Serdtse
Encyclopedia
"Serdtse" is in its version sung by Pyotr Leshchenko
one of the most frequently performed Argentine Tango
songs not sung in the Spanish language
.
for the 1934 Soviet film musical Jolly Fellows. The music was by Isaak Dunayevsky
. The first singer of the song was Leonid Utyosov
.
In 1935, Pyotr Leshchenko started to sing the song in Argentine tango fashion. Although music by Leshchenko was officially disliked in the Soviet Union, the version as sung by Leshchenko gradually became the norm. In the former Soviet Union, the song is still perceived as a traditional Russian romance, whereas elsewhere in the world, the song is seen exclusively as an Argentine tango song. This tango version was always known as Сердце (Serdtse), according to the popular convention of naming a song after its chorus. But the title change may also have come due to a mistake, since Serdtse was also the title of another song in the same musical.
In 1984, a collection of songs and poems by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach was published in Moscow. The text of this song was arranged in the Leshchenko fashion, but the title was quoted as Kak khorosho na svete zhit'! (How great it is to be alive!)http://www.litera.ru/stixiya/authors/lebedevkumach/kak-mnogo-devushek.html
The Russian Romance version of the song has been translated in Polish as Jak wiele jest ładnych dziewczyn.
Later a native Lvivian
, Yuri Hnatovsky
, performed a Ukrainian version as a Dance cover-version of Yuriy Gnatkovski clip Heart featuring the Tango-club Street people.
The Russian pop group Aquarium in its 1996 rendition replaced the second (instrumental) part with
(C)Ya Vam pishu, chego ty bole?
Chto ya mogu eshchyo skazat'?
Теper' ya znayu - v Vashey vole
Меnya prezren'em nakazat'
(D)Nо mimо teshchinogo doma
Ya vsyo zh bez shutok ne khozhu:
То "Тikhiy Don" v оknо zаsunu
То "Kаmа-Sutru" pоkаzhu.
(followed by a complete Serdtse refrain)
http://handbook.reldata.com/handbook.nsf/Main?OpenFrameSet&Frame=Body&Src=1/EB783391894424EDC325679D006AEF55%3FOpenDocument
Note that Akvarium called the song "Serdtse/Kak mnogo devushek khoroshikh". In the same year, Sergey Penkin did the same.
Line 3 and 4 of A are sometimes, e.g. by Konstantin Sokolsky
rendered as:
"no lish' odno menya trevozhit
otgonyaya noch' i son, kogda vlyublyon"
While the second change ("chasing away my nightly sleep") does not affect the meaning, dropping "of them" in the third line may actually mean that the singer is not troubled by a girl's name, but by something else.
The film Jolly Fellows was shown in Tel-Aviv and the Israeli poet Nathan Alterman
wrote new lyrics to be used in the musical "Tel-Aviv Ha'Ktana", entitling the song "Rina". The new words are a sardonic dialogue between two lovers.
The song has been claimed as typically Ukrainian, Odessite, Jewish and Roma (sometimes at the same time). Three of the artists involved in the genesis were in fact Russian-speaking Ukrainians: the composer who was of Jewish descent (but from Kharkiv
), and the two singers who were from Odessa
or born nearby.
Pyotr Leshchenko
Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko , a singer in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, is universally considered "the King of Russian Tango" and specifically known for his rendition of "Serdtse"—a tango song not in the Spanish language...
one of the most frequently performed Argentine Tango
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
songs not sung in the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Title
Originally the song was referred to by its first line as Как много девушек хороших (Kak mnogo devushek khoroshikh, So many nice girls). It was written by Vasily Lebedev-KumachVasily Lebedev-Kumach
Vasily Ivanovich Lebedev-Kumach Moscow, — 20 February 1949) was a Soviet Russian poet and lyricist.He wrote numerous songs, the most famous being probably Священная война , Песня о Родине and Как много девушек хороших , later immortalized as the Argentine Tango song...
for the 1934 Soviet film musical Jolly Fellows. The music was by Isaak Dunayevsky
Isaak Dunayevsky
Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky was the biggest Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who achieved huge success in music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film director Grigori Aleksandrov...
