Wide Is My Motherland

1937 gramophone record of "Wide Is My Motherland"

"Wide Is My Motherland" (Russian: Широка страна моя родная, tr. Shiroka strana moya rodnaya), also known as "Song of the Motherland" (Russian: Песня о родине, tr. Pesnya o rodinye), is a famous patriotic song of Russia and the former Soviet Union. The music was composed by Isaac Dunaevsky and the words were written by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach. The song was first featured in the classic Soviet film "Circus" in 1936.

History

The song made its début in the 1936 film Circus, starring Lyubov Orlova and Sergei Stolyarov. The film depicts the story of an American woman who flees from racism in the United States after giving birth to an African-American child. She comes to the USSR to sing as part of an act in the circus, and soon falls in love with a performance director Ivan "Petrovich" Martinov. As she becomes assimilated into her new surroundings, her love blossoms into a love not only for Martinov but for the Soviet motherland itself, the ideals that have refined it, and the newly found freedoms of Soviet society. The melody and chorus of the song appear throughout the film, and both parts of the final stanza are sung at the end where all the characters are seen marching in a May Day parade on Red Square.

The song gained immediate popularity. A full three-stanza recording was published in 1937. In 1939, the opening chorus notes played on vibraphone became the official call sign of Soviet radio. Later on, however, during the period of de-Stalinization, the second stanza was dropped due to its mention of Joseph Stalin. It was replaced with a new stanza emphasizing comradeship and proletarian internationalism. The song was also translated into several other languages of Eastern Bloc countries, including German and Hungarian. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the song remains a popular patriotic tune in the Russian Federation.

Full Lyrics

Russian Transliteration English translation

Широка страна моя родная,
Много в ней лесов, полей и рек!
Я другой такой страны не знаю,
Где так вольно дышит человек.

От Москвы до самых до окраин,
С южных гор до северных морей
Человек проходит, как хозяин
Необъятной Родины своей.

Всюду жизнь и вольно и широко,
Точно Волга полная, течет.
Молодым везде у нас дорога,
Старикам везде у нас почет.

Широка страна моя родная,
Много в ней лесов, полей и рек!
Я другой такой страны не знаю,
Где так вольно дышит человек.

Наши нивы глазом не обшаришь,
Не упомнишь наших городов,
Наше слово гордое - товарищ -
Нам дороже всех красивых слов.

С этим словом мы повсюду дома.
Нет для нас ни черных, ни цветных.
Это слово каждому знакомо,
С ним везде находим мы родных.

Широка страна моя родная,
Много в ней лесов, полей и рек!
Я другой такой страны не знаю,
Где так вольно дышит человек.

За столом никто у нас не лишний,
По заслугам каждый награжден,
Золотыми буквами мы пишем
Всенародный Сталинский закон.

Этих слов величие и славу
Никакие годы не сотрут:
Человек всегда имеет право
На ученье, отдых и на труд.*

Широка страна моя родная,
Много в ней лесов, полей и рек!
Я другой такой страны не знаю,
Где так вольно дышит человек.

Над страной весенний ветер веет.
С каждым днем все радостнее жить,
И никто на свете не умеет
Лучше нас смеяться и любить.

Но сурово брови мы насупим,
Если враг захочет нас сломать,
Как невесту, Родину мы любим,
Бережем, как ласковую мать.

Широка страна моя родная,
Много в ней лесов, полей и рек!
Я другой такой страны не знаю,
Где так вольно дышит человек.

Shiroka strana moya rodnaya,
Mnogo v ney lesov, poley i rek!
Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu,
Gdye tak vol'no dyshit chelovyek.

Ot Moskvy do samykh do okrain,
S yuznykh gor do severnykh morey
Chelovyek prohodit, kak hozyain
Neobyatnoy Rodiny svoyey.

Vsyudu zhizn' i vol'no i shiroko,
Tochno Volga polnaya, techyot.
Molodym vezdye u nas doroga,
Starikam vezdye u nas pochyot.

Shiroka strana moya rodnaya,
Mnogo v ney lesov, poley i rek!
Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu,
Gdye tak vol'no dyshit chelovyek.

Nashi nivy glazom ne obsharish'
Ne upomnish' nashikh gorodov,
Nashe slovo gordoye - tovarisch -
Nam dorozhye vsyekh krasivykh slov.

S etim slovom my povsyudu doma.
Nyet dlya nas ni chyornykh, ni tsvetnykh.
Eto slovo kazhdomu znakomo,
S nim vezdye nahodim my rodnykh.

Shiroka strana moya rodnaya,
Mnogo v ney lesov, poley i rek!
Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu,
Gdye tak vol'no dyshit chelovyek.

Za stolom nikto u nas ne lishniy,
Po zaslugam kazhdyi nagrazhdyon,
Zolotymi bukvami my pishyem
Vsyenarodniy Stalinskiy zakon.

Etikh slov velichiye i slavu
Nikakiye gody ne sotrut:
Chelovyek vsegda imyeyet pravo
Na uchenye, otdykh i na trud.*

Shiroka strana moya rodnaya,
Mnogo v ney lesov, poley i rek!
Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu,
Gdye tak vol'no dyshit chelovyek.

Nad stranoy vesenniy veter veyet.
S kazhdym dnyom vsye radostneye zhit,
I nikto na svetye ne umyeyet
Luchshe nas smeyatsya i lyubit.

No surovo brovi my nasupim,
Yesli vrag zahochet nas slomat',
Kak nevestu, Rodinu my lyubim,
Berezhem, kak laskovuyu mat'.

Shiroka strana moya rodnaya,
Mnogo v ney lesov, poley i rek!
Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu,
Gdye tak vol'no dyshit chelovyek.

Wide is my Motherland,
Of her many forests, fields, and rivers!
I know of no other such country
Where a man can breathe so freely.

From Moscow to the borders,
From the southern mountains to the northern sea
A man stands as a master
Over his vast Motherland.

Throughout life, and freely and widely,
Just like the Volga flows.
The youth are always dear to us,
The old are always honored by us.

Wide is my Motherland,
Of her many forests, fields, and rivers!
I know of no other such country
Where a man can breathe so freely.

Our fields are too wide for the eyes,
Our cities are too many to remember,
Our proud word - comrade -
To us is higher than all fine words.

With this word everywhere we feel at home.
For us there are no "blacks" or "coloreds".
This word is familiar to everyone,
With it we always find friends.

Wide is my Motherland,
Of her many forests, fields, and rivers!
I know of no other such country
Where a man can breathe so freely.

At our table, no one is excluded,
Each is awarded on merit,
In golden letters we write
The people's Stalin's law.

These great and glorious words
Will live through the years:
A person always has the right
To study, rest, and work.*

Wide is my Motherland,
Of her many forests, fields, and rivers!
I know of no other such country
Where a man can breathe so freely.

Over the country, the spring breeze is blowing.
Every day life becomes more joyful,
And no one on earth could know
Our great ways of laughter and love.

But our brows shall frown sternly
If an enemy attempts to break us.
As a bride, we love our Motherland,
We protect her, as a gentle mother.

Wide is my Motherland,
Of her many forests, fields, and rivers!
I know of no other such country
Where a man can breathe so freely.

"*" Omitted during de-Stalinization

See also

External links