Zhuravli
Encyclopedia
Zhuravli composed in 1968, is one of the most famous Russia
n songs about World War II
.
The Dagestan
i poet Rasul Gamzatov
, when visiting Hiroshima
, was impressed by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
and the monument to Sadako Sasaki
. The memory of paper cranes made by the girl haunted him for months and inspired him to write a poem starting with the now famous lines: "It seems to me sometimes that our soldiers That were not to return from fields of gore Did not lie down into our land But turned into a wedge (triangle) of white cranes...". The poem was originally written by Rasul Gamzatov in Avar language
. Its famous Russian translation was soon made by a Russian poet and translator Naum Grebnyov.
The poem's publication in the journal Novy Mir
caught the attention of the famous singer and actor Mark Bernes
(often called the Russian Frank Sinatra) who revised the lyrics and asked Yan Frenkel
to compose the music. When Frenkel first played his new song, Bernes (who was ill with cancer) cried because he felt that this song was about his own fate: "There is a small empty spot in the crane wedge. Maybe it is reserved for me. One day I will join them, and from the skies I will call on all of you whom I had left on the Earth." . Bernes' new song premiered in 1969 and has since become one of the best known Russian-language songs all over the world. Bernes died a week after the recording.
In the aftermath, white cranes have become associated with dead soldiers, so much so that a range of WWII memorials in the former Soviet Union
feature the image of flying cranes and, in several instances, even the lines from the song.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n songs about World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
i poet Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov was probably the most famous poet writing in the Avar language. Among his poems was Zhuravli, which became a well-known Soviet song....
, when visiting Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, was impressed by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack, and to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect victims ....
and the monument to Sadako Sasaki
Sadako Sasaki
was a Japanese girl who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. Sadako is remembered through the story of attempting to fold a thousand origami cranes before her death, a wish which was memorialized in popular...
. The memory of paper cranes made by the girl haunted him for months and inspired him to write a poem starting with the now famous lines: "It seems to me sometimes that our soldiers That were not to return from fields of gore Did not lie down into our land But turned into a wedge (triangle) of white cranes...". The poem was originally written by Rasul Gamzatov in Avar language
Avar language
The modern Avar language belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian language family....
. Its famous Russian translation was soon made by a Russian poet and translator Naum Grebnyov.
The poem's publication in the journal Novy Mir
Novy Mir
Novy Mir is a Russian language literary magazine that has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine Mir Bozhy , which was published from 1892 to 1906, and its follow-up, Sovremenny Mir , which was published 1906-1917...
caught the attention of the famous singer and actor Mark Bernes
Mark Bernes
Mark Naumovich Bernes was a Soviet actor and singer of Jewish ancestry , who performed some of the most poignant songs to come out of the World War II, including Tyomnaya noch and Zhuravli...
(often called the Russian Frank Sinatra) who revised the lyrics and asked Yan Frenkel
Yan Frenkel
Yan Abramovich Frenkel was a popular Soviet composer and performer.-Biography:Frenkel was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He was originally taught violin by his father, and later studied classical violin at the Kiev Conservatory under Yakob Magaziner...
to compose the music. When Frenkel first played his new song, Bernes (who was ill with cancer) cried because he felt that this song was about his own fate: "There is a small empty spot in the crane wedge. Maybe it is reserved for me. One day I will join them, and from the skies I will call on all of you whom I had left on the Earth." . Bernes' new song premiered in 1969 and has since become one of the best known Russian-language songs all over the world. Bernes died a week after the recording.
In the aftermath, white cranes have become associated with dead soldiers, so much so that a range of WWII memorials in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
feature the image of flying cranes and, in several instances, even the lines from the song.
Trivia
- 2003 - Marc AlmondMarc AlmondMarc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
recorded the English version "The Storks" for his album Heart On Snow. - This song was featured in a famous Korean Drama called Sandglass (TV series).