May There Always Be Sunshine

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May There Always Be Sunshine! (Russian:Пусть всегда будет солнце!) is a Soviet Russian song, written for children. It was created in 1962, music was composed by Arkady Ostrovsky and the lyrics were written by Lev Oshanin. A Russian writer Korney Chukovsky later wrote in his book that the base of the song were four lines (which became a refrain of the song), composed by a boy of age four in 1928.

Performed for the first time in 1962 at the International Festival Of Song in Sopot by Russian singer Tamara Miansarova it earned the first prize for her there and immediately became widespread in the USSR and some other countries. It was sung by Young Pioneers in Young Pioneer camps, Young Pioneer meetings and at schools; it was sung by Little Octobrists at schools; it was sung even by pre-school children. This song was widely considered as a symbol of peace in the Soviet Union.

It is one of few Soviet songs which did not lose much of their popularity after the USSR and the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and are still popular in Russia.

The song was translated into German by Ilse and Hans Naumilkat and Manfred Streubel (as Immer lebe die Sonne) and was popular among Ernst Thälmann Pioneers.

[edit] Lyrics

The song was translated into English by Tom Botting. The song (or at least the chorus) has been sung in English by Pete Seeger.

President Ronald Reagan made an allusion to the song at the conclusion of his 1986 New Year's speech to the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union:

"Let us look forward to a future of chistoye nyebo [blue skies] for all mankind. Thank you, spasibo"[1]

Russian Romanization English (Literal) English (Poetic)
Солнечный круг,
Небо вокруг —
Это рисунок мальчишки.
Нарисовал он на листке
И подписал в уголке:
Припев:
— Пусть всегда будет солнце,
Пусть всегда будет небо,
Пусть всегда будет мама,
Пусть всегда буду я!
Solnechnyi krug,
Nebo vokrug —
Ehto risunok mal'chishki
Narisoval on na listke
I podpisal v ugolke:
Pripev:
— Pust' vsegda budet solntse,
Pust' vsegda budet nebo,
Pust' vsegda budet mama,
Pust' vsegda budu ya!
Circle of sun,
Sky all around;
This is the young boy's drawing.
He drew on the paper,
And signed in the corner:
Chorus:
May there always be sun
May there always be sky,
May there always be mother,
May there always be me!
Bright blue the sky.
Sun up on high—
That was the little boy's picture
He drew for you
Wrote for you, too
Just to make clear what he drew.
Chorus:
May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mummy,
May there always be me!

[edit] Cultural references

The tune was used for the song "Gabrielle" by the Hootenanny Singers, lead by Björn Ulvaeus. The song was a hit in 1964 and the new lyrics were translated and performed by the group in Swedish, German, Dutch, and English.

Raffi sang the original chorus and translations into English, Spanish and French on his album "Let's Play".

[edit] External links