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Лето прошлоLeto proshlo

Summer Has Gone

Rotaru sang it — only this is not enough.

Russian4:03

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Marina Tarkovskaya dates the poem to 1967. In Stalker (1979), by Andrei Tarkovsky, the poet’s son, the Stalker — Alexander Kaidanovsky — recites it, passing it off as verse by Porcupine’s brother.

In the late eighties Vladimir Matetsky set it as “Tolko etogo malo” (“Only this is not enough”) for Sofia Rotaru. Marina Tarkovskaya writes that one of the songs made of the poem twisted the meaning of the words closing every quatrain, and when friends protested — “It should be banned, it shouldn’t be allowed to be performed” — Arseny Alexandrovich meekly answered: “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Let her sing.”

Behind the scenes

There is a popular song on these verses, by Matetsky. It is as popular as, in my dad’s view, it is talentless. And I think I agree — they made a pop hit out of the poem. Admittedly, I made Bi-2 out of it. But Dad liked it.

Lyrics

The translation is a crib, not a singing version.

Вот и лето прошло,
Vot i leto proshlo,
Словно и не бывало.
Slovno i ne byvalo.
На пригреве тепло.
Na prigreve teplo.
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
Всё, что сбыться могло,
Vsyo, chto sbytʼsya moglo,
Мне, как лист пятипалый,
Mne, kak list pyatipaly,
Прямо в руки легло,
Pryamo v ruki leglo,
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
Понапрасну ни зло,
Ponaprasnu ni zlo,
Ни добро не пропало,
Ni dobro ne propalo,
Всё горело светло,
Vsyo gorelo svetlo,
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
Жизнь брала под крыло,
Zhiznʼ brala pod krylo,
Берегла и спасала,
Beregla i spasala,
Мне и вправду везло.
Mne i vpravdu vezlo.
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
Листьев не обожгло,
Listʼyev ne obozhglo,
Веток не обломало...
Vetok ne oblomalo...
День промыт, как стекло,
Denʼ promyt, kak steklo,
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
Вот и лето прошло,
Vot i leto proshlo,
Вот и лето прошло,
Vot i leto proshlo,
Вот и лето прошло.
Vot i leto proshlo.
Только этого мало.
Tolʼko etogo malo.
And so summer has gone,
As if it had never been.
It is warm where the sun falls.
Only this is not enough.
All that could come true
Like a five-fingered leaf
Fell right into my hands,
Only this is not enough.
Neither evil nor good
Was lost in vain,
Everything burned bright,
Only this is not enough.
Life took me under its wing,
Kept me and saved me,
I really was lucky.
Only this is not enough.
The leaves were not scorched,
The branches not broken...
The day is washed clean as glass,
Only this is not enough.
And so summer has gone,
And so summer has gone,
And so summer has gone.
Only this is not enough.

Music: Vova Zakharov

Lyrics: Arseny Tarkovsky