Goni, Yamshchik!
Drive Faster, Coachman! Гони, ямщик!
A little-known Russian romance. It is usually mentioned as it preceded the very popular "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei!" ("Hey, Coachman, Don`t Rush The Steeds!"), and has always been considered as a kind of challenge, that provoked the so famous reply.
The words "The reply to the romance "Goni, Yamshchik!" were printed on the scores and on the disks of the famous "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei!" The precise date of the romance appearance is unknown. It can be surely claimed that it was composed before the year of 1910, as it was performed at least since that year. The authors` names are V. Semenov, the composer, and K. Osipenko, the poet. Nothing more can be said about them, and the history of the romance creation is unknown also. |
Anastasia Vyaltzeva - Goni, Yamshchik! |
The romance did not fall into the number of the romances, prohibited by the new Soviet authorities in 1920 as bourgeois and reminding of the former political regime. However, the romance as a whole genre, in fact, was limited since 1920 until the WWII. The romance as a genre evoked very personal feelings, appealed to very subtle strings of the human soul. And the new authorities of that time needed a music, appealing to the collective solidarity and evoking the military bravery. On those reasons, the romance "Drive faster, Coachman!", not much popular before, was nearly forgotten for a long time.
The most renowned performer of the song is the famous Russian songstress Anastasia Vyaltzeva, who included the romance in her concert programme and recorded it on the disks since 1910. |
In our days the romance has re-acquired its popularity in Russia. Among those, who perform it, are the romance singers Larisa Lusta, Guzel Izmailova, Natalia Mikhailova, Ludmila Nikolaeva, Irina Razumikhina.
The song says that a woman, whose love is betrayed, rides very far away of the place, where she felt so bad. She asks the coachman to drive ever faster and farther. She sings, she will love another man in order to take revenge. The romance expresses the very strong feelings of affliction and the strongest desire to overcome the situation. The romance can be considered to be the female song about the betrayed love, as the romance "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei" is the male one. The different feelings and the ways of the self-expression create an artistic opposition between the two romances. |
Larisa Lusta performs the romance
|
Russian
ГОНИ, ЯМЩИК! Припев: Гони, ямщик, быстрее вдаль, -- Авось, рассеем грусть-печаль. Пусть разлюбил, тоска пройдет. Гони, ямщик, скорей вперед. Куда, скажите, мне с тоской деваться, Где найти душе забвенье и покой? Я не могу ни плакать, ни смеяться С истерзанной душой. Припев Он так любил, что, думала я, вечно Будем жить мы с ним всегда любовью той, Но он разбил мечты бесчеловечно, Разбил алтарь святой! Припев Он разлюбил, так пусть другой полюбит. Я, назло ему, отдамся вновь любви. Быть может, этот тоже меня сгубит, Но месть горит в крови… Припев Гони, ямщик, быстрее вдаль, -- Авось, рассеем грусть-печаль. Пусть разлюбил, тоска пройдет. Гони, ямщик, скорей вперед! |
Transliteration
GONI, YAMSHCHIK! Pripev: Goni, yamshchik, bystree vdal', -- Avos', rasseem grust'-pechal'. Pust' razlyubil, toska projdet. Goni, yamshchik, skorej vpered. Kuda, skazhite, mne s toskoj devat'sya, Gde najti dushe zabven'e i pokoj? YA ne mogu ni plakat', ni smeyat'sya S isterzannoj dushoj. Pripev On tak lyubil, chto, dumala ya, vechno Budem zhit' my s nim vsegda lyubov'yu toj, No vdrug razbil mechty beschelovechno, Razbil altar' svyatoj! Pripev On razlyubil, tak pust' drugoj polyubit. YA, nazlo emu, otdamsya vnov' lyubvi. Byt' mozhet, ehtot tozhe menya sgubit, No mest' gorit v dushe… Pripev Goni, yamshchik, bystree vdal', -- Avos', rasseem grust'-pechal'. Pust' razlyubil, toska projdet. Goni, yamshchik, skorej vpered! |
English
DRIVE FASTER, COACHMAN! Refrain: Drive faster, coachman, far away, -- Perhaps, we`ll quench my dismal pain. He`s ceased to love, the grief will pass. Drive forward, coachman, very fast! And where can I go with my sorrow, Where can my soul rest and find an oblivion? I can not now cry as well as laugh more, And my soul is all torn. Refrain He loved me so that I thought we would ever In happiness of that love live together. And now he has broken the dreams and hopes, He`s broken the sacred bow! Refrain He`s ceased to love, another man will love me. Just for spite of him I will once fall in love He`ll ruin me, perhaps, once more so badly, The revenge fires my blood... Refrain Drive faster, coachman, far away, -- Perhaps, we`ll quench my dismal pain. He`s ceased to love, the grief will pass. Drive forward, coachman, very fast! Translation by Alexander |
Sources: http://cyclowiki.org/wiki/Гони,_ямщик_(романс) ; http://a-pesni.org/romans/gonijamchik.htm ;
https://europaru.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/100_let_romansu/ ; https://gendelev52.wordpress.com/бубенцы/ ;
https://vk.com/a_vyalceva
https://europaru.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/100_let_romansu/ ; https://gendelev52.wordpress.com/бубенцы/ ;
https://vk.com/a_vyalceva