Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei!
Hey! Coachman, Don`t Rush The Steeds!
This Russian romance was created at the beginning of the XX century. The song was composed by the Russian Jewish composer James Feldman (1884-1950) in 1914, to the words of a poem that had been written already in 1905 by the poet and lawyer Nikolai von Ritter, stemming from a Russified German family.
The authors met in 1913 in Moscow, in the publishing house "Ямбора" ("Yambora"), where they came in order to publish their compositions. The poet gave Feldman several own works, and he composed the music to them. The song was written in the yamshchik (coachmen) songs tradition, that appeared together with the coachmen. The song is commonly said to be a reply to another popular song of the same kind: "Goni, Yamshchik!" ("Drive Faster, Coachman!"). Nobody knows whether it was written for that purpose, nevertheless, it became a true reply by its theme and sense. In that first romance text, a lady asks the coachman to drive ever faster. In "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei!", vise a versa, the coachman is told not to rush. |
There is no unified opinion, what the replying essence of the romance is in. However, it is probably in the exposition of the common and different things in the female and male reactions upon the love betrayal. The romance, that appeared at first, shows how a woman, afflicted with the experience of the love betrayal, wants to escape from the situation through the very fast riding. The replying romance talks about a man who feels very gloomy and desolated also on the cause of the love betrayal. He rides a troika also, but asks the coachman to be slow, as he wants not to ride away, but to forget everything sad and feel relieved. The song by Feldman and von Ritter became well known to the general public and obtained a lot of popularity, until in the year of 1920 it was banned in the Communist Russia as reminding of the Tsar regime.
The musical version of the romance was published in 1914 in a series of "Gypsy Life", and dedicated to the Russian songstress Agrippina Granskaya, the Feldman's wife. She performed the romance for the first time in 1915, accompanied on the piano by her husband. For the beautiful timbre of her voice, and her singing with convincing feeling, she brought a resounding success to the song. As the public said, "she sang with her soul". There was hardly a one Russian sheet music publisher, who had not published the romance, and no one Russian recording company, who had not made a recording of it with different performers.
In 1916 the Russian film director, stage designer and writer Eugene Bauer, who was considered as the greatest film director ever, shot the silent film titled "Hey! Coachman, Don't Rush The Steeds!", an adaptation of the romance. The main female role was performed by the popular writer N. Taffy. Unfortunately no known copy of the movie has been preserved.
As the Communist Revolution came in 1917, "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei" was declared an attribute of the alien class, not corresponding to the Communist ideology. The romance was permanently banned. But even the Communist authorities ban could not stop the song: it had being still sung and the words as well as the music had being genuinely considered to be folk. Yet, it was only in the early 1930-s, when all banned romances were rehabilitated, and allowed to be performed on the stage again.
The author of the song text, Nikolai von Ritter, left Russia in 1917. Just a few other works or him are known, "Shutila Ty..." ("You were joking..."), for instance. Agrippina Granskaya died in 1925, and the romance had become the biggest success of her. Her husband, the composer Feldman, survived her with 25 years, he went on writing music, which all he dedicated to Agrippina Granskaya also, but those other compositions did not obtained so much prominence. Among them were: "Kiss My Sleepless Eyes", "The Fireplace Extinguished", "If You Knew, My Dear".
The musical version of the romance was published in 1914 in a series of "Gypsy Life", and dedicated to the Russian songstress Agrippina Granskaya, the Feldman's wife. She performed the romance for the first time in 1915, accompanied on the piano by her husband. For the beautiful timbre of her voice, and her singing with convincing feeling, she brought a resounding success to the song. As the public said, "she sang with her soul". There was hardly a one Russian sheet music publisher, who had not published the romance, and no one Russian recording company, who had not made a recording of it with different performers.
In 1916 the Russian film director, stage designer and writer Eugene Bauer, who was considered as the greatest film director ever, shot the silent film titled "Hey! Coachman, Don't Rush The Steeds!", an adaptation of the romance. The main female role was performed by the popular writer N. Taffy. Unfortunately no known copy of the movie has been preserved.
As the Communist Revolution came in 1917, "Yamshchik, Ne Goni Loshadei" was declared an attribute of the alien class, not corresponding to the Communist ideology. The romance was permanently banned. But even the Communist authorities ban could not stop the song: it had being still sung and the words as well as the music had being genuinely considered to be folk. Yet, it was only in the early 1930-s, when all banned romances were rehabilitated, and allowed to be performed on the stage again.