. The first singer of the song was Leonid Utyosov
Leonid Utyosov
Leonid Osipovich Utyosov or Utesov ; real name Lazar Vaysbeyn or Weissbein , was a famous Soviet jazz singer and comic actor of jewish origin, who became the first pop singer to be awarded the prestigious title of People's Artist of the USSR .-Biography:Leonid Utyosov was brought up in Odessa...
.
In 1935, Pyotr Leshchenko started to sing the song in Argentine tango fashion. Although music by Leshchenko was officially disliked in the Soviet Union, the version as sung by Leshchenko gradually became the norm. In the former Soviet Union, the song is still perceived as a traditional Russian romance, whereas elsewhere in the world, the song is seen exclusively as an Argentine tango song. This tango version was always known as Сердце (Serdtse), according to the popular convention of naming a song after its chorus. But the title change may also have come due to a mistake, since Serdtse was also the title of another song in the same musical.
In 1984, a collection of songs and poems by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach was published in Moscow. The text of this song was arranged in the Leshchenko fashion, but the title was quoted as Kak khorosho na svete zhit'! (How great it is to be alive!)http://www.litera.ru/stixiya/authors/lebedevkumach/kak-mnogo-devushek.html
The Russian Romance version of the song has been translated in Polish as Jak wiele jest ładnych dziewczyn.
Later a native Lvivian
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Yuri Hnatovsky
Yurko Hnatovsky
Yuri Hnatovsky is a Ukrainian retro and jazz performer. His first album Snizhnist was released in 2006, featuring Yulia Lord.- Biography :Yuri Hnatovsky was born in Lviv...
, performed a Ukrainian version as a Dance cover-version of Yuriy Gnatkovski clip Heart featuring the Tango-club Street people.
Russian lyrics
| Russian | Roman transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
Как много девушек хороших Как много ласковых имён Но лишь одно из них тревожит Унося покой и сон - когда влюблён Любовь нечаянно нагрянет Когда ёё совсем не ждёшь И каждый вечер сразу станет Удивительно хорош - и ты поешь Припев: Сердце - тебе не хочется покоя Сердце - как хорошо на свете жить Сердце - как хорошо что ты такое Спасибо сердце что ты умеешь так любить |
Kak mnogo devushek khoroshikh Kak mnogo laskovykh imyon No lish' odno iz nikh trevozhit Unosya pokoy i son - kogda vlyublyon Lyubov nechayanno nagryanet kogda eyo sovsem ne zhdyosh' i kazhdyi vecher srazu stanet Udivitel'no khorosh - i ty poyosh' Chorus: Serdtse - tebe ne khochetsya pokoya Serdtse - kak khorosho na svete zhit' Serdtse - kak khorosho chto ty takoe Spasibo serdtse, chto ty umeesh' tak lyubit' (the whole song is then repeated instrumentally only, except for the last two lines) |
There're so many nice girls! There're so many endearing names! But only one of them bothers me, keeping away my calm and sleep - when I am in love. Love accidentally takes you by the throat when you least expect it and every evening immediately gets wonderfully nice - and then you sing Chorus: Heart - there is no way to keep you calm Heart - how great it is to be alive in this world Heart - how great it is that you are like that Thank you, heart, for being so good at the art of love |
Ukrainian lyrics
| Ukrainian | Roman transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
Дівчат чарівних є немало Ласкавих безліч є імен Лише одне ім'я бентежить Та надихає до пісень, вночі і день Кохання в груди закрадеться Не буде спокою і сну Весь світ казковим раптом стане Коли любов свою знайду і збережу Серце, чому ти спокою не знаєш? Серце - кохання полум'я на мить Серце, усе казкове, як кохаєш Я вдячний, серце, за те що вмієш так любить Серце, чому ти спокою не знаєш? Серце, як добре нам з тобою жить Серце, усе казкове, як кохаєш Я вдячний, серце, за те що вмієш так любить |
