this is not criticism of the translator.  Rather it is informative.  Translation is always at a risk of loosing some meaning.  Translating lyrics to match the existing musical structure and keep a sense of the rhyme scheme while maintaining integrity in the new language is all that much more difficult.  I salute those who try and succeed!


Будь храброй, душа
Bud khrabroi, dusha
Be brave, soul

  1 куплет:   (verse)
Спокойно стой,
Spokoyno stoy,
Calmly stand,

Прими покой -
Primi pokoy -
Accept peace/quietude —

Совершит всё Господь.
Sovershit vso Gospod'.
Will accomplish all [the] Lord (ie, The Lord will accomplish all)

Все мысли Его
Vse mysli Yego
All thoughts [of] His

Выше наших путей.
Vyshe nashikh putey.
Above our ways.

Путь Его так велик!
Put' Yego tak velik!
path [of] His [is] so great!


  Припев:  (Chorus)
Будь храброй, душа,
Bud' khrabroy, dusha,
Be brave/courageous, soul,

И стой до конца,
I stoi do kontsa,
And stand until [the] end,

Господь - Он рядом,
Gospod' — On ryadom,
[The] Lord — He [is] near,

Господь - Он рядом...
Gospod' — On ryadom...
[The] Lord — He [is] near...

Надеждой крепись,
Nadezhdoi krepis',
[By/through] Hope [you] stand (imperative, imperfect)

До победы держись,
Do pobedy derzhis',
Until victory [you] hold on (imperative, imperfect)

Не подведёт Бог!
Ne podvedyot Bog!
Not will fail God!

Не подведёт Бог!
Ne podvedyot Bog!
Not will fail God!


  2 куплет:  (verse)
Душа моя,
Dusha moya,
Soul [of] mine,

Славь Господа!
Slava Gospoda!
Praise [the] Lord!

Силу в Нём ты найдёшь.
Sili v Nyom ty naidyosh'.
Strength in Him you will find.

Не забывай
Ne zabyvai
[Do] Not forget

Верности Его –
Vernocti Yego —
Faithfulness [of] His —

Он проложит Свой путь!
On prolozhit Svoi put'!
He will make/clear His way!


Бридж:    (bridge)
Все звёзды держишь Ты,
Vsye zvyozdy derzhish' Ty,
All [the] stars keep/hold You,  (Ie, You keep all the stars,)

В Твоих руках весь мир!
V Tvoikh rukakh vec' mir!
In Your hands [the] whole world!

Исполнишь всё, что Ты обещал,
Ispolnish' vsyo, chto Ty obeshchal,
[You] will fulfill all, that You promised,

В победе я вновь поднимусь!
V pobede ya vnov' podnimus'!
In victory I again will arise!

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Here and Again Farewell — Вот И Опять Прощание

На те случаи жизни, когда приходится говорить "до свидания". Может быть ненадолго, а может навсегда...
On those occasions when you have to say "good-bye."  Maybe for a while, maybe forever...

— Simon's introduction to this music video

Вот и опять прощание,

Vot i opyat' proshchaniye,

Here and then again parting (farewell),

Снова вокзал и дороги...

Snova vokzal i dorogi...

Again [the] station] and [the] roads...

Последнее пожелание,

Posledneye pozhelaniye,

[A] last wish,

Краткое слово: "С Богом!"

Kratkoe slovo: “S Bogom!”

[A] brief word:  “With God!”

Припев:     Chorus:

   С Богом в дорогу дальнюю,

   S Bogom v dorogu dal'nyuyu,

   With God on road long,

   С Богом на труд и страдания.

   S Bogom na trud i stradaniya.

   With God in labor and trouble

   Видно далекое зарево,

   Vidno dalekoye zarevo,

   It looks like [a] distant gleam,

   С Богом, друзья, до свидания!

   S Bogom, druz'ya, do svidaniya!

   With God, friends, good-bye!

