Akh, kogda b ja prezhde znala

Akh, kogda b ja prezhde znala,
Chto ljubov' [rodit]1 bedy,
[Veseljas' by]2 ne vstrechala,
Polunochnyja zvezdy!
Ne lila b ot vsekh ukradkoj
Zolotogo ja kol'ca;
Ne byla b v nadezhde sladkoj
Videt' milogo l'steca.

[K udareniju udara 
V ljutoj, zloj mojej sud'be
Ja slila b]3 iz voska jara
Legki krylyshki sebe
I na rodinu [vsporkhnula]4
Mila druga mojego.
Nezhno, nezhno [by]5 vzgljanula,
Khot' odnazhdy na nego.

[A potom by uletela]6
So slezami i toskoj;
Podgorjunivshis' by sela na doroge,
Na doroge [ja]7 bol'shoj;
[Vozrydala b, vozopila]8:
,,[Dobry ljudi!]9 kak mne byt'?
Ja nevernogo ljubila...
[Nauchite ne ljubit']10.``

Show Cyrillic (Покажите текст в кириллице)
Note on Transliteration

by Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev (1760-1837) , no title, 1792

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804-1857) , "Akh, kogda b ja prezhde znala", subtitle: "Starinnaja cyganskaja pesnja, petaja znamenitoj steshkoj"

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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