IW2061
Along the river
Music: trad. Russian arr. Irina Walters, Words: trad. Russian and Sheena Phillips
Voicing: SSATB
Performance time approx: 2m 00s
Range S1: b' – g'' / S2: g#' – e'' / A: e' – c'' / T: g – g' / B: A – c'
Price code: D
Complexity:
Unusually for Russian folk songs, this delightful song is predominantly in the major. It charmingly juxtaposes the image of a grey drake and a curly-haired man, both of whom are making their way along the river Kazanka (a left tributary of the Volga). The young man dreams and talks to himself about who might one day comb his tresses. “Oj, da, ljuli, ljuli” is a typical Russian refrain.
Down on the river,
The beautiful Kazanka,
A grey-winged drake goes swimming by.
Down on the bankside,
The steeply sloping bankside,
A handsome man goes walking by.
He with his ringlets,
And he with his tresses,
He walks and talks along his way:
“Who will the girl be
Who brushes out the tangles
And combs my golden locks and curls?
“Some pretty lassie,
A dazzling little beauty,
Will be the one to comb my curls.”
Down on the river,
The beautiful Kazanka,
A grey-winged drake goes swimming by.
lyrics ? Sheena Phillips 2016 (based on the original Russian)