Alyonushka

A song by Alexander Dolsky
Translated by Vladimir Reznikov


Alyonushka, Alyonushka,
Alyona of the deep grey eyes,
Your fairy tale, Alyonushka,
So mellow glides, so distant flies….
Your lashes gently move and sing
Of all the things forgotten:
Of migrant birds, of tireless wings
Beneath the clouds of cotton.

The rowans hum above the lake,
They sway and bend, they sway and bend,
The songs that keep our love awake
Will always ring, will never end

Alyona strokes a wavy tress
And sings of oaks and birches,
Of fields and hay, of mowed grass,
The midday sun and scorching,
She sings without a single word –
A swing of golden fingers,
Amazed, I see a brand new world,
A river winds and lingers…

Refrain

Alyonushka, Alyonushka,
Alyona of the deep grey eyes,
Your fairy tale, Alyonushka,
So mellow glides, so distant flies….
It tells of kingdoms distant
That lie so close to home
And all life long I’ll listen
To you and you alone…

Refrain



*Alyonushka is a diminutive of Alyona. Alyona is a Russian name that is akin to Elena, Helen, Lena, etc. Per another etymology, it is a Greek name that could mean “sunny, glowing” or “charming, enticing” or “ennobling, enlivening.” Alyona also happens to be the heroine of several Russian fairy tales and a personage in some fairy tale paintings.