To ostatnia niedziela
To ostatnia niedziela (Polish: This is the Last Sunday; 1935) is one of the long-time hits of Jerzy Petersburski. A nostalgic tango with lyrics by Zenon Friedwald describing the final meeting of former lovers just before they break up,[1] it was performed by numerous artists and gained the nickname of Suicide Tango, due to its brooding lyrical content.
In 1937, a Russian version was written by Iosif Alvek and performed by singer Pavel Mikhailov backed by the State Radio Committee Jazz Band, led by pianist Aleksandr Tsfasman, under the title of Wearied Sun (Russian: Утомлённое солнце, Utomlyonnoye solntse).[2] After the war the song remained largely successful and was one of the symbols of pre-war music in Polish popular culture. Performed by, among others, Mieczysław Fogg and Piotr Fronczewski, it appeared in a number of films, including:
- Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky's Siberiade (1979),
- Yuriy Norshteyn's acclaimed Tale of Tales of the same year,
- Parrot that spoke Yiddish (1990) directed by Efraim Sevela,
- Schindler's List (1993),
- Krzysztof Kieślowski's award-winning Three Colors: White (1994),
- Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun 1994
The Russian title of the song also became the namesake for the latter film. There exist a famous contemporary recording of the violinist Gidon Kremer.
Also the Ukrainian version written by Volodymyr Knyr exists.
Lyrics
Original Polish | Russian Translation | New Russian Lyrics | Translation of New Russian Lyrics |
---|---|---|---|
Teraz nie pora szukać wymówek, |
Теперь не время искать объяснений, |
Утомлённое солнце |
The weary sun |