Divchat charivnykh ye nemalo Laskavykh bezlich ye imen Lyshe odne odne imia bentezhyt Ta nadykhaye do pisen, vnochi i den Kokhannya v hrudy zakradetsya Ne bude spokoyu i snu Vse svit kazkovym raptom stane Koly lyubov svoju znaidu i zberezhu Sertse chomu ty spokoyu ne znayesh Sertse - kokhannya polumia na myt Sertse use kazkove, yak kokhayesh Ya vdyachnyi sertse, za te shcho vmiyesh tak lyubyt Sertse chomu ty spokoyu ne znayesh Sertse, yak dobre nam z toboyu zhyt Sertse use kazkove, yak kokhayesh Ya vdyachnyi sertse, za te shcho vmiyesh tak lyubyt |
The girls stunning are not few There are uncountably many good names! But only one of them upturns me, and inspires to do songs at night and day The love will sneak into your chest You'll know no rest or neither sleep Whole world suddenly becomes fantastic After I find my love and keep Heart, why don't you know a rest Heart is a love of a fire in a moment Heart, everything's fantastic when you love I appreciate, my heart, that you are able so to love Heart, why don't you know a rest Heart, how good to live together in the world Heart, everything's fantastic when you love I appreciate, my heart, that you are able so to love |
Other versions
The original version was sometimes sung with a refrain after both A and B. http://www.amdm.ru/akkordi/ytesov_leonid/89877/kak_mnogo_devyshek_horoshih/The Russian pop group Aquarium in its 1996 rendition replaced the second (instrumental) part with
(C)Ya Vam pishu, chego ty bole?
Chto ya mogu eshchyo skazat'?
Теper' ya znayu - v Vashey vole
Меnya prezren'em nakazat'
(D)Nо mimо teshchinogo doma
Ya vsyo zh bez shutok ne khozhu:
То "Тikhiy Don" v оknо zаsunu
То "Kаmа-Sutru" pоkаzhu.
(followed by a complete Serdtse refrain)
http://handbook.reldata.com/handbook.nsf/Main?OpenFrameSet&Frame=Body&Src=1/EB783391894424EDC325679D006AEF55%3FOpenDocument
Note that Akvarium called the song "Serdtse/Kak mnogo devushek khoroshikh". In the same year, Sergey Penkin did the same.
Line 3 and 4 of A are sometimes, e.g. by Konstantin Sokolsky
Konstantin Sokolsky
Konstantin Sokolsky Russian singer...
rendered as:
"no lish' odno menya trevozhit
otgonyaya noch' i son, kogda vlyublyon"
While the second change ("chasing away my nightly sleep") does not affect the meaning, dropping "of them" in the third line may actually mean that the singer is not troubled by a girl's name, but by something else.
The film Jolly Fellows was shown in Tel-Aviv and the Israeli poet Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator who – though never holding any elected office – was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, both before and after the establishment of the State of Israel.-Biography:...
wrote new lyrics to be used in the musical "Tel-Aviv Ha'Ktana", entitling the song "Rina". The new words are a sardonic dialogue between two lovers.
Arguments
Apart from the argument about the title, and about the original text (some sources say the author of the lyrics had a longer text in mind), there is also a problem with the exact meaning of the word "nice" ("khoroshiy"). Some translate as "good, well-mannered" (not naughty - a humorous approach), others translate as "pretty".The song has been claimed as typically Ukrainian, Odessite, Jewish and Roma (sometimes at the same time). Three of the artists involved in the genesis were in fact Russian-speaking Ukrainians: the composer who was of Jewish descent (but from Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
), and the two singers who were from Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
or born nearby.
External links
Tango outside Argentina "Ruhm und bitterer tod des sängers Pjotr K. Leschenko"- The "Jolly Fellows" song which was really called "Serdtse", recycled in "Nachalo" as an Italian Song. Experienced listeners should hear some echoes of "Kak mnogo devushek horoshyh" - both songs were by Isaak DunayevskyIsaak DunayevskyIsaak Osipovich Dunayevsky was the biggest Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who achieved huge success in music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film director Grigori Aleksandrov...
, of course. - Как много девушек хороших – the original film version (YouTube)
- Как много девушек хороших sung in the traditional russian style (YouTube)