"The Cossack Lullaby" (Russian: Казачья колыбельная песня) is a cradle song that Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov wrote in 1838 during his exile in Caucasus.
In 1837, Alexandr Pushkin had a duel with Georges d'Anthes and two days later died. Mikhail Lermontov, who had adored Pushkin, wrote a poem entitled the Death of the Poet and lamented that he fell as a victim of the aristocracy surrounding the Czar. He was immediately exiled to the Caucasus.[1]
While in Caucasus, he heard an old Terek Cossack woman sing a cradle song, which he transcribed as the Cossack Lullaby.[2] At that time, the Terek Cossacks defended Russia's southern border against the Chechens. Lermontov is said to have actually put the song in music in Voronezh on his way to Saint Petersburg.[3] The song was later sent to Saint Petersburg and Moscow and became popular.
The song has six stanzas, of which two are described below with a direct English translation.[4]
| Original text (in Russian) | Transliteration | Direct translation |
|---|---|---|
Спи, младенец мой прекрасный, |
Spi, mladenec moj prekrasnyj, |
Sleep, baby, my dearest, |