Скоро ль придется встретиться

Skoro l' pridetsya vstretit'sya

Soon if [you] have to meet

В жизненном море скитания?

V zhiznennom more skitaniya?

In life sea [of] wandering?

А горизонт все светится,

A gorizont vse svetitsya,

But horizon all glowing,

С Богом, друзья, до свидания.

S Bogom, druz'ya, do svidaniya.

With God, friends, good-bye.

Жизнь наша скоротечная,

Zhizn' nasha skorotechnaya,

Life [of] ours [is] fleeting,

В небо - одно лишь желание.

V nebo - odno lish' zhelaniye.

In heaven — one only desire.

На смену придет жизнь вечная,

Na smenu pridet zhizn' vechnaya,

Unto change will come life eternal,

Скажем: "Земля, до свидания!"

Skazhem: "Zemlya, do svidaniya!"

[We] will say: “Earth, good-bye!”

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Wayfaring Stranger — Странник

1.

Я просто бедный нищий странник

Ya prosto bednyy nishchiy strannik

I [am] just [a] poor needy stranger

Иду по жизни, тьма вокруг,

Idu po zhizni, t'ma vokrug,

[I] go through life, darkness around,

Но нет скорбей и нет страданий

No net skorbey i net stradaniy

But no sorrow and no suffering

В родной земле, куда иду

V rodnoy zemle, kuda idu

In native land, where [I] go.

       Иду домой увидеть папу,

       Idu domoy uvidet' papu,

       [I] go home to see Papa

       И всех друзей, ушедших вдаль

       I vsekh druzey, ushedshikh vdal'

       And all friends, gone away

       Здесь на земле я просто странник,

       Zdes' na zemle ya prosto strannik,

       Here on earth I [am] just [a] stranger,

       Иду домой, чтоб отдыхать.

       Idu domoy, chtob otdykhat'.

       I go (Or I am going) home, so that to rest.

2.
Хоть тучи надо мной сгустились

Khot' tuchi nado mnoy sgustilis'

Although clouds over me thicken

И полон путь суровых бед,

I polon put' surovykh bed,

And full path severe troubles

    (ie, And the path is full of severe troubles)

Я вижу нивы золотые

Ya vizhu nivy zolotyye

I see fields of gold

В земле где горя больше нет

V zemle gde gorya bol'she net

In [the] land where grief anymore [is] not.

       Иду домой увидеть маму,

       Idu domoy uvidet' mamu,

       I go home to see Mama,

       Она сказала будет ждать

       Ona skazala budet zhdat';

       She said [she] will wait;

       Здесь на земле я просто странник,

       Zdes' na zemle ya prosto strannik,

       Here on earth I [am] just [a] stranger,

       Иду домой, чтоб отдыхать.

       Idu domoy, chtob otdykhat'.

       I [am] going home, so that to rest.

3.

Страданье кончится земное

 Stradan'ye konchitsya zemnoye

 Misery will end earthly

    (ie, earthly misery will end)

Мой узкий путь придёт к концу

Moy uzkiy put' pridot k kontsu

My narrow path will come to [an] end

Я крест сложу борьбы с собою

Ya krest slozhu bor'by s soboyu

I [the] cross will lay [down] struggles with it

    (ie, I will lay down the cross and struggles with it)

И в небо возвращусь к Отцу

I v nebo vozvrashchus' k Ottsu

And in heaven [I] will return to [the] Father.

          —— Repeat 2x ———

       Иду домой, там мой Спаситель,

       Idu domoy, tam moy Spasitel',

       I'm going home, there [is] my Savior,

       Кто за меня кровь проливал;

       Kto za menya krov' prolival;

       Who for me blood shed;

       Я просто бедный нищий странник

       Ya prosto bednyy nishchiy strannik

       I [am] just [a] poor needy stranger

       Иду домой, чтоб отдыхать

       Idu domoy, chtob otdykhat'

       I'm going home, so that to rest.

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