The author of the song text, Nikolai von Ritter, left Russia in 1917. Just a few other works or him are known, "Shutila Ty..." ("You were joking..."), for instance. Agrippina Granskaya died in 1925, and the romance had become the biggest success of her. Her husband, the composer Feldman, survived her with 25 years, he went on writing music, which all he dedicated to Agrippina Granskaya also, but those other compositions did not obtained so much prominence. Among them were: "Kiss My Sleepless Eyes", "The Fireplace Extinguished", "If You Knew, My Dear".
The first lines of the romance`s refrain have become "winged phrases". They are filled with different sense according to the situation, as the poems of the song belong to the best attainments of the Russian poetry. Among the performers were many Russian and Soviet singers: Boris Shtokolov, Leonid Kharitonov, Arthur Eisen, Ivan Rebroff, Eugenia Razina, Valery Agafonov, Elena Kamburova, Victor Klimenko, Valentina Ponomareva. In Russian Federation the romance stays also very popular. It is perfomed by: Alexander Malinin, Oleg Pogudin, Vladislava Vdovichenko, Eugeny Dyatlov, Vika Tsyganova, Dmitry Khvorostovskiy, Zlata Dzardanova, Gemma Halid. In other countries, the US singer of the Ukrainian origin, Yana Gray recorded the song. The song belongs to those often sung by ordinary people as a "drinking song", i.e. a song performed at the festive table. |
Boris Shtokolov sings the romance
|
Russian
Как грустно, туманно кругом, Тосклив, безотраден мой путь, А прошлое кажется сном, Томит наболевшую грудь! Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Мне некуда больше спешить, Мне некого больше любить, Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Как жажду средь мрачных равнин Измену забыть и любовь, Но память, мой злой властелин, Всё будит минувшее вновь! Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Мне некуда больше спешить, Мне некого больше любить, Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Всё было лишь ложь и обман… Прощай, и мечты и покой! А боль незакрывшихся ран Останется вечно со мной! Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Мне некуда больше спешить, Мне некого больше любить, Ямщик, не гони лошадей! Ямщик, не гони лошадей!... |
Transliteration
Kak grustno, tumanno krugom, Toskliv bezotraden moj put, A proshloe kazhetsya snom, Tomit nabolevshuyu grud! Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Mne nekuda bolshe speshit, Mne nekogo bolshe lyubit, Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Kak zhazhdu sred mrachnyh ravnin Izmenu zabyt i lyubov, No pamyat moj zloj vlastelin, Vsyo budit minuvshee vnov! Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Mne nekuda bolshe speshit, Mne nekogo bolshe lyubit, Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Vsyo bylo lish lozh i obman... Proshchaj i mechty i pokoj! A bol nezakryvshihsya ran Ostanetsya vechno so mnoj! Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Mne nekuda bolshe speshit, Mne nekogo bolshe lyubit, Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej! Yamshchik, ne goni loshadej!... |
English
It`s misty and sad all around, My way is morose and cheerless, The dreamy past tries to resound, And harasses my sore chest! Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! I`m nowhere more to be quick, I`ve got no one more to love, Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! Midst these gloomy plains, I afford, My old betrayed love, to forget, My memory, that vicious lord, Is waking the past feelings yet! Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! I`m nowhere more to be quick, I`ve got no one more to love, Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! Thus, everything`s turned to be false... My dreams and my calm are away! The wounds are unhealed in my soul, And all my life they will cause pain! Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! I`m nowhere more to be quick, I`ve got no one more to love, Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds! Hey! Coachman, don`t rush the steeds!... Translation by Alexander |
Sources: http://cyclowiki.org/wiki/Ямщик,_не_гони_лошадей_(романс) ; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ямщик,_не_гони_лошадей ;
http://jew-observer.com/eto-interesno/yamshhik-ne-goni-loshadej/ ; https://grigorom.wordpress.com/003-2/ ;
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/4237063/post231647568 ; http://drinking-songs.ru/slova-pesen/yamshhik-ne-goni-loshadej.html
http://jew-observer.com/eto-interesno/yamshhik-ne-goni-loshadej/ ; https://grigorom.wordpress.com/003-2/ ;
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/4237063/post231647568 ; http://drinking-songs.ru/slova-pesen/yamshhik-ne-goni-loshadej.html