Коробейники (Peddlers) - M. Tokaroff's Vocal Trio (1926)
Channel: Seventy8
Date: 2022-08-18

Коробейники (Korobeiniki) by M Tokaroff's Vocal Trio.  Recorded January, 1926 in New York, NY.  

If you find the tune to be somehow familiar, perhaps you grew up with a GameBoy, playing the classic game from the Soviet Union "Tetris," where an 8 bit version of this folk tune is used as the primary theme music.

Below is the lyrics to this classic Russian folk song, provided by https://lyricstranslate.com.

Peddlers
Full to the burst is my peddler's basket
There's printed cotton and brocade
Have mercy, my sweetheart,
On the young lad's shoulder.
 
I'll come out into a field of tall rye
And wait there till dark
As soon as I see my black-eyed lass
I'll lay out all my wares.
 
I myself have paid through the nose for all this
So don't bargain, don't go thrifty
Give me your scarlet lips
And sit closer to the young lad.
 
A misty night has come down
The daring lad is waiting
Hush, my ladylove has come,
The merchant is selling his goods.
 
Katia is cautiously bargaining
Not to overpay
The lad is kissing the lass
And asks her to put up the price.
 
Only the dark night knows
What they agreed on
Stand upright, tall rye,
Keep their secret tight.
 
Oh, my basket feels so light to carry
The strap doesn't cut into my shoulders
Though the only thing my sweetheart has taken
Is a little ring with turquoise.