Kalinka Malinka or Калинка.

It is not often that I dedicate a blog post to a song. Kalinka Malinka (Калинка) is a Russian folklore song that was written in 1860 by a composer and folklorist names Ivan Larionov.

We were attending a concert in Svetlogorsk when the song started to play. It was a Culture and Music Festival and folklore songs were being performed by young people in fabulous costumes. First it started with a slow beat and then it picked up momentum.The sound of the musical instruments. People loved this song and so did I. I had absolutely no idea what they were singing about  and all I could pronounce was Kalinka Malinka.

The song has a refrain where they mention the name Kalinka a lot. It is a very light-hearted and cheerful song. Definitely one of those songs that can be played at a wedding. Initially I thought it was a song dedicated by a lover to his beloved. It was not.

It refers to the Snowball tree. I also had no idea what type of tree this was or what it looked like. Andrey told me that mom gave me some fruit to eat a while ago. It was only when I started to write this post that the debate really started. I downloaded the lyrics and found a photo on Google about the Kalinka. I remember seeing these in Mom`s garden and sure I found two photos! Andrey still doesn`t believe that Mom has a Kalinka in her garden!

Then the confusion started about the Malinka. I discovered that Malinka is in fact a raspberry. This is really confusing and I hope I got it right!

Kalinka Malinka lyrics in English.

Little strawberry, strawberry, strawberry of mine!
Little raspberry in the garden, my little raspberry!

Ah, under the pine, the green one,
Lay me down to sleep,
Rock-a-bye, baby, rock-a-bye, baby,
Lay me down to sleep.

Little strawberry, strawberry, strawberry of mine!
Little raspberry in the garden, my little raspberry!

Ah, little pine, little green one,
Don’t rustle above me,
Rock-a-bye, baby, rock-a-bye, baby,
Don’t rustle above me.

Little strawberry, strawberry, strawberry of mine!
Little raspberry in the garden, my little raspberry!

Ah, you beauty, pretty maiden,
Take a fancy to me,
Rock-a-bye, baby, rock-a-bye, baby,
Take a fancy to me.

Little strawberry, strawberry, strawberry of mine!

Little raspberry in the garden, my little raspberry

As I started to read the lyrics I realized that a pretty young woman was after all in the picture. I wasn`t wrong! I am sure some things get lost in translation.

Interesting facts about the song:

• In 1953 it appeared in the film “Tonight we sing”.
• The Welsh tenor Wynfors Evans sang the song in 1993 accompanied by one of the largest ever male choirs in the world. There were 10,000 people in the choir.
• A video called ‘Trust me I’m an Engineer’ on YouTube also has some part of the song with Kalinka’s notes.

I also include the Lyrics in Russian:

Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya!
V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!

Akh, pod sosnoyu, pod zelenoyu,
Spat’ polozhite vy menya!
Ay-lyuli, lyuli, ay-lyuli, lyuli,
Spat’ polozhite vy menya.

Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya!
V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!

Akh, sosyonushka ty zyelyenaya,
Nye shumi zhe nado mnoy!
Ay-lyuli, lyuli, ay-lyuli, lyuli,
Nye shumi ty nado mnoy!

Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya!
V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!

Akh, krasavitsa, dusha-dyevitsa,
Polyubi zhe ty menya!
Ay-lyuli, lyuli, ay-lyuli, lyuli,
Polyubi zhe ty menya!

Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya!
V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!

Where: Svetlogorsk, Russian Federation

When: 10 June 2012