Heart, and Soul, and Energy – That’s Russia

I’m sorry.I made a mess of publishing this post, with some missing or incorrect links. Please accept my apologies. I believe this is now more or less how I intended it to be. Please enjoy.

Apology number 2, and I must use this as a reminder not to write stuff into the early hours of the morning: My assignment of the second of two singers acknowledged by Martyanov as best for the song featured in this and also his post, was incorrect. He didn’t even seem to rate Gagarina very highly. His other choice was in fact Olga Kormukhina. Both ladies have eminent singing careers, Kormukhina as a famous rock star. Her possibly most recent version of Kukushka is here and, while I acknowledge my error, I still think Gagarina does the better job. It’s a matter of taste I guess.

It must be Friday, and this week I have no qualms in sharing Andrei Martyanov’s blog post today. I would prefer you read on before opening that link, but hey, I’m no dictator. Whatever your choice, please skip the first video – at least until you have viewed the others. It is, while not bad, unnecessary for a good understanding of what comes later.

Featured is a song, an undoubtedly, even typically, Russian song. I do not know its vintage and I had not previously heard it sung (at least I do not recall). Neither, because it is sung in Russian, did I understand the words. But I felt the energy. I felt the heart. And I fully felt the soul in it. All of which are unmistakable. It is called the Cuckoo song – Кукушка or Kukushka.

In the second video – a must watch – we have, in an excerpt from a Russian version of ‘The Voice’ talent show from 2016, a stunning performance of Kukushka. It is sung by a young girl. Only 7 years of age at the time, this was the obviously talented Yaroslava Degtyareva. I was won over by this young lass from the first note. She completely nailed it – and it is a serious song, apparently enjoyed widely by Russian troops. I think you will see why that is, from the lyrics I list below.

I could go on extolling the qualities of this child star and her obvious maturity even from the age of 7 years, but perhaps you will better understand what lies behind that ‘beyond her years capability’ by reading this short and moving biography of her early life (from adversity comes strength) – Yaroslav Degtyarev

Yaroslava, probably better known a Yasya, now 15, not taking anything away from that first rendition, gives a slightly more mature performance – some time in the recent days or weeks of 2024 (it still being January as I write). Enjoy.

OK, now would be a good time to read Martyanov’s post (if you haven’t already).

Incidentally, in the lyrics, I read somewhere that a repeated chorus line should better read – “My open palm turns into a fist”. I agree. See for yourself. Also, the final line of the chorus, always rendered in the Russian as Воt Так, is translated as “That’s how it is”, except, in the last line, it is given as “It’s like this”. Perhaps better, more direct, and in keeping with the context, just the two words – a more affirmative statement – “Like this”, mirroring the Russian Воt Так, would have been my own choice.

Affirming what I just said, and since Martyanov suggests there are only two females who can sing this song properly, the young Yasya and also as in this concert version by Polina Gagarina. I’m sure you will agree Gagarina’s version is truly magnificent. Listen for her “Воt Так“s.

Finally, as an extra (and not for the fainthearted), Gagarina, 8 years ago sang the Cuckoo song on the soundtrack of the Russian war movie ‘Battle for Sevastopol’. Various language sub-titles can be chosen for that video. The movie was a Russia-Ukraine Co-production. How ironic? That would have been during 2015 and I wonder if this is what inspired young Yasya to sing this song on The Voice in 2016?

No-one makes war movies quite like the Russians, although China comes close. The west has no idea what makes such films so memorable. That was World War 2 – The Great Patriotic War. And the Yanks and the Brits, German, French, and the like, think they can beat Russia today? How absurd? Well they can go fuck themselves! Воt Так!

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Heart, and Soul, and Energy – That’s Russia

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